Apple Card Pros and Cons?

[AfroPope]

I think they have discretion. It's been a few years since I worked in that department (used to do HELOC origination at a large bank and brushed up against the mortgage folks) but I also know the standards have changed very rapidly over the past few years. I've heard 6-12 months, I'm probably 15-16 months out at a minimum. Just wasn't sure where we were at on that these days.

Candidly, at the risk of starting a larger macroeconomic discussion that's well outside the purview of this thread, I don't see it as particularly likely that homes in my area will be affordable to me in the next fifteen to sixteen months, but I don't want to touch my savings or too badly impact my credit just in case.

Cheers!

[TheRedHat]

While there are the obvious things like unlimited 2 percent cashback with 3 percent cashback at certain merchants if using Apple Pay, no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, there are other reasons why I personally like this card that I haven't seen others mention here.

There is no minimum to redeem cashback. The cashback is available right after your charge is no longer pending, and cashback can be redeemed directly to your bank account within a few days at no additional cost. You do it right from the Apple Wallet itself. The Apple UI actually shows you exactly how much to pay to avoid interest with a simple circle graphic. It is the easiest to use and redeem card that I have ever owned.

The card also doesn't have a physical number and you can set it to periodically change its 3-digit security code (although you'll only get 1 percent cashback if you use the virtual number outside of Apple Pay).

It is my backup card (until I get a travel Visa or Mastercard) if a merchant doesn't accept American Express.

[Anonymous]

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@GZG wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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It's best to have no credit applications for at least 12 months prior to a mortgage application.

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Is it purely a score thing or do home loan underwriters have discretion to just say no regardless of how good the credit is despite the new accounts?

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It's certainly partly a score thing, and of course in the context of a mortgage that can be huge, with a score drop moving you to a higher rate (or worse case not getting approved).   The one time I did it, I had to provide some (trivial) extra documentation, stating the nature of the new line of credit that had appeared.   Presumably I could have been asked many more details at that point, delaying closing, so obviously worth avoiding unless the card offer is a) really exceptional and b) time limited

[firefox100]

I would hold off in getting the apple card at this time with all the news about what GS is wants to do with ther creditcard  portfolio. I don't understand how GS can lose money on creditcards thay should have never got into creditcard business. If Amex's takes over Apple card will they close any accounts who card holders are on Amex black list?

[AfroPope]

I've had my Amex for fifteen years so I am not particularly worried about that, if it matters.

Minus the GS/AmEx uncertainty, it sounds like there is minimal, if any, downside to me applying for this card for my specific use case and situation, am I reading this correctly?

[firefox100]

IN your case going over to Amex does not matter, it may matter to others who have problems with Amex or have charge off , or Bk on file. Only thing I would in your case if you plan to get mortgage in the next year or to. Good luck any way.

[SouthJamaica]

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@GZG wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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It's best to have no credit applications for at least 12 months prior to a mortgage application.

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Is it purely a score thing or do home loan underwriters have discretion to just say no regardless of how good the credit is despite the new accounts?

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I'm talking about it from the perspective of the FICO scores. The mortgage scores are the most sensitive to new inquiries and new accounts.

I have no real experience with mortgage loan officers, but I get the impression that some of them have a thing about it.

[ptatohed]

To me a huge con is not being guaranteed at least 2% all the time.  The requirement to pay with Apply Pay, otherwise 1%, is a deal breaker for me.  

I'd rather get the PayPal card, guaranteed 2% minimum on everything (physical card or digi wallet), and 3% when you use PayPal which includes Apple.com and much more.  Unless you need the Apple financing, I can't see how the Apple card comes out ahead.  

[LADave]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@GZG wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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It's best to have no credit applications for at least 12 months prior to a mortgage application.

---

Is it purely a score thing or do home loan underwriters have discretion to just say no regardless of how good the credit is despite the new accounts?

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I'm talking about it from the perspective of the FICO scores. The mortgage scores are the most sensitive to new inquiries and new accounts.

I have no real experience with mortgage loan officers, but I get the impression that some of them have a thing about it.

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Interesting - Freddie and Fannie are reportedly moving away from older FICO mortgage score models, and are moving towards FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0. If I understand correctly, both are initially less sensitive to new accounts, but both also factor in profile trends - so new accounts (and other factors like utilization) will probably still leave a trail.

 I'm very curious how much recent accounts will factor into mortgage applications using those scoring models. (Non-Freddie and Fannie mortgages will probably continue to be done with older FICO scoring models for the time being.)

[LADave]

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@firefox100 wrote:

I would hold off in getting the apple card at this time with all the news about what GS is wants to do with ther creditcard  portfolio. I don't understand how GS can lose money on creditcards thay should have never got into creditcard business. If Amex's takes over Apple card will they close any accounts who card holders are on Amex black list?

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I understand there are data points of AMEX closing cards when they take over portfolios that include blacklisted customers.

I have an Apple Card, and I'm also on the  AMEX blacklist. (I burned them about 13 years ago and they won't give me a card today because of the previously closed account.)

The odds that AMEX will take over Apple Card looks pretty good, and if AMEX takes over the Apple Card profile, there's a good chance I wouldn't be able to close the account betweenn the time they announce it and the time when AMEX takes it over.

Any thoughts about how it would look on my reports if Amex closes my Apple Card in the future vs if I close the account now?