Apple Card, Apple’s new credit card is beginning to roll out to a select number of beta testers and other users has lowered its Base APR to 12.99%, and also offers benefits offered to other Mastercard holders.
One of the early card testers – TechCrunch‘s Matthew Panzarino – points out that since the Apple Card uses the Mastercard network to process payments, a list of benefits form Mastercard is available to Apple Card users, including including fraud protection, identity theft protection, and free ShopRunner membership offering free two-day shipping from some websites.
Other benefits include “special events,” golf offerings, travel discounts and upgrades, home rental discounts, and more. However, Mastercard extended warranties and purchase protection offered by some credit cards is not available, likely due to the Apple Card’s Daily Cash program, which offers between 1% and 3% daily cash back on purchases.
In related news, When Apple’s new credit card was unveiled, it was said it would offer an APR between 13.24% and 24.24% based on credit score. However, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates last Wednesday, the APR for the new card is now lower. As noted by The Verge‘s Nilay Patel, the base APR for purchases is now 12.99%, while the maximum APR is 23.99%.