A reader found A interesting tweet from Apple insider Mark Gurman about an upcoming sign-up bonus for the Apple Card at Apple retail stores.
- Get $249 cash back when you sign up for Apple Card and then buy AirPods Pro 3 from Apple.
The offer is scheduled to start next week (sometime between May 17 – May 23, 2026). It will reportedly become available at Apple retail stores, and thus may not be publicly available online. We will see.
Apple is planning a pretty big Apple Card sign-up incentive next week at retail stores: if you sign up for a new card, buy AirPods Pro 3, then you’ll get $249 cash back. In other words, if you get an Apple Card, you get free AirPods.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 15, 2026
Our verdict
Not the best bonus in the world, but still interesting for someone who wants Airpods. An easy registration with no spending requirement will give you Airpods Pro for free.
These sell at Apple for $249 (non-associative link) and on Amazon for $229 (affiliate link). You can enjoy it a bit by going through a shopping portal. (An Apple gift card cannot be used as payment as the purchase must be made on the card.) You can also get free name engraving from Apple.
We’ve seen targeted bonuses on the Apple Card up to $300, but this is a nice no-spend bonus for someone interested in the Airpods Pro 3. Hopefully it will become available online as well – for now, they’re only saying in Apple stores which is a bit of a pain.
