No, the Paypal Mastercard doesn't have foreign transaction fees and earns 2% everywhere with no earning cap. (I just looked up if there is an earning cap)
You have to consider, for Fidelity Visa the foreign transaction fee is 1% and the cashback is 2%. So you can say it has cash back of 1% overseas and 2% domestically; which is a better deal for the vast majority of people than 2% on ApplePay and 1% on non-ApplePay. The only person who comes out ahead with the Apple card is someone whose parents pay all their bills and they spend most of their time on overseas vacations in a country where ApplePay is widely accepted.
But even for that person, PayPal Mastercard is objectively better. USAA Limitless also doesn't charge foreign transaction fees so it is also objectively better. (assuming you already have it - its military only and closed to new signups)
Not only that but the Uber card is pretty much objectively better as well; it earns 2% on ApplePay with no foreign transaction fees or annual fees and earns more than 2% on much more than just Apple (4% at restaurants, 3% on hotels and airfare, 2% on other "online purchases", $50 statement credit on streaming services if you spend more than $5,000/year).
Fidelity also has a sign up bonus sometimes and very frequent targeted spend bonuses (it remains to be seen if Apple can compete in those areas, but they probably will just rely on their branding and loyal fanbase). I've gotten hundreds of dollars in extra cashback from Fidelity's targeted spend bonuses.
There's also no foreign transaction fee on the Bank of America Travel Rewards, though, like I said, it requires a Merrill Lynch account (including Merrill Edge) with $100,000 invested in it to earn the highest rate of 2.625% cash back.
Still no card beats it in Apple spending category, which might be larger than gas /travel or dinning out for many Americans. So it will perfectly work for them. I probably will get it too - buying a new macbook for my daughter, upgrading my spouse's iphone and my apple watch this fall.
You have to consider, for Fidelity Visa the foreign transaction fee is 1% and the cashback is 2%. So you can say it has cash back of 1% overseas and 2% domestically; which is a better deal for the vast majority of people than 2% on ApplePay and 1% on non-ApplePay. The only person who comes out ahead with the Apple card is someone whose parents pay all their bills and they spend most of their time on overseas vacations in a country where ApplePay is widely accepted.
But even for that person, PayPal Mastercard is objectively better. USAA Limitless also doesn't charge foreign transaction fees so it is also objectively better. (assuming you already have it - its military only and closed to new signups)
Not only that but the Uber card is pretty much objectively better as well; it earns 2% on ApplePay with no foreign transaction fees or annual fees and earns more than 2% on much more than just Apple (4% at restaurants, 3% on hotels and airfare, 2% on other "online purchases", $50 statement credit on streaming services if you spend more than $5,000/year).
Fidelity also has a sign up bonus sometimes and very frequent targeted spend bonuses (it remains to be seen if Apple can compete in those areas, but they probably will just rely on their branding and loyal fanbase). I've gotten hundreds of dollars in extra cashback from Fidelity's targeted spend bonuses.
There's also no foreign transaction fee on the Bank of America Travel Rewards, though, like I said, it requires a Merrill Lynch account (including Merrill Edge) with $100,000 invested in it to earn the highest rate of 2.625% cash back.