Apple Card: US credit card users get AirPods Pro 3 for free – with obstacles
Apple wants to attract a lot of customers before its card business switches to JPMorgan, with free earplugs. The fine print is complex.
Using an Apple Card in retail: Product still not available in Europe.
(Image: Apple)
Major changes are coming to the Apple Card, Apple's digital credit card that has existed since 2019: This year, the business will be handed over from Goldman Sachs to JPMorgan Chase, the world's largest bank by market capitalization. Apple will retain control but needs a partner as it lacks its banking license. Apparently, to start with many new customers right away, the iPhone manufacturer's marketing department has come up with something special: The company is “giving away” its currently most expensive earplugs, the AirPods Pro 3, with each new contract. However, the deal is structured quite complicatedly, and the payout takes time.
Buyers need patience
As is usual with the Apple Card, the offer is only usable for US citizens or individuals with a residence permit there. An internationalization is still pending in the seventh year of its existence but is now hoped for thanks to JPMorgan Chase. The AirPods deal is only valid for people who do not yet have an Apple Card. After opening the card account, they must purchase the AirPods Pro 3 directly from Apple by June 15, either online or in a retail store. The price there is $250 plus sales tax.
Up to $250 will then be refunded. But that takes time: from the beginning of July 2026 until the end of April 2027, Apple will pay out $25 “Bonus Daily Cash” each month until the sum is reached. However, this only works if you make at least ten purchases with the Apple Card per month (the AirPods Pro 3 are not included). At least Apple is quite customer-friendly here: A payment of just one US cent is enough for it to count towards the ten necessary payments. Apple Card owners are responsible for sales tax, although there are US states like New Hampshire where it does not apply (but it does in some places).
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Transition from Goldman Sachs
Meanwhile, the transition of the business from Goldman Sachs to JPMorgan Chase is underway and will take up to 24 months. Goldman Sachs had tried for years to get rid of the Apple Card business because it, along with other parts of its consumer banking division, had incurred high millions in losses. This was partly because, unlike other US credit cards, the Apple Card does not have penalty fees. However, there have been repeated reports of poor customer service recently, including trouble with the financial services regulator.
JPMorgan Chase even got the card business from Goldman Sachs at a reduced price – an unusual transaction. The reason is said to be that the Apple Card was issued relatively easily even to individuals with “subprime” creditworthiness. JPMorgan is said to have set aside a total of $2.2 billion in reserves for defaults.
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