topic Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card) in Credit Cards

Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 21:16:36 GMT

Hi,

I stumbled across this forum when reading an old thread I found through google. Maybe you can help me with some of my questions/uncertainties.

First of all, I'm international and don't have much experience with/knowledge about the whole credit history thing. I'm still learning and trying to understand, so please bear with me.

I'm considering getting a new Macbook (which I need for work and school) and actually finance it. However, I'm not sure if I will get approved. I just started building a credit history last November, when I got a secured ($500) credit card. I have a (small) car loan since Januaray (back then, my credit history came back empty). I've always paid on time and full balances (CC). According to CreditKarma, my score is 'fair' (>650). I have, however, a relatively small income (part-time graduate assistant).

What is your opinion, do I even have a chance?

Also, if I got approved, how does it actually work? I understand that I get a credit card, not an actual loan/financing, is that correct? But how does it work with monthly payments, then? I'm a little confused in this regard.

Thank you very much in advance

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Appleman — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 21:11:34 GMT

Ankaa,

Welcome to myFICO. You are describing the Apple Credit Card backed by Barclays. This works like any other credit card. You make a purchase and then if you do not pay in full they begin to charge you interest.

With this card they do have 0% financing offers where they will not charge you interest on certain Apple purchases for a set period of time say 12 or 18 months. The trouble with these offers is if you do not pay off the entire balance before the end of the promotion (12 or 18 months) they charge you interest from day 1 and the interest rate is often quite high.

The small income may make it difficult to get a large enough credit line. Each bank has their own minimum income requirements.

You may want to google:

Nerdwallet's Best College Student Credit Cards of 2016

and see if there is any worthwhile advice about student credit.

Good luck and I hope others come along to offer their suggestions.

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

RonM21 — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 22:12:11 GMT

@Appleman wrote:
Ankaa,
Welcome to myFICO. You are describing the Apple Credit Card backed by Barclays. This works like any other credit card. You make a purchase and then if you do not pay in full they begin to charge you interest.

With this card they do have 0% financing offers where they will not charge you interest on certain Apple purchases for a set period of time say 12 or 18 months. The trouble with these offers is if you do not pay off the entire balance before the end of the promotion (12 or 18 months) they charge you interest from day 1 and the interest rate is often quite high.

The small income may make it difficult to get a large enough credit line. Each bank has their own minimum income requirements.

You may want to google:
Nerdwallet's Best College Student Credit Cards of 2016
and see if there is any worthwhile advice about student credit.

Good luck and I hope others come along to offer their suggestions.

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 22:24:00 GMT

Thank you for your replies

Do you happen to know the minimum income for Barcley?

Also (since credit cards in the US work differently from the ones in my home country - we HAVE to pay the full balance each month), so I could make the purchase of say $1000 and because it's interest free stretch the complete payment over the 0% period. Would I still have minimum payments as I have with my 'normal' CC or could I pay however much whenever I want within those 12 or 18 months?

How will this influence my score, if I was approved? Also, should I even try to apply online (and possibly get denied) or should I try that backdoor number from the beginning? I assume getting denied will lower my score?

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Appleman — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 01:11:49 GMT

I do not know the minimum income required for Barclays. Sorry.

So your countries credit system sounds like the American Express Charge card. You charge things and pay in full (PIF) each month.

There are also revolving cards (most US cards) where you can carry a balance and if you do there is usually an interest charge.

With the 0% promotions you will have a minimum payment of say $35 for a $1000 balance. However, you can pay more and as much as you like. The important thing is to pay off the entire balance prior to the expiration of the promotional balance or you have to pay all the interest accrued from day 1.

Let's say you have 0% for a year provided you have the balance paid off in 12 months with a standard APR of 23%. Even if you have paid $999 over the 12 months and still owe $1 at a year + 1 day you will now also owe over an additional $230 in interest.

When you apply for credit the bank does a Hard Pull (HP). This is noted on your credit report and indicates you have applied for a credit product. One HP by itself is not a problem. However, up to a certain point every time you get a HP your credit score will decrease (not 100% true but pretty close)

To answer your question, applying and being denied will have only a small effect on your credit. Applying 20X and being denied will be very negative.

You could call the toll free number and see what the minimum requirements are for income to qualify for the card.

Good luck!

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 19:59:12 GMT

Thank you very much for the explanations, that helped a lot.

Concerning the whole hard pull and possible impact on my score thing, one more thing. I'm considering to apply for refinancing of my car loan in the next couple or few months, as I have an awful APR of 24%. It's not a HUGE amount (~ $3k before interest), but it still is a money I owe...

Considering this (i.e. getting a new loan) as well as possibly applying for that Barcley deal and my relativly short credit history, I was wondering if one of the two might influence the other and possibly lead to a denial? Would it be too many loans/CCs in a too short time period? How long should I wait? My income won't change anytime soon.

