Comparison

Amex vs Apple Wallet

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Amex

Manage your American Express account securely from anywhere. Track spending, view rewards, pay your bill, and discover personalized offers. Enjoy quick, safe access with biometric login and instant alerts for added peace of mind.

Highlights
  • Secure account management
  • Track spending and rewards
  • Pay bills and manage balance
  • Card activation and Apple Pay setup
  • Freeze/unfreeze credit card
  • Real-time alerts and notifications
  • Discover personalized offers
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The official American Express App for iPhone allows you to access your Account from anywhere. Track spending & rewards, find offers, review your balance, pay your bill and enjoy features only available in the Amex App. Touch ID and Face ID login (on supported devices), gives you quick, safe and secure access. Make the most of your Membership with the speed, security and convenience of the mobile Amex® App. SECURE ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT • Enhanced activation experience for you to confirm new Cards and setup your Account. • Activate your Credit Card for Apple Pay in the Amex App, then simply unlock, tap and pay. • Freeze and unfreeze your Credit Card instantly at any time. STAY ON TOP OF YOUR SPENDING • Check your American Express Account balance, pending transactions and sort charges by amount and date. • Go paperless with access to past PDF statements. • Turn on AutoPay to pay your Amex bill automatically from your bank account each month. • Check your spending power. Enter an amount for an expected purchase and you’ll see if it’ll be approved. Approval based on account status at the time of request • Filter transactions to see spending and subtotals for each card on your account. For Basic Card Members Only. PROTECTION WITH REAL-TIME ALERTS • Turn on purchase alerts to be notified when your Credit Card is charged. • Receive instant fraud alerts if suspicious activity is detected. • Never miss a payment with payment due reminders. • Manage all your notifications in the Amex Account tab. EXPLORE REWARDS AND BENEFITS • View your Rewards balance and find ways to use Membership Rewards® points* - from gift cards to credits on your statement. • Use points to cover your eligible charges via a credit on your Account. * • See personalized recommendations for other ways to use points. • Refer a friend and earn rewards when friends and family get an American Express Card through your referral. For eligible Card Members only. AMEX OFFERS * • Discover offers from places you shop, dine, travel and more. • Explore a map of nearby offers. • Get Amex Offers notifications direct to your device. MEMBERSHIP SCREEN* •Benefits apply only to applicable products. AWARD-WINNING SERVICE • We’re here to chat 24/7. Start a chat with us in seconds and revisit conversations any time in the app. We’d love to hear from you! Stay in touch with us using our social media pages: Twitter: @AmericanExpress Facebook: facebook.com/AmericanExpressUS/ Instagram: @americanexpress Send & Split® enhances the way you send money and split purchases with other Venmo and PayPal users, all in the American Express app.* Now you can pay friends with more flexibility and without the standard Venmo or PayPal credit card fee§. You can also seamlessly split your Amex purchases with others and get paid back directly to your Card as a statement credit. Best Part? You’ll be the one to earn the rewards for the purchase you split. Enrollment Requirement. Terms Apply. § PayPal may charge a fee when sending to non-US recipients. The American Express® App and app features are available only for eligible Card accounts in the United States. American Express® prepaid Cards and Cards issued by non-America Express issuers are not eligible. To log in, Card Members must have an American Express user ID and password or create one in the app. Apple, the Apple logo, iPad, and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries and is used under license. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. *To see the full Terms and Conditions, copy and paste the following link into your browser and scroll to the bottom of the page: https://amex.co/AmexApp-Terms For J.D. Power 2024 & 2025 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards.

About

Apple Wallet

Securely store and manage digital versions of your credit/debit cards, IDs, transit passes, tickets, and keys. Use it to make payments, send money, and access venues and transportation with your iPhone or Apple Watch.

Highlights
  • Store credit/debit cards
  • Digital driver's license/state ID
  • Transit and event tickets
  • Digital keys for car, home, hotel
  • Secure contactless payments
  • Send and receive money
Features
Read full description

