Apple’s new titanium Apple credit card launched to all US iPhone users, and now we’re learning all sorts of fun facts about the physical, titanium card the company is shipping to likely thousands of users at this very moment. Namely, that it can be easily damaged. Apple has posted a cleaning guide for the physical credit card that warns against storing it against leather and denim, lest they cause discoloration that “will not wash off.” Yes, that’s right you could end up with a nasty-looking card simply by putting it in your usual wallet or pants pocket. Many leather wallets have linings, and plastic cards have their own issues, but this suggests it’s more delicate than some would like.
This all sounds a little excessive, as most people don’t take such studious care of their credit cards, let alone forgo a leather wallet just to avoid discoloration. But it’s important to remember that the Apple Card, with its rather standard benefits, is not intended to be the best credit card out there with top-tier benefits. The 3 percent cash back is nice, as are the built-in security features that protect the card number by removing it from the physical card itself and generating a virtual number online for merchants that don’t accept Apple Pay.
This isn’t functional issue on the level of Antennagate. It’s not like your card will stop working just because it’s a bit dirty, and you’ll have an incentive to use Apple Pay more often regardless. With that said, the titanium card is as much about flaunting your status as it is making purchases. It’s hard to do that when your card looks like it has seen better days.