Also, as of now my husband doesn't have a SSN, but plans on getting one within the next couple months. Naturally, he has zero credit history. Will this have any impact on my aforementioned credit plans? I'm not sure how us being married will play into any of this. Will anybody care?

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

python0704 — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 20:10:40 GMT

You can also check out Macmall and they may have a nice discount for the macbook pro you want and they also have a no interest finance option which is 6 months. Keep in mind that they don't accept returns on Apple products if you just wanna try and return.

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 20:12:07 GMT

Macmall is more expensive than Apple with edu discount Plus: free headphones

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

python0704 — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 14:49:38 GMT

It was cheaper when they don't charge tax. (NJ) Another no tax store is small dogs. Headphone may not suit everyone, though.

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 17:38:29 GMT

Well, when I checked it was still cheaper to go through Apple with edu-pricing even after tax than Macmall Also, I do prefer do buy from Apple directly over some small online computer I've never heard of. Support, warranty and such

Anyways, that wasn't really my question. I do appreciate your input and suggestions. But I would appreciate any thoughts regarding my concerns of applying for the Barcley Card while planning on refinance my car...

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 21:05:26 GMT

Anyone?

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

gdale6 — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 15:04:21 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Well, when I checked it was still cheaper to go through Apple with edu-pricing even after tax than Macmall Also, I do prefer do buy from Apple directly over some small online computer I've never heard of. Support, warranty and such

Anyways, that wasn't really my question. I do appreciate your input and suggestions. But I would appreciate any thoughts regarding my concerns of applying for the Barcley Card while planning on refinance my car...

Personally I would take care of the car financing first, inquries and new accounts cause a Fico score ding and it could put you into a different bracket and cost you more in interest to buy the car.

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 21:36:22 GMT

Thank you! How long should I wait until refinancing the car to apply for the Barcley Card? Or vice versa, how long after applying for the CC to apply for refinancing the car?

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

thummel — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 01:59:23 GMT

The first thing that would help would be your actual fico scores. Credit karmas scores really don't mean anything. They can be only a few points off, or be like mine there there about 60 points off. If i was in your shoes the first thing would be decide what's more important. The car or the new MacBook? I would myself check my actual scores first and if they are good enough go get my new car loan then right after apply for the Barclay card. If you indeed have a very low income it might be difficult to get a higher starting limit. Income plays a decent role in determining what kind of limit you can initially get. Best of luck to you.

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 20:19:28 GMT

Thank you! How do I get my actual Fico scores?

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

gdale6 — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 23:55:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you! How do I get my actual Fico scores?

You can purchase them here you can check out whats offered http://www.myfico.com/Products/Productsa.aspx

There are also some other places you can obtain them you can go checkout the General Credit Forum to see whats available, there are also some cards that will give you a Fico score for free each month.

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 21:37:20 GMT

Ok, I still haven't come any further, yet. At the moment, I'm concerned about the influence on my credit score IF I get the Barcley Card. As far as I understand, if I use the full limit (and that would be the case for the Barcley Card if I use it to purchase a macbook), I will get a 'poor' rating on my credit reports because I use more than 50%. And I will continue using it for quite a while unless I pay back everything as soon as possible (which kind of defies the whole purpose of getting the 'Apple financing' in the first place. Also, since I would pay just the minimum or slightly more each month (of course making sure that everything is paid by the end of the 0% period), that would further negativly impact my scores, wouldn't it?

Do I have an error or reasoning, here?

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Appleman — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 21:46:48 GMT

In an ideal world they would give you a $30,000 credit limit and you would buy a $2,000 computer. This would keep the utilization very low and have only a minimla effect your score.

If you get approved for say $2,000 and us $1999 to buy a computer, the acount will appear maxxed out. Being below 50% would be better mean $4,000 credit line and $2,000 computer.

The whole process is a numbers game. You may want to consider getting the car loan followed by the Apple financing loan. You will take the decrease in the credit score but hopefully have nothing else to get for awhile. As you pay on-time your scores will improve and likely be better than they are today (eventually).

Also remember, the inquiries will be on there for some time before there is an account associated with them. (Some do report fast but that is not usual IMO)

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 21:53:29 GMT

Well, given my situation, I doubt I would get anything higher than $1000 for a limit ...which is what you'll basically want (need) for a laptop. That's also what you read when doing some googleing about students in a similar situation with low CS/short CH and trying to get a barcley credit. They usually get around $1000.

Hence, the limit would be maxed out ...

As of now, I feel like I shouldn't do it, at all. Do the car loan at some point and then wait, until I either have more cash so I wouldn't need to take too much out of the CC, or get a higher limiti...which probably won't happen anytime soon, as my history is short and only slowly building...

Re: Apple financing (Barcley Card)

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 00:43:35 GMT

Just a side note. What year is your vehicle, and mileage and how much balance is left on it? I was wodnering because from your loan amount it might be aomehow difficult to find a bank to do refinance on that type of loan.