Apple Card Savings is paying slightly more after Goldman Sachs raised the account’s annual percentage yield from 3.4% to 3.5% this week.
For most account holders, the difference will be small. A $1,000 balance maintained for a year at 3.5% APY would earn about $35, assuming the rate doesn’t change. At 3.4%, the same balance would earn about $34.
The increase becomes more noticeable with larger balances, but even $10,000 would amount to only about $10 more over a year at the higher rate.
The Fed raised rates by considerably more
The timing is more interesting than the size of Apple’s increase.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point last week, its first increase since 2023. Apple Card Savings followed with an increase of just 0.1 percentage points, moving from 3.4% to 3.5%.
Savings rates don’t have to move in lockstep with the Fed, and banks decide how much of a change in market rates to pass along to depositors. Still, the smaller increase means Apple Card Savings holders aren’t seeing the full quarter-point move reflected in their APY.
It’s also only a partial reversal of recent cuts. Apple Card Savings paid 3.5% earlier this year before dropping to 3.4% in June. The latest change essentially brings the account back to where it was a few months ago.
That’s still well below the 4.15% APY Apple offered when the account launched in April 2023.
Convenience remains its biggest advantage
At 3.5%, Apple Card Savings isn’t necessarily where you’ll find the highest return on cash. Some high-yield savings accounts currently offer around 4% APY, meaning rate-conscious savers can earn more by shopping around.
Apple’s advantage is convenience.
The account has no minimum deposit or minimum balance requirement and is built directly into Wallet for Apple Card holders.
Daily Cash rewards can automatically flow into savings, and you can transfer additional money from a linked bank account or Apple Cash.
Interest compounds daily and is credited monthly, and funds can be transferred back to a linked bank account when needed.
That makes the account particularly easy to use if you’re already deep in the Apple Card ecosystem, even if its 3.5% APY isn’t currently at the top of the high-yield savings market.
