Consumers Are Receptive to the Unconventional Apple Card, Separate Studies Show

Apple Inc.’s new Apple Card is an unconventional animal with what some observers call ho-hum rewards, but separate studies released Wednesday show the card nonetheless could make a big splash.

Research firm J.D. Power said its late June survey found “awareness is already remarkably high” for a product that offers “middle-of-the-road” rewards compared with other cards.

“The Apple Card has not even launched yet, and 38% of U.S. adults are already aware of it,” Costa Mesa-based J.D. Power said in a news release. “Among those who are aware of the card, 35% say that they are somewhat or very likely to apply for the card. Those numbers are even higher among younger credit card customers. Among 18-29 year-olds, over half (52%) are aware of the Apple Card.”

The results are based on an ad-hoc survey of 1,354 consumers in late June.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple announced the card in March followed by a limited release this week, with full rollout expected later this month. The numberless titanium Mastercard, issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, is closely integrated with the Apple Pay mobile-payment service. Apple, in fact, strongly encourages use of its iPhone and Watch for in-store purchases charged to the card.

J.D. Power says its studies show about 11% of adults report using Apple Pay in stores. “Perhaps not surprisingly, 52% of Apple Pay users say they are likely to apply for the Apple Card in the next 12 months,” the release says.

Apple Card doesn’t have fees and offers 3% cash back on Apple purchases, 2% for Apple Pay purchases, and 1% on other purchases. J.D. Power says the card has “a competitive package of rewards and benefits, but not the best in the industry by any means … the challenge for Apple will be to change the credit card purchase habits of consumers to use Apple Pay rather than a physical card.”

Separately, New York City-based consulting and research firm Auriemma Group said its May-June survey of 2,029 adults with smart phones or wearable devices that support mobile payments found that about half of Apple Pay users were aware of the card. In a news release, Auriemma called that finding “an extremely high proportion considering the card has not yet launched.” Awareness also was high, at 27%, among all respondents eligible for mobile payments, Auriemma said.

Apple on Tuesday posted several videos on how to apply for and use the Apple Card.