Apple's Juniper Visa Card should I Apply?

[NyMetsFan08]

Hey everyone I have been improving my credit score for 3 months I turned 18 in August. I got approved for a credit card in August of 2008 and I have been paying it off and on time with minimum payments etc. which is helping my credit score. They offer me a very low limit not surprise since I was just starting out. It's now almost November and I was just wondering should I apply for the Juniper Visa Card? will I most likely get denied. Do you need excellent credit? I am planning to pay it all off before 90 days and then close it. Any ideas? if I should or not. Any details please let me know before I make a move.

[tkidBOSTON]

Its a bad idea to open and close credit cards. If you can pay it off in 90 days, just pay cash. Or put part of it on your existing credit card and pay the remainder in cash and payoff the credit card once you get the bill the next month if you're looking to continue to build credit.

Further, if you search for Juniper Visa (http://forums.macrumors.com/search.php?searchid=13077484) you will find a bunch of threads about why you should NOT apply for the card.

[Chris Rogers]

I would advise against it but seeing as you're only 18, there is more than likely no other place for you to get a good deal (interest wise). So I'd say apply and pay it off before the interest kicks in. If you must pay interest think of it as "a cost of building credit" and the longer it takes for you to pay it off, the more expensive the "cost"

I'd also imagine you getting turned down since you've only had a credit card for a few months. The activity from August is more than likely not even on your credit report yet. Worst thing that can happen is they say no.

Best ways to build credit get a cell phone in your name and have your parents change a utility (like cable) to your name.

[NyMetsFan08]

I would advise against it but seeing as you're only 18, there is more than likely no other place for you to get a good deal (interest wise). So I'd say apply and pay it off before the interest kicks in. If you must pay interest think of it as "a cost of building credit" and the longer it takes for you to pay it off, the more expensive the "cost"

I'd also imagine you getting turned down since you've only had a credit card for a few months. The activity from August is more than likely not even on your credit report yet. Worst thing that can happen is they say no.

Best ways to build credit get a cell phone in your name and have your parents change a utility (like cable) to your name.
I heard it's a hard pull. The card I have says they report it to the credit agencies every month to let them know how I am doing.

[PaulinMaryland]

I opened an Apple Juniper credit account (and hence received their card) to buy my college-bound daughter her white MacBook in 2006. They have twice raised my credit limit, though I neither asked them to nor wanted it. Otherwise, no complaints.

[nsbio]

Closing an account might have a negative effect on your credit score. It is better to still carry an account, even with zero balance, than to close it down. To get more info you might want to google on what factors that people get commonly involved in change their credit score.

[NyMetsFan08]

I opened an Apple Juniper credit account (and hence received their card) to buy my college-bound daughter her white MacBook in 2006. They have twice raised my credit limit, though I neither asked them to nor wanted it. Otherwise, no complaints.
You must of have a good credit history. Like for me I just started out so who knows what might happen.

[Chris Rogers]

Closing an account might have a negative effect on your credit score. It is better to still carry an account, even with zero balance, than to close it down. To get more info you might want to google on what factors that people get commonly involved in change their credit score.

It isn't THAT bad to close a credit card, but you have to measure the liability of having the card (will it get lost/stolen? Will you be tempted to spend like crazy?) and how it will affect your overall debt/credi ratio.

[NyMetsFan08]

It isn't THAT bad to close a credit card, but you have to measure the liability of having the card (will it get lost/stolen? Will you be tempted to spend like crazy?) and how it will affect your overall debt/credi ratio.
I am only most likely only going to take $200 off the card that is all. Then pay that off within the 90 days that is all then not use it.

[nsbio]

It isn't THAT bad to close a credit card, but you have to measure the liability of having the card (will it get lost/stolen? Will you be tempted to spend like crazy?) and how it will affect your overall debt/credi ratio.

True. Except that if someone is "tempted to spend like crazy", they should see a mental health professional, most of whom, incidentally, will take the same credit card as a means of payment :D.

Plus, having an idle credit card with zero balance actually decreases (that is, improves) your debt/credit ratio.

[stainlessliquid]

I dont think theres any chance you will get the card, they seem to be pretty strict on who they accept.
Best ways to build credit get a cell phone in your name and have your parents change a utility (like cable) to your name.
Im 90% sure cell phones can only hurt your credit score. There are many things that will hurt your credit score if you miss a payment but not help your credit score at all when you make perfect payments. Cell phone companies dont report your good credit behavior, only your bad, which I think should be illegal. I know that when I had a phone for a year that it didnt do jack to help me get a credit card, I was still labeled as someone with no credit history when I got my rejection letter (maybe I should have missed some payments? bad credit is considered better than no credit for some reason).

