I looked on the Apple Card website and it only states that Joint Owners can make payment and that Participants aren't financially responsible for any charges. Nowhere does it say definitively that they can or cannot make payments for the charges they've made. To be 100% sure, if no one else chimes in, I think you should contact Apple Card Support. They would definitely know the answer.
@Namaste7 wrote:
@Jordan23ww wrote:I looked on the Apple Card website and it only states that Joint Owners can make payment and that Participants aren't financially responsible for any charges. Nowhere does it say definitively that they can or cannot make payments for the charges they've made. To be 100% sure, if no one else chimes in, I think you should contact Apple Card Support. They would definitely know the answer.
@Jordan23ww - Apple Card Support confirmed that the participants cannot make payments at this time.
It would be great if anyone can share a personal data point to support (or discredit) whether participants can make payments on the AppleCard.
@Namaste7 thank you for updating us with this information!
Just to add a personal datapoint as an AU of an Apple Card (even though you got info from Apple Support), I can confirm that I am not able to make any payments on the account. I always have to send money to the primary for them to make the payment.
@Namaste7 wrote:I am pretty well versed with AMEX Gold and how it functions for an AU, but I am less familiar with Apple Card. Ultimately, the goal is to give someone AU access so that they can use the card for emergency spend, make their own payments, and get the benefit of the card reporting on the credit reports to build a credit profile.
Does Apple Card allow for the AU/Participant to make their own payments? Is there anything else I should consider that would make one card more beneficial than the other?
Just to further confirm, this time from a primary card user's point of view, the AU does not make monthly payments.
My daughter is an AU on both the Apple Card and the Amex Gold. She is in Notre Dame and uses both cards interchangeably for school stuff. After every purchase she sends me the money religiously, unless I tell her not to worry about it.
Apple Card. If an Apple user, the integration with the phone cannot be beat. Also the AU would get all the cashbacks for their purchases without the responsibility of making any monthly payments. They see the cashback applied daily and can use them right away. It is very motivating. But they can see a lot of what you see. They won't see your purchases but would see your balance and available credit. So, be aware of that. When I bought my M1 Pro Max laptop, my daughter called me out on the large drop in available credit. I don't know if that can be controlled. I have not bothered to check.
Amex Card. She loves it because of the flex value (she is a college student). It is NPSL so there is no limit for her to see. This can be a negative when it comes to reporting to CRAs since it does not negatively or positively affect her utilization. It does nothing.
If I had to pick one for my daughter to keep, I would pick the Apple Card. But, that is solely because she is in the middle of the midwest with a few mom'n'pop shops that may not accept Amex.