The Wallet app lives right on your iPhone. It’s where you securely keep your credit and debit cards, eligible driver’s license or state ID, transit cards, keys, event tickets, and more — all in one place. And it all works with iPhone or Apple Watch, so you can take less with you but always bring more. Apple Pay Apple Pay is an easy, secure way to pay in stores or online.1 Pay for a ride, a pizza, or even a new sofa — with Touch ID or Face ID. Apple Card Apple Card is the credit card created by Apple. You earn up to 3% unlimited Daily Cash back on every purchase every day, and it’s designed with all the privacy and security you’d expect from Apple. You can apply in as little as minute with no impact to your credit score.2 Apple Cash Apple Cash is an easy and secure way to send and receive money in Messages or Wallet.3 And because it’s a digital card that lives in Wallet, you can use it to make purchases in stores, online, or in apps with Apple Pay. With Tap to Cash, you can send and receive Apple Cash simply by holding your iPhone near someone else’s iPhone — without having to share phone numbers. Driver’s License and State ID Add your eligible driver’s license or state ID to Wallet, and with just a tap of your iPhone or Apple Watch you can present your ID without handing over your device.4 The security of Face ID and Touch ID means only you can present your ID. Boarding Passes After you add your airline passes to Wallet, just show up at your gate and easily present your pass directly from your lock screen. And receive timely flight information and notifications along the way.5 Transit Set your card to Express Mode, then just tap and hop on to ride the next train or bus.5 Breeze through the turnstiles by holding your iPhone or Apple Watch to the reader. Sports & Live Events With Wallet, your tickets are always at the ready. Enter a concert venue, sports stadium or festival with just your iPhone or Apple Watch.5 Tickets in Apple Wallet now bring fans a richer experience including venue maps, recommended Apple Music playlists, and more. Keys Store keys to your car, home, workplace, and hotel room in Wallet.5 Unlock doors with just a tap of your iPhone or Apple Watch, and securely share keys in Wallet through messaging apps, including Messages, Mail, and more. Loyalty and Rewards Add your favorite coffee shop, drugstore, or retail rewards cards to Wallet, and next time you’re at checkout, just tap and pay to receive and redeem rewards.5 1 Apple Pay is a service provided by Apple Payments Services LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc. Neither Apple Inc. nor Apple Payments Services LLC is a bank. Any card used in Apple Pay is offered by the card issuer. 2 Accepting an Apple Card after your application is approved will result in a hard inquiry, which may impact your credit score. To access and use all Apple Card features and products available only to Apple Card users, you must add Apple Card to Wallet on an iPhone or iPad that supports and has the latest version of iOS or iPadOS. Apple Card is subject to credit approval, available only for qualifying applicants in the United States, and issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch. 3 Apple Cash services are provided by Green Dot Bank. Member FDIC. Apple Payments Services LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., is a service provider of Green Dot Bank for Apple Cash accounts. Neither Apple Inc. nor Apple Payments Services LLC is a bank. To learn more about the  Terms and Conditions visit https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions. Only available in the U.S. on eligible devices. 4 ID cards in Wallet are currently available for use in select states at select TSA checkpoints. ID verifier is available at select merchants. Requires eligible device and OS version. See apple.com/wallet for details. 5 Only available with select partners and locations, and requires eligible device and OS version. See apple.com/wallet for details.

Screenshots

Amex4 screens
Apple Wallet4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Apple Wallet at none against Amex's shown. Apple Wallet also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 18.2). Amex's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and chart position (#33 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Amex against 4.8 for Apple Wallet. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.4M and 7.5M respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of Amex's written reviews are positive against 54% of Apple Wallet's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Amex ships an update every 2 weeks, Apple Wallet every 3 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Amex versus Apple Wallet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAmexApple Wallet
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (4.4M ratings) — better4.8 (7.5M ratings)
Positive reviews63.0% of reviews — better53.9% of reviews
Number of ratings4.4M7.5M — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#33 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.210.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size533 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAmerican ExpressApple

Customer experience

Amex

All ratings4,442,344 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews3,516 reviews
Positive63.0%
Neutral4.2%
Negative32.8%

Apple Wallet

All ratings7,410,534 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral1.5%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews9,609 reviews
Positive53.9%
Neutral5.5%
Negative40.6%

User reviews

Amex

From 4.4M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💳 Reliable credit card with good benefits
  • 🤝 Excellent customer service and support
  • 🚀 Seamless app experience
  • 📱 Convenient mobile app features
  • 💳 Prestigious card status and recognition

Room to improve

  • 🤖 Inconsistent or unhelpful customer service
  • 💳 Unexpected account changes or credit limit reductions
  • 🤔 Confusing or misleading policies/offers
  • 🕰️ Slow or delayed payment processing
  • 🔒 Security issues with closed accounts

Apple Wallet

From 7.5M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient and easy to use
  • 🔒 Secure with Face ID/Touch ID
  • 💳 Integrates credit/debit cards well
  • 🎟️ Stores tickets and passes
  • 🏠 Stores digital keys and IDs

Room to improve

  • 🚫 Limited ability to add loyalty/membership cards
  • 🤔 Inconsistent card detection and adding
  • 💰 Unauthorized charges and payment issues
  • 🔍 Lack of customization options (nicknames, images)
  • 🇨🇦 Limited support for Canadian features

Bugs and requests

Amex

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Scrolling glitches in the mobile app
  • Inconsistent display of account balances
  • Inability to view high-yield savings accounts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved rewards tracking and redemption
  • Integrated dispute submission and status tracking
  • Automatic offer activation based on transactions
  • Better account balance and payment information
  • Seamless integration between mobile app and website

Apple Wallet

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Card adding/removal issues
  • Transactions not properly recorded
  • Face ID/Touch ID failures
  • Wallet app freezing or not responding

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to add loyalty/membership cards
  • Improve card detection and adding process
  • Provide better transaction history and categorization
  • Allow customization of card names and images
  • Expand support for international features (e.g. Presto card)

In-app purchases

None

Amex

No in-app purchases

None

Apple Wallet

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Amex free?
Amex is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Apple Wallet free?
Apple Wallet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Amex or Apple Wallet?
Amex is rated higher. Amex averages 4.9 out of 5 from 4.4M ratings, while Apple Wallet averages 4.8 from 7.5M ratings.
Do Amex or Apple Wallet have ads?
Amex shows ads; Apple Wallet does not.
Which is updated more often, Amex or Apple Wallet?
Amex ships an update every 2 weeks, and Apple Wallet every 3 months. Most recently, Amex was updated on November 1, 2026 and Apple Wallet on November 1, 2026.

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