[GGJstudios]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=Juniper%20Visa+site:forums.macrumors.com&as_qdr=y&btnG=Search

[Demosthenes X]

Im 90% sure cell phones can only hurt your credit score. There are many things that will hurt your credit score if you miss a payment but not help your credit score at all when you make perfect payments. Cell phone companies dont report your good credit behavior, only your bad, which I think should be illegal. I know that when I had a phone for a year that it didnt do jack to help me get a credit card, I was still labeled as someone with no credit history when I got my rejection letter (maybe I should have missed some payments? bad credit is considered better than no credit for some reason).

The cell phone company doesn't actually report anything... the only thing they do is if you start missing payments, they'll sell the contract to a collection agency. And that triggers your bad credit.

NyMetsFan08, are you a student? Most banks offer a student card, and they're obviously more lenient in offering them to people with no/little credit history. I got my VISA in my first year with a $500 limit (now $1000), when I applied for a student card a year later I got approved with a $2000 limit. One of my friends with zero credit history got approved with a $1500 limit.

If you're not a student, then you might have harder time, though. :/

[fuzzielitlpanda]

i applied for the juniper visa card thinking i could get the 3 month interest free promotion, but my credit limit wasn't even high enough to buy a mb, so it was pointless.

[NyMetsFan08]

i applied for the juniper visa card thinking i could get the 3 month interest free promotion, but my credit limit wasn't even high enough to buy a mb, so it was pointless.
how much did they approve you for? and did you have a credit history or some credit. I only need a few hundred thats all.

[fuzzielitlpanda]

how much did they approve you for? and did you have a credit history or some credit. I only need a few hundred thats all.

500 :confused:. my plan was to charge the whole thing on the juniper card so i could have 3 months to pay it off interest free, but jeez 500? i have several cc's already, so that is probably the reason for the low credit limit. i don't even use the juniper card now as my limits have gone up on the other cards.

[ChrisA]

Hey everyone I have been improving my credit score for 3 months I turned 18 in August. I got approved for a credit card in August of 2008 and I have been paying it off and on time with minimum payments etc. which is helping my credit score. They offer me a very low limit not surprise since I was just starting out. It's now almost November and I was just wondering should I apply for the Juniper Visa Card? will I most likely get denied. Do you need excellent credit? I am planning to pay it all off before 90 days and then close it. Any ideas? if I should or not. Any details please let me know before I make a move.

Does no harm to apply. Takes only a few minutes.
I got one once because they offered me a $20 cash back deal. I took the cash and only used the card once and paid it down to zero when the bill came. (Thanks for the $20.) I think I may still have the account but I'll never use it again. I cut up the physical plastic card.

About closing out or keeping the card. It could be good or bad to your rating. Good if it shows a history of on time payments, like you plan to do but bad if your TOTAL (of all cards and loans) line of available credit is "high" compared to your income. In other words people will not want to loan you money if they see you have six cards with a $10K limit each and you make less than $40K a year. The best thing you can do is hold a couple low limit cards, use them for ordinary stuff and pay the bill down to ZERO every month. This will cost you nothing.

[alexlovesmacs]

I recommend the Best Buy credit card.

[NyMetsFan08]

500 :confused:. my plan was to charge the whole thing on the juniper card so i could have 3 months to pay it off interest free, but jeez 500? i have several cc's already, so that is probably the reason for the low credit limit. i don't even use the juniper card now as my limits have gone up on the other cards.
that's is more than enough i need. I have a credit card already I have been using for 3 months. You think that will be enough to approve me.

[NyMetsFan08]

I always made payments on time for the past 3 months. I just need a little limit.

[stainlessliquid]

Chase has student master cards that have 12 month no interest, the minimum they give people is $300 and should approve anyone thats in school. If all you need is a few hundred then there are much better alternatives to the crappy juniper card.

Be aware that maxing out your credit hurts your score. You start receiving penalties after you reach 30% of your credit.

[NyMetsFan08]

Chase has student master cards that have 12 month no interest, the minimum they give people is $300 and should approve anyone thats in school. If all you need is a few hundred then there are much better alternatives to the crappy juniper card.

Be aware that maxing out your credit hurts your score. You start receiving penalties after you reach 30% of your credit.
how about the paypal plus credit card?

