Brick and mortar store would not take Apple Card

Yes. Merchants are free to decline the Apple Card. Though in general, it should be possible to use it in most places, its always a good idea to carry a backup card just in case as there is no guarantee it will be accepted everywhere. It seems to be an issue with Budget and Avis from what I can find.

There is no obligation to accept the Apple Card, it's just something that should happen since its MasterCard, but Budget and Avis seem to have thing with cards that have no numbers on them.

Yes, some businesses that want to collect a deposit will not accept Apple Card MasterCard because the card numbers are not printed on the back of the card. This is true of rental car agencies and hotels.

There really isn’t anything to understand, beyond what I wrote above. I frequently rent rooms with my Apple Card and use a site other than Price Line. I also frequently rent SUV’s directly from the rental agencies and avoid the discounters. I rarely have an issue, but I always carry backup credit cards.

I also generally use a credit card that gives me additional benefits above and beyond the 2% back for using Apple Pay with Apple Card MasterCard. Why? I have credit cards from Chase and American Express that allow me to use benefits and avoid paying insurance on my auto rentals.

In my experience (I’m 65), the days of traveling with just one credit card are long gone.

I rent from Avis and Budget frequently and have no issue with Apple Card. Some locations may be are franchises, I think, and some are corporate. The franchises are more likely to be able to pick and choose the cards. I almost always rent at airports and I suspect those are all corporate locations and have no issue with Apple Card.

The thing they’ll all have to adjust to is MasterCard leading the charge with doing away with mag stripes. This is only a few years off and I’ve read Goldman Sachs is going to be one of the earliest to support the elimination of mag stripes because it will make the card more secure.

Interesting. I've had issues with Budget. And I can see many online also report Budget not accepting the Apple Card due to lack of numbers on it. Also Alamo does not accept the Apple Card for rentals.

Budget rent a car declining Apple Card - Google.com

I deal mostly with Avis and Budget, but I’m also a member of their preferred customer club. People don’t seem to value the status of joining clubs. They seems to be more lenient with policy or have less restrictive policy for their club members. just personal experiences, but if you travel, what have you to lose? Get a weekly email or two? I don’t have a big issue with spammy emails, but I also get offers of additional discounts on car rentals, hotels etc.

Maybe. Thanks.