Does The Apple Credit Card Help Build Credit

What Is The Apple Card

The Apple Card is best understood as an Apple-issued credit card meant exclusively for use with the Apple Pay iPhone app. You apply for it in Apple Pay, receive your virtual card in Apple Pay , make and track purchases with Apple Pay, pay your bill in Apple pay, and message the 24/7 support line with Messages, of course. Even your rewards go to your Apple Cash account, which is essentially the Apple Pay debit card/PayPal/Venmo.

Though were used to our cards primarily living in the physical world and getting cloned into the virtual, Apple Card flips that dynamic. The classy sheet of titanium is adorned only with your name, so if you need to know the card number , youll need to check the app for a virtual card number .

Apple Credit Card Review

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The Apple Card, the much-ballyhooed new venture from technology giant Apple Inc, became available in Aug. 2019. Technically a Mastercard, with Goldman Sachs as the issuing bank, it’s not entirely a “new type of credit card,” as Apple’s site breathlessly claims, but it does offer a slightly new take on earning cash rewards, paying back a percentage of purchases in cash rewards daily a somewhat innovative user experience, operating as both a mobile payment instrument and a physical card some financial planning features and a refreshing absence of hidden charges.

You Want To Share Your Account With Family

At first, the Apple Card didn’t allow authorized users. However, Apple Card Family launched in April 2021, giving you the ability to share one card account with up to five other people. You can designate a co-owner, who is equally responsible for paying the bills, and authorized users . Account activity is reported to all three major credit bureaus for co-owners, as well as for participants who are 18 or older and opt in to credit reporting. Each member of an Apple Card Family group earns Daily Cash through their purchases and gets to keep the cash back they earn. This is unlike many other authorized user arrangements, where earned rewards go to the primary cardholder.

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Alternatives To The Barclays Visa With Apple Rewards Card

If your goal is to make Apple products more accessible by breaking a large expense into smaller monthly payments, the Barclays Visa® with Apple Rewards might well be your best option. In the larger scheme of things, however, a better goal than making Apple products more accessible is making Apple products more affordable which you can do by opting for a cashback card, the rewards from which will actually reduce the net cost of your Apple purchases. Here are three cards to consider.

Is The Apple Card Right For You

If you already use Apple Pay for the majority of your purchases, the Apple Card might be a good choice for you. If you dont use Apple Pay and dont plan on using Apple Pay in the future, the Apple Card wont be as good of a fit and you might want to consider a different cash back rewards card instead.

Ultimately, the Apple Card is best for people who are excited about using mobile wallets and who already make a lot of purchases with Apple and its selected retailers. However, since the Apple Card accepts applicants with fair credit and gives people who were initially declined the opportunity to improve their credit score and apply again, the Apple Card might also be a good option for people who want to use a credit card to help build their credit.

If you are interested in the Apple Card, apply and see what happens. If your application gets declined, you might be able to use the Path to Apple Card program to reapply successfully in the future. If your application gets accepted, remember to use Apple Pay for as many purchases as possible to maximize your Daily Cash and take advantage of everything the Apple Card has to offer.

The information about the Apple Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

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This Card Is Right For You If:

The Apple Card can be a smart choice if you’re building or rebuilding your credit, because its benefits compare favorably to other credit cards for consumers with fair credit. The fact that it explains how much interest you’ll pay based on your payment amount also makes it useful if you’re new to credit cards.

Anyone who has good or excellent credit, meaning a FICO® Score of at least 670, is better off looking elsewhere.

With a credit score in that category, you can qualify for some of the best credit cards, and the Apple Card doesn’t make that list. It’s a solid card, but if you shop around, you could find plenty of cards with higher cash back rates, sign-up bonuses, and/or more valuable 0% intro APR offers.

Applying For The Apple Card

The Apple Card is only available to qualified Apple users: You need to have an iPhone, iPod or iPad device with the passcode enabled to apply. But, great news for cardholders concerned about their credit scores and approval odds: You can send in an application and find out whether you qualify for the card with only a soft pull to your credit. Once you accept the offer and open the card, Apple will perform the official hard pull to your credit report. While its not quite a soft pull credit card, this flexibility makes applying for the card much less risky for applicants on the lower end of the credit spectrum.

See related: Why was I denied for the Apple Card?

