Special Apple Card Promo Offers Generous 5% Cash Back on Travel and Dining

While it’s become commonplace for Apple to offer bonus cash-back promotional deals for Apple Card holders, these often have spending caps that limit how much you can earn from them.

For example, Apple offered up to 4% cash back at select retailers for a limited time last summer, but only for the first $3,000 in purchases. That meant you could only earn a maximum bonus of $60 in cash back compared to the standard rate.

Similarly, Apple sweetened the pot for new Apple Card holders with 10% cash back at the App Store — a 7% increase over the standard 3% that all Apple Card purchases earn on Apple products and services. Sadly, this was once again capped at $1,000 in total purchases over six months, placing the maximum benefit at $70.

However, it looks like Apple has pulled out most of the stops with a generous new 5% cash back offer on travel and dining that could provide up to $1,300 in total Daily Cash rewards.

The offer was first reported by 9to5Mac reader Antonio, who spotted the promo in the Daily Cash section of the Apple Wallet app and shared the details in a post on X (the social media network formerly known as Twitter).

According to the terms, which are outlined on a special Apple page, Apple is providing 5% Daily Cash on up to $20,000 in travel spending and $6,000 in total spending on dining out.

The dining category includes “restaurants, cocktail lounges, discotheques, nightclubs, taverns, bars, eligible delivery services, and fast food restaurants,” while travel purchases cover “airlines and air carriers, car rental agencies, lodging and resorts, timeshares, as well as travel agencies and tour operators.”

This offer includes purchases made using Apple Pay or even with the virtual online number or the physical titanium Apple Card. However, how much you can earn will depend on the payment methods you use. Apple has divvied this one up in an odd way, with a lower cap on spending at Panera and Uber Eats since they already offer the 3% Daily Cash rate, and the remaining $24,000 cap is split evenly between Apple Pay and standard card purchases. Here’s the fine print:

Dining and Travel Purchases at Bonus Daily Cash Merchants with Apple Pay: you will earn 5% back on up to $2,000 in total qualifying purchases at Panera and Uber Eats when using Apple Pay. 5% Daily Cash is not available at Panera locations outside the U.S. and excludes orders made on third-party apps, plastic gift card purchases made online, and gift cards purchased through the Bulk Gift Card program. The maximum Daily Cash you can earn through this offer is $100. The 5% Daily Cash earn rate includes the 3% standard earn rate for purchases made using Apple Pay plus and an additional 2% bonus earn;

Dining and Travel Purchases at non-Bonus Daily Cash Merchants with Apple Pay: you will earn 5% back on up to $12,000 in total qualifying purchases when using Apple Pay. The maximum Daily Cash you can earn through this offer is $600. The 5% Daily Cash earn rate includes the 2% standard earn rate for purchases made using Apple Pay plus and an additional 3% bonus earn;

Dining and Travel Purchases with virtual online number or titanium card: you will earn 5% back on up to $12,000 in total qualifying purchases with virtual online number or titanium card. The maximum Daily Cash you can earn through this offer is $600. The 5% Daily Cash earn rate includes the 1% standard earn rate for purchases made using virtual online number or titanium card plus and an additional 4% bonus earn.

The final catch is that this offer appears to be by invitation only, and even if you are invited, your family member’s purchases won’t count; they all need to be made on your card. Still, if you’re an Apple Card holder, it’s worth keeping an eye on your Wallet app to see if this one pops up, as it’s one of the biggest we’ve ever seen, and if you’re planning on taking a big trip soon, you might even earn enough to buy an iPhone 15 Pro next month.