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So who's invested in the samsung ecosystem?
- Thread starter cuzo
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It's not a credit card. It's a rebranded Curve card that allows you to use all your Visa/Mastercards etc from various banks/providers on a single card. https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/samsung-pay-card/
Nobody is offering a card that dont benefit them. It may be better than say a Home Depot card that is 25% interest but its still a card that will cost you money. The cashback incentive is a joke too that hear many brag about. You arent getting an advantage by using a card. They will still win.
I prefer to pay for things.
There’s no charge for using the card and you get rewards for using it.
You’re misunderstanding. It is NOT a credit card. It is a debit card that you can tie to your bank’s debit card etc. This is useful in retailers that don’t accept your bank’s card. Anything you spend on it comes straight out of your bank account - so you do “pay for things”, instantly. There is no credit provided (or interest).
Ive never had a retailer NOT accept my debit card. Seems weird to me and id have to think there is a catch. Id read more about it but i never have a problem with my debit so......
Not only that, my Bank has been very good about alerting us to something out of ordinary and they caught somebody trying to buy something with my Wifes debit number. A few times they have caught something like that.
I doubt Apple or Samsung will care about that. I do know somebody that has a Aple card and he said it was a credit or debit or something. He liked showing it off because it was metal and didnt have numbers on it lol.
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Things may be a little different in the UK/Europe. Here, for example, most retailers accept Visa and MasterCard but not Visa Electron. For many years, a debit card called Switch was used by millions of people but many places didn’t accept it. To this day, most retailers in the UK don’t accept American Express.
The Curve card (or Samsung Pay) allows you to link any card to a standard MasterCard, so everyone will accept it but it merely acts as a middleman. This benefits users of Samsung phones and, in particular, smartwatches as most banks still don’t allow their debit cards to be added to Samsung Pay. By adding your bank’s card to the Curve/SP card, that can in turn be linked to Samsung Pay - meaning it is now compatible with any card from any financial institution.
If one treats credit cards with cashback incentives as "cash in a convenient form" (i.e. pay it off every month, don't carry a balance) then one can indeed benefit from using it.
I've had entire family vacations completely paid for by the cashback received by running most expenses through the card.
This card is slick.. maybe biased as I love all things that are the colour/shade of black!
Nevertheless, I have had the card for a few months now and the card still starts conversations at the till from curious cashiers and nosy shoppers as soon as they see the Samsung logo on it.
The perks are very good at the moment but they are introductory offers.. some are 90 days and some are to the end of 2020 but I especially love the 5% cashback from the Samsung UK site.
I agree, Credit cards (and credit in general) can be a powerful tool if used right to actually strengthen your financial position and profile. Idk about the US, but here in the UK you pretty much can't get finance or a mortgage unless you've got some form of paid off credit or contract phone to your name.
A latecomer to the discussion. I used Windows and Android a long time ago. Ended up inside the Apple ecosystem covering the whole family with iPhones, iPads, MBA's, MBP, iMac's, Mac Mini's, ATV's etc.
Step by step Apple declared our Macs not upgradeable. Sure they started to get older but still snappy with RAM upgrades and SSD's. When my 27" iMac 2011 was left behind, the sweet ecosystem started to look not so sweet. I installed Windows 10 on SSD. Tweaked a bit with drivers but I ended up with a supported modern system by Microsoft. I got a great deal on Galaxy S10+ and later S20 for me and two other family members. The specs outperformed Apple's. We got Galaxy Watches and buds. Connected to our Samsung TV and realized that my iMac with W10 seamlessly integrated with my Galaxy phone. I also started to appreciate Android Auto more than Apple Car Play. I still have an iPhone 8 and a MBA with Big Sur, but when Apple drop support for the MBA I will probably install W10 and stay updated on it.
I understand that Apple create obsolescence since they sell HW. In my case it opened my eyes for how alternative solutions and for good or bad I have both feet in Samsung ecosystem now (even if I return from time to time to Apple's) and it works very nicely.
Step by step Apple declared our Macs not upgradeable. Sure they started to get older but still snappy with RAM upgrades and SSD's. When my 27" iMac 2011 was left behind, the sweet ecosystem started to look not so sweet. I installed Windows 10 on SSD. Tweaked a bit with drivers but I ended up with a supported modern system by Microsoft. I got a great deal on Galaxy S10+ and later S20 for me and two other family members. The specs outperformed Apple's. We got Galaxy Watches and buds. Connected to our Samsung TV and realized that my iMac with W10 seamlessly integrated with my Galaxy phone. I also started to appreciate Android Auto more than Apple Car Play. I still have an iPhone 8 and a MBA with Big Sur, but when Apple drop support for the MBA I will probably install W10 and stay updated on it.
I understand that Apple create obsolescence since they sell HW. In my case it opened my eyes for how alternative solutions and for good or bad I have both feet in Samsung ecosystem now (even if I return from time to time to Apple's) and it works very nicely.
