Tag Archives: Credit card

Samsung Drops Apple Card Rival with 5% Cashback Ahead of Unpacked

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Samsung and Apple have been known to take a leaf out of each other’s book when it comes to features and product design. Now the South Korean giant has done something that Apple has already been offering its users. After much speculation and rumors, the Samsung Galaxy Card is finally revealed for U.S. users.

Samsung already offers the Samsung Card in its native region, but this is the first time they’ve come up with a credit card in the West. Offered via Barclays on the Visa network, the branded credit card is more or less the same as the Apple Card in terms of the perks and financing options being offered. For early adopters, the card will be offered free of cost with no hidden annual charges.

Designer: Samsung

Samsung wants to take the fight to Apple; therefore, they’re offering more cashback discounts, which should lure in users who are stuck between deciding to go for the Apple or Samsung ecosystem. The card is integrated into the Samsung Wallet, as it prompts users to tie in more deeply into the ecosystem. You can manage payments, IDs, digital keys, or passes. Surprisingly, this comes ahead of the Galaxy Unpacked event slated for the Z Fold 8’s release, signaling the consumer electronics company’s affinity for going far beyond just hardware innovations. This move at this time of the year also signals a stronger push by Samsung to engage users before major events. Let’s be honest, people are upgrading their devices and gadgets less frequently, as hardware has become difficult to differentiate from the competition.

Coming back to the Galaxy Card, any purchases made on Samsung products directly will earn a cashback of 5 percent. Any spending done using the Samsung Wallet gets users a 3 percent cashback. The cardholders are also eligible for a 20 percent discount on the VIP Advantage, as well as the Samsung membership and extended warranty program. If any eligible OTT subscriptions, including Netflix, Disney+, or Spotify, are made, the cashback earned is 2 percent. For any other purchases, the cashback is 1 percent.

Knox security layer is embedded into the card’s ecosystem to ensure all the financial information remains securely on the Galaxy devices. The credit card can be acquired starting July 22, and Samsung will offer a $200 bonus cashback reward on purchases of $2,000 or more made in the first 90 days. The card is offered in virtual and premium metal physical versions. Existing Samsung users will like the prospect of it, as more cashbacks mean more savings. Anyone switching their ecosystem from Apple to Samsung for the higher cashbacks is less likely, though.

The post Samsung Drops Apple Card Rival with 5% Cashback Ahead of Unpacked first appeared on Yanko Design.

SHARPAL’s Credit Card Knife Sharpener Is the EDC Accessory You Didn’t Know You Were Missing

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The most carried EDC is also, statistically, the most neglected one. Pocket knives get used daily and sharpened almost never, because the sharpening step requires a separate tool that most people don’t carry. Bench stones are too large. Pocket rods are awkward. Folding sharpeners add bulk and usually deliver mediocre results on any blade worth maintaining. The gap between “I should sharpen this” and “I have what I need to sharpen this, right now” stays wide for most knife carriers, and a dull edge is the tax they pay for it.

SHARPAL’s answer to that gap is the 113N, a sharpening stone built to credit-card dimensions so it lives wherever your cards live. The stainless steel base measures 3.5 by 2.12 inches and runs just 0.13 inches thick, making it genuinely wallet-compatible rather than merely wallet-adjacent. Industrial monocrystalline diamond abrasive is electroplated across the working face at 325 grit, a coarse cut that restores real edges rather than just polishing ones that don’t need it. A folding ring grip on the back keeps your fingers clear, and a mirror-polished reverse doubles as a signal reflector when the situation calls for it.

Designer: Sharpal Inc.

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Using the 113N in the field is a straightforwardly satisfying experience. The ring grip deploys with a simple fold, slipping over your middle finger and holding the card firmly against your palm while you work the blade across the surface. The contact feels authoritative in a way that smaller pocket sharpeners simply cannot replicate, because the working surface is large enough to take full strokes on a 3 or 4 inch blade without having to reposition mid-pass. The dry sharpening design means no oil, no mess, no preparation ritual, which matters enormously when you’re using it at a campsite, on a trail, or standing over a cutting board somewhere inconvenient. Steel swarf wipes off with a cloth, and the surface stays flat because there’s no hollow ceramic or soft bonded matrix to wear unevenly.

The abrasive choice separates the 113N from the pile of cheap credit-card sharpeners that populate the lower end of this category. Monocrystalline diamond means each abrasive particle is a single uninterrupted crystal structure, harder and more consistent than the polycrystalline alternatives found in bargain products. SHARPAL electroplates those crystals in nickel directly onto the stainless steel substrate, which keeps the surface flat and bonded over repeated use. The 325 grit rating places this firmly in coarse territory, 45 microns per particle, suited to reestablishing a proper edge bevel on a blade that’s gone genuinely dull. For finishing work or touch-ups on a maintained edge, SHARPAL also offers the same card format in 600 grit (114N) and 1200 grit (115N), and the three-pack of all three grits is one of the better value propositions in the entire sharpening category.

That’s just one side of the 113N, on the flip side of the abrasive knife-sharpener is a mirror-finish that has a unique feature. Any polished metal surface can redirect sunlight for emergency signaling, making it incredibly useful in a pinch. Sure, it’s not the primary reason to buy the 113N, but it’s a well-considered detail that fits the ethos of a tool designed to be carried rather than stored. The tan leather pouch included with the card completes the package in a way that feels considered rather than obligatory, protecting the abrasive face and giving the card a home inside a jacket or bag pocket.

The 113N lists for around $10 on Amazon for a single card, or $27 for a 3-pack that includes all three grits. Carrying the 113N alongside a decent folder like the Civivi Elementum or the Vosteed Vombat turns a passive carry into an active one, meaning the blade you grab in a pinch is actually sharp enough to matter. The one thing I’d love to see in a future revision is a dual-grit version with 325 on one face and 600 on the other, eliminating the need to carry two cards for a complete field sharpening session. Until then, the three-pack remains the obvious answer.

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The post SHARPAL’s Credit Card Knife Sharpener Is the EDC Accessory You Didn’t Know You Were Missing first appeared on Yanko Design.