The Galaxy Card Is Samsung’s Answer to the Apple Card
The Galaxy Card Is Samsung’s Answer to the Apple Card
Galaxy Card：三星对标 Apple Card 的回应
Nearly seven years after Apple debuted the Apple Card, Samsung is following the iPhone maker’s footsteps with the Galaxy Card, aiming for its own slice of the credit card market. The announcement comes two days before Samsung’s second Galaxy Unpacked event of the year, where it’s expected to showcase new smartwatches and folding smartphones.
在苹果推出 Apple Card 近七年后，三星紧随其后发布了 Galaxy Card，意图在信用卡市场分一杯羹。此次发布正值三星年度第二次 Galaxy Unpacked 发布会前两天，届时预计将展示新款智能手表和折叠屏手机。
The Galaxy Card is issued by Barclays on the Visa network; the Apple Card, originally issued by Goldman Sachs but now transitioning to Chase, is on the MasterCard network. There is a physical card—it’s not made of titanium but recycled steel. The virtual card will be provisioned to a user’s Samsung Wallet account.
Galaxy Card 由巴克莱银行（Barclays）发行，基于 Visa 网络；而 Apple Card 最初由高盛发行，目前正转向大通银行（Chase），基于万事达（MasterCard）网络。该卡提供实体卡，材质并非钛金属，而是回收钢材。虚拟卡将配置在用户的 Samsung Wallet 账户中。
With no annual fee, Samsung says cardmembers can earn 5 percent cash rewards on all in-store or online purchases made directly from Samsung in the US, 3 percent cash rewards on purchases made with the Galaxy Card using Samsung Wallet, 2 percent cash rewards on streaming service subscriptions, and 1 percent cash rewards on everything else with the physical card. The cash rewards can be redeemed as a statement credit or transferred to a checking or savings account.
三星表示，该卡免年费，持卡人在美国三星官网或线下门店直接消费可获得 5% 的现金返还，使用 Samsung Wallet 支付可获得 3% 的现金返还，订阅流媒体服务可获得 2% 的现金返还，使用实体卡进行其他消费则可获得 1% 的现金返还。现金奖励可用于抵扣账单，或转入支票/储蓄账户。
The annual percentage rate (APR) varies by cardmember, but the card has no foreign transaction fees. Other perks include a 20 percent discount on Samsung’s VIP Advantage membership, which offers extended device protection, specialized support, and exclusive deals, and $200 in cash rewards after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days. Applications open up on July 22.
年利率（APR）因持卡人而异，但该卡不收取境外交易手续费。其他福利包括三星 VIP Advantage 会员 8 折优惠（提供延长设备保修、专业支持和独家优惠），以及在开卡后 90 天内消费满 2,000 美元可获得 200 美元现金奖励。申请通道将于 7 月 22 日开放。
The Samsung Wallet app is only available on Samsung smartphones and watches, so what happens if a consumer switches to a different smartphone brand? The company says Galaxy Card is not limited to Samsung device owners and that anyone can use the physical card, but you lose the key perks; the card can be managed through a BarclaysUS.com online portal. (Similarly, if an iPhone owner switches to Android, their physical Apple Card will still work, but they lose access to the Apple Wallet app and the 3 percent daily cash perk on Apple purchases; there’s a web portal to manage the account.)
Samsung Wallet 应用仅适用于三星智能手机和手表，那么如果消费者更换了其他品牌的手机会怎样？三星表示，Galaxy Card 并不局限于三星设备用户，任何人都可以使用实体卡，但会失去核心福利；持卡人可通过 BarclaysUS.com 在线门户网站管理账户。（同样，如果 iPhone 用户转用安卓手机，其 Apple Card 实体卡仍可使用，但无法再使用 Apple Wallet 应用，也无法享受在苹果消费 3% 的返现福利；账户管理需通过网页端进行。）
The rewards aren’t revolutionary, but they’re targeting Samsung’s most loyal consumers and card-maxxers looking to rack up the most points with every dollar they spend. Brian Riley, director of Credit Advisory Services at Javelin Strategy & Research, a financial research and consulting group, says entering the space is important for Samsung to increase brand presence and loyalty.
