A reader found an interesting tweet from Apple insider Mark Gurman about an upcoming signup bonus for the Apple card in Apple retail stores.
- Get $249 cash back when you sign up for the Apple card and then buy the AirPods Pro 3 from Apple.
The offer is slated to begin next week (sometime May 17th – May23rd, 2026). It’s said to become available in Apple retail stores, and so it might not be publicly available online. We’ll see.
Apple is planing a pretty big Apple Card sign-up incentive for as early as next week in 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 wants Airpods. An easy signup with no spend requirement will get you the Airpods Pro for free.
These sell on Apple for $249 (non-affiliate link) and on Amazon for $229 (affiliate link). You can juice it a bit by going through a shopping portal. (Can’t use an Apple gift card as payment since the purchase needs to go on the card.) Can get free name engraving from Apple as well.
We have seen targeted bonuses on the Apple card for as much as $300, but this is a good no-spend bonus for someone who is interested in Airpods Pro 3. Hopefully it becomes available online as well – for now, they’re saying in Apple stores only which is a bit of a pain.
