Apple Card adds to its rewards stockpile with Walgreens, Duane Reade

Apple keeps sweetening the deal for prospective Apple Card users, with Walgreens the latest to offer cash-back rewards.

Walgreens will give 3% Daily Cash for Apple Card purchases made via Apple Pay online and at its 9,500 U.S. stores and its roughly 250 Duane Reade stores beginning Friday, Walgreens said in a Thursday press release.

Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg

The Deerfield, Ill.-based drugstore giant cut a category-exclusive deal with Apple, a Walgreens spokesperson confirmed.

The move follows Apple Card's 3% Daily Cash rewards expanding to include Uber and Uber Eats last month. Apple noted then it would add more merchants in the coming months.

Apple initially said its Daily Cash deal for the card, issued by Goldman Sachs, would offer 3% cash back on Apple merchandise purchased with Apple Pay, 2% on all other Apple Pay purchases and 1% for purchases with the titanium Apple Card.

One analyst said it’s not surprising Apple has been forced to tweak its rewards following the card’s official launch last month.

“It’s pretty obvious Apple realized it needed to gin up its rewards a bit after the launch, because the initial proposition was no great shakes,” said Bob Hammer, CEO of the credit card consulting firm R.K. Hammer.

Category exclusivity in hotly contested retail categories where consumers make everyday purchases is a smart idea, Hammer said.

“I’d look for Apple Card to add some big-box merchants next, fast food, anything in a commodity niche that’s looking to get an edge over competitors,” Hammer said.