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Setting And Adjusting Your Credit Limit

After Goldman Sachs approves your Apple Card application, they assign your initial credit limit using many of the same factors that go into the approval process, such as your credit score and existing credit. Goldman Sachs also looks at your income and the minimum payments tied to your existing debt. When you share your Apple Card with a CoOwner, our goal is for your combined credit limit to reflect what your credit limits would be individually, added together. If youre interested in increasing your credit limit, you can make a request after youve had your Apple Card for as little as four months. Simply call or text, and well connect you with an Apple Card Specialist at Goldman Sachs right away.

Your Credit Limit

Payments History

Apple Card: All The Details On Apple’s Credit Card

Apple in August 2019 released the Apple Card, a credit card that’s linked to Apple Pay and built right into the Wallet app. Apple is partnering with Goldman Sachs for the card, which is optimized for Apple Pay but will still works like a traditional credit card for all of your transactions.

There’s a lot of fine print associated with the new Apple Card, so we’ve created this guide to provide details on what you can expect when signing up for the card. Apple first made the card available to a select number of customers in early August before opening up the card to everyone later in the month.

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What’s The Difference Between An Apple Card Family Co

When you invite someone into your Apple Card Family, you’ll be asked to select whether the person will be a co-owner or participant. They’re two very different types of accounts, each with its own purpose.

Co-owner: A co-owner account has the same responsibilities and requirements as the main account holder. That means they’ll be equally accountable for paying the card balance and ensuring payments are made on time. A co-owner will build credit on their own based on the Apple Card. They will also be able to manage participants, request physical Apple Cards for participants under 18 and view all activity on the shared Apple Card account. This is the option you’ll select when combining two existing Apple Card accounts.

Participant: A participant isn’t responsible for the account balance or making any payments. This option is designed for giving someone over the age of 13 an Apple Card that you manage and pay for. They’ll only have access to their own transaction history, not the entire account’s history. The account owner can set a spending limit for each participant. Participants who are age 18 or older can order their own physical Apple Card and opt in to building credit with their account.

Both account types will get the benefit of earning Daily Apple Cash and will have immediate access to the digital Apple Card on their iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch once they’ve accepted an invite.

Understanding Your Fico Score

When you apply for a credit card, your FICO score is typically a key factor used to show lenders how reliably you manage your credit. It combines data about your payment history, current debts, the length of your credit history, any new credit accounts, and the various types of credit youve used. There are multiple FICO Score versions available for lenders to use. Apple Card uses FICO Score 9. FICO Score 9 ranges from 300 to 850, with scores above 660 considered favorable for credit approval.

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Apple Card Financing Options

To take advantage of the Apple Cards financing program, simply pick out your new device and select Apple Card Monthly Installments as your payment option in the Apple Store app or online at apple.com. If youre already an Apple cardholder, theres no additional application to fill out.

Generous Cash Back On Apple Purchases

For true Apple acolytes, Apple’s own credit card, the Apple Credit Card, is hard to beat. Designed to live primarily on your phone for making digital payments it promises “daily cash” with “no points” and “no gimmicks.” Every time you use it, you receive a cash balance on your card you get 2% Daily Cash every time you use Apple Card with Apple Pay, 3% Daily Cash on all purchases made directly with Apple, including at Apple Stores, apple.com, the App Store, the iTunes Store and for Apple services, and using Apple Pay for Uber and Uber Eats.

What makes the card such a winner for Apple fans, however, is that you get 3% cash back on all purchases from Apple, including not only Apple devices and accessories, but also apps from Apple’s app store, music from Apple’s iTunes store and services like Apple Music subscription and iCloud storage plan. If you spend $2,399 on a MacBook Pro, that means you’ll get approximately $72 cash back just for buying it, which instantaneously reduces the cost of your new computer to $2,327. If you regularly transact with Apple, the savings become even greater. If you use your card enough on gas, groceries, bills and other non-Apple purchases you could even earn enough cash back over a period of years to pay for your entire device.

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Who Is This Credit Card Best For

• Diligently searches for the best products and delights in a good bargain See more cardsDeal Seeker
• Prioritizes sticking to their budget while buying what they want and need See more cardsSavvy Saver

The minimal fees make this a good, low-cost addition to your Apple Wallet, and thats the only place you should keep it. When making purchases outside of Apple or without Apple Pay, youre better off with one of the many no-annual-fee cards that pay 1.5% or 2% cash back on all purchases and have a variety of benefits. For example, theres no promotional purchase APR, which other cash-back cards often offer.