这些奖励措施算不上革命性，但它们瞄准了三星最忠实的消费者，以及那些希望通过每一笔消费实现积分收益最大化的“刷卡达人”。金融研究与咨询机构 Javelin Strategy & Research 的信贷咨询服务总监 Brian Riley 表示，进入这一领域对于三星提升品牌影响力和忠诚度至关重要。
“Cards are basically a commodity at the end of the day; how you differentiate them is really what makes the difference,” Riley says. “That’s really the big deal here—how you use your card.” Riley has a card for grocery shopping and one for Amazon transactions; all of these steps help him earn the most points.
“归根结底，信用卡本质上是一种商品；如何实现差异化才是关键，”Riley 说道，“这正是重点所在——你如何使用你的卡。”Riley 自己就有一张专门用于超市购物的卡，还有一张专门用于亚马逊交易的卡；所有这些策略都能帮他赚取最多的积分。
“One of the big challenges here on rewards is that quite often, you go in well-intentioned and you don’t get the full benefit of the rewards because you start revolving on the product,” Riley says, meaning cardmembers start accumulating interest on the unpaid balance, with interest charges wiping out the value earned by the rewards.
“奖励机制的一大挑战在于，很多时候你初衷很好，却无法获得全部奖励收益，因为你开始产生循环利息，”Riley 解释道。这意味着持卡人开始对未还清的余额支付利息，而利息支出往往会抵消掉奖励带来的价值。
Riley points to one of the failings of the Apple Card: Apple oversold it. It’s slick, yes, but it never became a mainstream challenger to the credit card industry because the average consumer typically has three or four cards per household: one for all of their purchases, one for emergencies, and one that might focus on travel.
Riley 指出了 Apple Card 的一个失败之处：苹果过度营销了它。它确实很精致，但从未成为信用卡行业的主流挑战者，因为普通家庭通常拥有三到四张卡：一张用于日常消费，一张用于应急，还有一张可能专注于旅行。
Sara Rathner, a credit card expert at NerdWallet, echoed that sentiment. “The Apple Card is far from the iPhone in terms of changing the world,” Rathner says. “It’s fine; it’s a cash-back card.” All of these cards exist to create brand loyalty, she says. If you have a lot of points with Hyatt, you’re more likely to book a stay at a Hyatt property on your next trip. If you make many purchases with Samsung Wallet, that might incentivize you to get the Galaxy Card.
NerdWallet 的信用卡专家 Sara Rathner 也表达了同样的观点。“Apple Card 在改变世界方面远不及 iPhone，”Rathner 说，“它还行，就是一张返现卡。”她认为，所有这些卡的存在都是为了建立品牌忠诚度。如果你在凯悦（Hyatt）有大量积分，你下次旅行时更有可能预订凯悦旗下的酒店。如果你经常使用 Samsung Wallet 消费，这可能会促使你申请 Galaxy Card。
Rathner says the 3 percent cash reward for purchases using the Samsung Wallet app is a really good rate. If you tap-to-pay at New York City’s subway turnstile with Samsung Wallet on your phone, for example, that’s 3 percent on every commute, and “that would be compelling.”
Rathner 表示，使用 Samsung Wallet 应用消费可获得 3% 的现金返还是一个非常不错的比例。例如，如果你在纽约地铁闸机处使用手机上的 Samsung Wallet 进行感应支付，那么每次通勤都能获得 3% 的返现，“这确实很有吸引力。”
While Rathner finds the Apple Card underwhelming, she does credit Apple with innovating on certain features. For example, Apple allows you to see the interest rate and credit rate you would qualify for before a credit pull, something other credit cards are increasingly offering. The app (and card) have a beautiful design, the physical card is easy to activate with just a tap on the iPhone, and cash rewards are posted daily rather than waiting for a billing cycle.
虽然 Rathner 认为 Apple Card 表现平平，但她确实认可苹果在某些功能上的创新。例如，苹果允许用户在进行信用查询前查看自己能获得的利率和信用额度，这一点正被越来越多的其他信用卡所效仿。该应用（及卡片）设计精美，实体卡只需在 iPhone 上轻触即可激活，且现金奖励是每日结算，无需等待账单周期。
“I think if other cards want to compete in that way and also follow suit with those features, I think that just makes credit cards in general better products for consumers,” Rathner says. “We’ll see how this resonates with people who have Samsung phones.”
“我认为，如果其他信用卡想要以这种方式竞争并效仿这些功能，这会让信用卡整体上成为对消费者更好的产品，”Rathner 说道，“我们拭目以待这会对三星手机用户产生怎样的影响。”