[f1]

With the credit crisis in the US right now, Banks are VERY wary of who they extend credit to. You say that you've only had a credit card for a few months; it takes at least a year to establish a credit profile where creditors feel very comfortable lending you money, so with today's economy the chances of you getting approved for the Juniper card or getting approved with a feasible limit is slim. Therefore I wouldn't bother applying for the card because it'll put a hard pull your profile, dropping your credit score, and chances are you will not be approved for the card. Time to save up for you MB purchase don't buy it now if you don't need it or can't afford it.

[NyMetsFan08]

With the credit crisis in the US right now, Banks are VERY wary of who they extend credit to. You say that you've only had a credit card for a few months; it takes at least a year to establish a credit profile where creditors feel very comfortable lending you money, so with today's economy the chances of you getting approved for the Juniper card or getting approved with a feasible limit is slim. Therefore I wouldn't bother applying for the card because it'll put a hard pull your profile, dropping your credit score, and chances are you will not be approved for the card. Time to save up for you MB purchase don't buy it now if you don't need it or can't afford it.
so I shouldn't even bother how about the Paypal plus GE Money Bank any idea or any recommendations?

[Chris Rogers]

With the credit crisis in the US right now, Banks are VERY wary of who they extend credit to. You say that you've only had a credit card for a few months; it takes at least a year to establish a credit profile where creditors feel very comfortable lending you money, so with today's economy the chances of you getting approved for the Juniper card or getting approved with a feasible limit is slim. Therefore I wouldn't bother applying for the card because it'll put a hard pull your profile, dropping your credit score, and chances are you will not be approved for the card. Time to save up for you MB purchase don't buy it now if you don't need it or can't afford it.

Banks are being stingy when it comes to giving home/auto loans sure but they won't look at a $1,000 credit card the same. Banks make money off of credit cards too so it's not like they're doing us a favor by giving us a line of credit. What will probably happen is if they would have given him $1,000 then the may give less.

OP, you don't have real credit yet so the only REAL bad thing you can do for your score is to skip a payment. Applying for credit and not getting it will not hurt you at this point.

I'm kind of on the edge of my seat here, I wanna see if you get accepted. I'm pretty sure you will.

[econoline06]

Hey everyone I have been improving my credit score for 3 months I turned 18 in August. I got approved for a credit card in August of 2008 and I have been paying it off and on time with minimum payments etc. which is helping my credit score. They offer me a very low limit not surprise since I was just starting out. It's now almost November and I was just wondering should I apply for the Juniper Visa Card? will I most likely get denied. Do you need excellent credit? I am planning to pay it all off before 90 days and then close it. Any ideas? if I should or not. Any details please let me know before I make a move.

The Juniper card is an awful deal man. You'll end up paying upwards of 30+ percent interest, AT LEAST. They won't accept you either, I'm 22 and have never EVER missed a payment or paid late, and always payed over the minimum. My credit line was around $500 at 29.9% interest. It is a joke/rip off.

[aliasfox]

I work in credit.

1) Three months is not enough to get a FICO/Credit score that other companies can see. At my company, we see anybody with <3 months of history as No History, 3-6 months as limited history (without a score), and we only see your score if you've had credit history for longer than 6 months.

2) Every credit card application hurts your credit score. Anytime you submit an app, it's called a "hard hit," meaning that the credit card companies/banks are checking the credit agencies on your behalf. By checking on your behalf, they assume you need credit - the more you "need," the less the banks are willing to offer you.

3) Keeping (free) open lines of credit is good. Your debt/credit ratio (we call it utilization) impacts your credit score. The less % of your credit that you're using, the better it is for your score. Therefore, it's a bad idea to close a free account if you already have it. Also, "Age of Oldest Open Trade" is a variable that is used in calculating your FICO score - the older the trade, the better.

To be brutally honest, if you're applying for a card, knowing you'll get a $200-$500 credit line, and knowing that you'll need at least three months to pay it off, is a bad place to be. It'd be better just to take that $100 or so per month and saving up to buy what you need - it may take longer to get that Macbook, but not only will you not have interest/membership fees to pay, but you'll feel better knowing that your new baby is all paid for.

[Chris Rogers]

I work in credit.

1) Three months is not enough to get a FICO/Credit score that other companies can see. At my company, we see anybody with <3 months of history as No History, 3-6 months as limited history (without a score), and we only see your score if you've had credit history for longer than 6 months.

2) Every credit card application hurts your credit score. Anytime you submit an app, it's called a "hard hit," meaning that the credit card companies/banks are checking the credit agencies on your behalf. By checking on your behalf, they assume you need credit - the more you "need," the less the banks are willing to offer you.