Hmmmm....you seem to be missing the fact that many people pay their balance in full every month avoiding interest charges and we get cash back on top of that. We do have an advantage by using a card: We pay the same price as you but we get cash back and you do not. I pay for almost everything with cash back credit cards, pay the balances in full monthly, and get hundreds of dollars back every year which pays for Christmas. Wise use of credit is an advantage whether or not you choose to believe it.
Very true. There's a big difference between responsibly using credit and being in debt.
Some big advantages for buyer protection when using credit cards, too.
Apple does a different kind of planned obsolescence.
On mobile, Apple is still ahead from the competitions. Samsung only supports their phones up to 4 years (and the 4th year is just a bi-annual security updates on many devices, so let's just count it as 3 years). Meanwhile Apple supports theirs for at least 5 years, with devices on iOS 12 still getting security patches today.
But for computers, Windows is still king in long term support. Yes, I do feel Apple drops the ball for Mac software support. We know that even a 10 year old computer can still do daily tasks just fine. So dropping OS support arbitrarily on older Macs is what keeps me from switching to Macs. I have a 9 year old laptop, and it's still up-to-date on Windows 10. Kudos to Microsoft.
I will be very soon. I have a galaxy tab A8 that I love. I am getting a note 10 lite and tab s6 lite for work and putting my iphone on a shelf. The way samsung communicates with windows is a no brainer for me, I loathe iOS now, as it's boring and stale.
This is not even close to the same thing. With "your phone" you have complete control over your phone on your computer screen. this app just shows your phone on your computer screen. you still have to touch your phone to do anything. Apps from supported samsung phones work like native apps on Windows when connected. It's in a completely different league compared to a basic mirroring app where you can just SEE your screen on the computer.
Agreed. However, I will take one less year of full updates, and have freedom to do things you can't do on iOS. Speaking of windows support, I have 14 year old acer running windows 10 20H2. I like the fact that I decide when I want to upgrade my computer, not a company like apple deciding for me.
I suppose I am now. S21 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, Galaxy Active 2 watch, and Galaxy Buds +. Couldnt be happier.
Cant compare to the Apple ecosystem because the most I was ever in there was iPhone and iPad. But I really like what Samsung is doing. They make a similar product to Apple but have deals everywhere and I prefer their software and a lot of times their hardware.
Cant compare to the Apple ecosystem because the most I was ever in there was iPhone and iPad. But I really like what Samsung is doing. They make a similar product to Apple but have deals everywhere and I prefer their software and a lot of times their hardware.
I pay my credit card off each month and get cash back from purchases. I can see how it could be a problem for people who can’t manage their money but I manage just fine.
I know this is off topic, but you get far more protection when using a credit card. And if someone were to use my credit card fraudulently, I won't even notice it by the time it's sorted out. But if someone used my debit card, that's money missing from my account. Sensible people use credit cards.
I have an American Express Serve that's a pre-paid debit card but offers the same fraud detection as a credit-based Amex card. Even has the same app. Only issue is every time I use Samsung Pay it flags the purchase as 'fraud' and I have to spend 5 minutes going into my phone's Email app, clicking resolve, and then attempt the NFC payment again. Worse than being 'that guy' spending 2 minutes with a chip and pin card.
I've chatted numerous times with Amex to no avail, they say they support Samsung pay, it adds the card fine, but every purchase at any place flags as fraud and declines until I resolve via email. They never told me why (claiming it's a secret) but I'd rather have zero fraud detection over this false positive crap. If I swipe it old school it always works. But it's far less secure.
I've chatted numerous times with Amex to no avail, they say they support Samsung pay, it adds the card fine, but every purchase at any place flags as fraud and declines until I resolve via email. They never told me why (claiming it's a secret) but I'd rather have zero fraud detection over this false positive crap. If I swipe it old school it always works. But it's far less secure.
I'm not fully in any ecosystem but I absolutely love my Samsung Z Fold with 1st gen galaxy buds. Surprisingly works really well with my pc and my dads mac. I love the your phone feature. I can receive and send texts just like I would with messages on Mac. Also can remote into my phone screen and use DeX on both PC and Mac. Also notifications, apps, etc. I use cross platform cloud apps that are available on every platform. Example: I use Spark for email on all platforms, chrome on all, One Note, and DeX if I really need to move files. I'm shocked at how well my Samsung works with apple products provided I use independent cloud apps. I don't want to be locked in with Samsung either. I like buying what product is in my opinion the best for my needs at the time. This is coming from someone with cognitive issues and a mild intellectual disability. I don't want to be at the whim of Samsung, Apple, Sony, Microsoft, or anybody for that matter! Buy what works for you and what you like.
I’m not sure the hate for credit cards is justified. In the end, the old saying of only spend what you can afford still applies, with or without credit card. But with credit card, I can defer the full payment of whatever I’m buying until the due date. Anything where I can delay payment is good in my book, especially if it cost me nothing (ie no annual fees or admin fees).
