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Earning Bonus Cash Back on Apple Pay is Easier Than You May Think

Apple Pay offers up to 3% cashback on select merchants. Here’s how it works and how you can make the most of Apple Daily Cash.

Updated Nov. 7, 2024
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Using Apple Pay on your iPhone for your routine purchases not only makes life easier, but can also earn you up to 3% cash back when paired with an Apple Card. This is three times as much as just whipping out your titanium Apple Card to pay, since using the card without Apple Pay only rewards you with everything else cash back.

Of course, you can use Apple Pay with non-Apple credit cards, but your cashback opportunities will depend on the card. Using Apple Pay does not come with extra perks like it does for the Apple Card.

How to earn cash back on Apple Pay

Apple Pay is the digital wallet platform that is pre-installed on iPhones and other Apple devices for users to make secure purchases in stores, on apps, and online. Any debit or credit card can be added to your Apple Pay, but there is an extra bonus if you add an Apple Card to it.

Note:
Non-iOS users can still apply for an Apple Card, but they won’t be able to combine it with Apple Pay.

The Apple Card is unique because it charges no fees, and the cashback, called Daily Cash, you earn on your spending can immediately be sent to your bank account. With many cashback credit cards, there are stricter limitations on how you can redeem your earnings.

With the Apple Card, you will earn the following cashback:

  • 3% cashback on Apple purchases and purchases with select partners when using Apple Pay
  • 2% cashback on other Apple Pay purchases
  • 1% cashback on everything else

If you use your Apple Card without Apple Pay, you will only earn everything else cashback, unless you purchase something from Apple. This can be frustrating because Apple Pay is not available everywhere, meaning you will miss out on the bonus cashback. For this reason, some would prefer to use a card that rewards them with elevated cashback on all purchases, such as the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, without the hassle of messing with a digital wallet.

Can non-Apple Cards earn cash back on Apple Pay?

While you can connect other credit cards to your Apple Pay account to make in-store and online shopping easier, you aren’t guaranteed bonus cash back. How much you earn will depend on your credit card’s reward program and if they offer bonus cash back on digital wallet usage.

For example, American Express cards have been reported to occasionally offer promotional offers for using digital wallets, such as $10 bonus cash back for using your card with Apple Pay three times.

However, linking your non-Apple card to Apple Pay will not automatically give you bonus cash back. If your current card rewards you 2% cash back on spending, you will earn 2% cash back with or without Apple Pay.

How to get the most cash back on Apple Pay

The best way to earn the most cash back on Apple Pay is to shop at Apple's selected merchants that earn 3% in Daily Cash. Here are two other ways to make your efforts go further:

Stack special offers

You can find Daily Cash promotions by checking the Wallet app on your iPhone, where Apple Card offers and promotions are regularly updated. Typically these offers only last a few weeks, but can enable you to earn extra cash back or a discount at purchase.

For example, say you’d like to take advantage of a special promotion through 1-800-Flowers, which offers $15 off select items when you check out with Apple Pay. If you add your Apple Card to your Apple Pay account and use that to pay, you could get the $15 off, plus earn 2% cash back on your Apple Card since you used Apple Pay.

Send your Daily Cash to a high-yield savings account

The cashback you earn is called Daily Cash, and once you earn it, you can spend it through Apple Cash, use it as a statement credit, send it to friends, or transfer it to a high-yield savings account. Since your account comes with a high-yield savings account managed by Goldman Sachs, you can easily transfer your Daily Cash to start earning interest.

Consider this an easy way to save money since your Daily Cash isn’t coming out of your budget. Plus, the high-yield savings account currently earns over 4.00% APY, which is nine times higher than the national average.

FAQs

What happens to Daily Cash if I make a return?

If you return an item and are issued a credit back to your card, your earned Daily Cash will be charged to your Apple Card. If you don’t want to lose your Daily Cash reward, you can try returning the item for store credit instead.

Can any debit or credit card earn cash back with Apple Pay?

Apple Pay is just a digital wallet that doesn’t enable cash back. The bonus cash back comes from using the Apple Card with Apple Pay. 

What is the difference between Apple Pay and Apple Wallet?

While both are related, they serve different functions. Apple Pay is a mobile payment service for making secure purchases using your Apple devices. Apple Wallet is an app that stores your payment and non-payment cards, which Apple Pay uses to process transactions.

Lucrative, Flat-Rate Cash Rewards

5.0
info

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

Current Offer

$200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks
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