3) Keeping (free) open lines of credit is good. Your debt/credit ratio (we call it utilization) impacts your credit score. The less % of your credit that you're using, the better it is for your score. Therefore, it's a bad idea to close a free account if you already have it. Also, "Age of Oldest Open Trade" is a variable that is used in calculating your FICO score - the older the trade, the better.

To be brutally honest, if you're applying for a card, knowing you'll get a $200-$500 credit line, and knowing that you'll need at least three months to pay it off, is a bad place to be. It'd be better just to take that $100 or so per month and saving up to buy what you need - it may take longer to get that Macbook, but not only will you not have interest/membership fees to pay, but you'll feel better knowing that your new baby is all paid for.

Just curious, could you elaborate on the bold part?

[aliasfox]

Chris -

Age of Oldest Open Trade essentially tells the credit bureaus how long you've had credit, and how long you can go without the bank turning off card. If you've had your card for 84 months, the bureaus read that as meaning you've consistently paid back that card for 7 yrs. If another guy has a card that's only been open for 36 months, the longest he could've been paying back consistently is 3 years, or less than half as long. Banks will be more comfortable thinking you've been paying for 7 yrs rather than 3, and that's reflected in everyone's credit score.

Note, it doesn't matter if you still use the card (i don't think the bureaus track that closely)- as long as it's open in good standing.

Does this help?

[Chris Rogers]

OK - DUH. I guess the terminology wasn't clear to me but the explanation clears it up. So, essentially you really begin to reap the benefits of having good credit once you've had credit for 7 years. (assuming everything is in good standing.)

Thanks, this kind of stuff is turning into my second hobby after Macs :P

[aliasfox]

That was an example - the more history you have in good standing, the better.

7 yrs is better than 6, which is still better than 5, better than 4, etc - it's their way of seeing that you can manage credit over time.

Sorry for the threadjacking!

[m1stake]

Minimum payments? Don't live beyond your means. If you're not paying the whole bill every month, you're living beyond your means. Not a smart way to spend money.

As far as getting MORE cards, you don't need more cards. Capitol One, Juniper VISA, anything that's advertised to you is probably something to avoid. They're all gimmicks that substitute the gimmick for a 30% interest rate as soon as you sign up.

You get a VISA through your local bank.

I set up a series of accounts - Checking, Savings (3%), and Credit. I have direct deposit going into the savings account, 3% is decent interest. I have free overdrafting, so all my debit transactions find $0 in my checking and go right to my savings money for free. The credit also is attached to my savings, so after a few days the bill is paid automatically to VISA through my savings -> checking overdraft set up.

It's the PNC virtual wallet, if you have a PNC around. Another good PNC bonus, free ATM at their ATMs, which not all banks do.

[luxmea.veritas]

I recently opened this account with Juniper for the iTunes card. I have more than enough money to buy what I'm getting in the upcoming weeks (MacBook + iPod Touch + misc.), and I got it because if I'm gonna drop ~ $2000+ with Apple, I feel I should at least get an iTunes card.

That said, I'm 22 (barely). To my knowledge, I have very little credit, I only use debit cards. I have had an "overdraft line of credit" through my bank for about a year now, so maybe that's helped me. I wasn't sure I'd even be accepted, especially since lately I had a missed payment because one bank I was using mailed the balance to my old house, though I payed it as soon as I knew about it.

I was, with a $2500 credit line. The interest rate is god-awful, of course, at almost 23%. However, I plan on paying my balance in full immediately, so the interest rate doesn't affect me.

Well, I haven't bought anything yet (waiting on the new Macbooks to show up in the EPP store), but I'll post back here if there are any developments/complaints. However, so far, so good.

[cshafer22]

Absolutely NOT! Beware! I have had credit cards all of life and this one has been the absolute worst. They do not respond to emails, change payment dates without notice and up interest without ever having a late payment. This is one of the cards everyone warns about being very careful NOT to apply for. If there is a loophole you missed in the user's agreement they will use it to charge horrendous interest fees. Stay away and if you need credit apply through a well known and honest bank. Don't be fooled by the quick offer of credit when purchasing an apple product.

[Chris Rogers]

if you have the cash and could use the credit boost - apply and buy. Then pay off (minimum payments) before the interest kicks in while your money earns interrest in a high interest savings.

This way you don't pay interest, you get a slight boost in credit score, and earn a few bucks (between 10-20 closer to 10 because of today's economy.)