That said, with Apple Card Monthly Installments, you will get up to 24 months to pay off Apple products purchased from Apple interest-freewhile still earning 3% cash back. If you bought a MacBook Air at $1,000, you’d earn $30 cash back for one purchase and still get two years to pay it off without paying interest.

• Exceptional rewards for Apple and partner-merchant purchases

• Interest-free payment plans on Apple products

• Great rewards rate on Apple Pay purchases

• Financial-management tools

• Low end of APR range is among the best

• Only worth it for Apple users

• Sub-par rewards rate on non-Apple and non-Apple Pay purchases

• Few benefits

• Limited integration with budgeting apps

How Do You Apply For The Apple Card

If you have an iPhone, applying for the Apple Card is easy. Simply open the Wallet app, tap the plus sign and select Apply for Apple Card. Confirm or update your personal information with Apple, then review and accept the terms and conditions.

If your application is accepted, the card is instantly added to your Apple Wallet meaning you can begin making purchases right away. You can then request a titanium Apple card that will arrive later in the mail.

If your application is denied, Apple may invite you to participate in its new Path to Apple Card program. This unique program gives denied applicants detailed information regarding the reasons their application was denied, as well as tasks they can complete to help them improve their credit. If you complete the Path to Apple Card program successfully, youll have the option to reapply for the Apple Card.

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Who Can Use Apple Card Family

You can register anyone in your Apple Family Sharing group over the age of 13 as an Apple Card Family participant. This means that theyâll have complete access to use the card, track their spending, and manage their bill, all from their iPhone â something they likely are already comfortable using.

They can spend independently, or even just have a credit card on hand in case of emergencies, but you still have full control. Parents can set transaction limits and even pause a participantâs rights to the card.

When a participant turns 18, they can choose to have their usage reported to credit bureaus to begin building credit. As adults, we know that building credit is no easy feat, so starting early with your kids can be a huge step toward financial independence.

Any eligible user over the age of 18 can be added as a co-owner of the card. If you already have an Apple Card, you can still opt-in to Apple Card Family. Two Apple Card users can merge their accounts to become card co-owners, combine their spending limit, build credit equally, and keep the lower APR of their two original cards.

Apple Card users can invite up to five people from their Apple Family Sharing group to their account by sharing it in the Wallet. Practically speaking, this means up to four participants can be added to a card with two co-owners .

Cash Back And Daily Cash Back With Some Purchases

The card gives account holders the chance to earn cash-back rewards too. And you get even more cash back rewards when you spend with Apple.

• You get 3% cash back on all purchases from Apple. That includes purchases at apple.com, Apple stores, iTunes and the Apple app store. You earn cash back on the game, app and in-app purchases, including music, storage plans and books.
• You get 2% cash back on anything else you purchase and pay with using Apple Pay.
• If you have to break out the physical Apple Card to make a payment, you still earn 1% cash back.

Cash back is always a great perk for a credit card, but its especially nice when the card doesnt have an annual fee. The Apple credit card makes cash back even more of a perk by awarding it to you the day after you spend rather than waiting for the statement cycle to close.

To make use of cash back the next day, you do have to have an Apple Cash card, which is how Apple transmits rewards to you. If you dont have an Apple Cash card, then the cash back rewards are applied as a statement credit on your Apple credit card account.

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Managing Apple Card Family

• Apple Card customers can add up to five people to their Apple Card account by sharing Apple Card with them in Wallet. All users must be part of the same Family Sharing group in order to be invited to Apple Card Family, and be 13 years of age or older.

• Apple Card can be shared with any eligible customer who is 18 years or older as a co-owner, providing the opportunity for both to build credit history together, get the flexibility of a combined limit, provide transparency into each others spending, share the responsibility of making payments, and deliver the convenience of a single monthly bill to pay.3

• Apple Card can be shared with anyone who is 13 years or older as a participant, so they can learn how to spend independently and responsibly, while giving co-owners transparency and features that provide insight into purchases and control over their purchase limit. Participants over the age of 18 can also opt in to credit reporting.

• All account activity, including positive or negative payment history, will be reported to credit bureaus for participants who opt in to credit reporting as well as all Apple Card co-owners.

• Existing Apple Card customers can also merge their Apple Card accounts, giving the flexibility of a higher shared credit limit while keeping the lower APR of the two accounts.3

• Co-owners and participants will each receive Daily Cash for their Apple Card purchases.