Apple Loan - Roundabout question and a cute little story...

[noahsnyc]

So I went to the local Apple Store today to get a firewire/dock cable for my girlfriend's under-used 3G 10gig iPod and felt the usual pangs of envy as I clutched the new click-wheel iPod in my grubby little paw.

My 1G 5 gig model is a joke, and the fact that my music collection takes up about 15 gigs is the punchline. Still, it holds a charge like gangbusters, and that's what was keeping me from needing (not wanting, needing) a 2G or 3G iPod. I didn't want to have the battery-issues and it was a great excuse for saving $300.

Well, of course Apple has screwed that logic up by offering a beautiful new 4G iPod with great battery life and the best-est darn design and utility since my first pair of Converse All-Stars.

Anyways, now I needs me one and my birthday's a few months away and I'm getting itchy. Who isn't?

I realized after fishing around the Apple website that the Apple Loan would be about $10/month for my new iPod and, when I win the lottery in a short time, I can easily pay off the whole thing.

Other than the obvious high-APR on The Loan, anyone have any thoughts or experiences with the Apple Loan? Anyone buy something as "low priced" as an iPod with the loan? What's the general approval-rating?

Many Thanks,

Noah

 

[Xenious]

Yep I actually got a 3G ipod with the apple loan in a fit of gotta have it, got no cash now. The big red flag is the high interest rate. If you've got the credit elsewhere with lower rates, definately use it. Now if you have a special deal with zero-interest for x months then use the apple loan and pay it off for interest free loan.
-jim

 

[noahsnyc]

"Special deal", you say??

What sort of interest-free special deal do you speak of??

Is this is the famous "student special", or do they offer it to top-tier or loyal customers?

N.

 

[Xenious]

I _think_ you can get 90 days no interest sometimes. I bought mine about a year ago and had a 90 day or so period with no interest. Now if you don't pay it off within that 90 days, they tack all the interest back on.
-jim

 

[wdlove]

I _think_ you can get 90 days no interest sometimes. I bought mine about a year ago and had a 90 day or so period with no interest. Now if you don't pay it off within that 90 days, they tack all the interest back on.
-jim

I don't think that the 90 day is currently available. I got caught with that, but stupidly went ahead anyway. About a year ago they were even offering a 1 year same as cash. Now that was a deal.

 

[papersushi]

Apple never offered 1 year interest free promo within the last year or so, closest one was 180 days same as cash for G5 purchase.

The approval rate is about 50%, and average APR is about 17.99-19.99%. Well, if you can get approved by MBNA America (Apple Loan), you can get a credit crad. Usually APR for credit card is lower than loan setup for electronic purchase.

 

[noahsnyc]

So why should I...?

So the next real question is:

Is there any good reason to get the Apple Loan as opposed to just making payments on a credit card??

Does it affect my credit in a different way?

Will the minimum payments on a credit card be as low as the Apple payments (if I'm financing $300 for an iPod, Apple's calculator said it would be about $12/month)?

Thanks

N.

 

[papersushi]

Apple Loan will build your credit faster than a regular credit card, also destroy faster if you don't make payments ontime. If you maxed out your credit cards, the Apple Loan is your friend. If you don't want to use most of the credit line on your credit card, use Apple loan. Some people like me always want to have at least 5K credits avalaile on your credit card for emergency purpose.

 

[iNetwork]

Apple Loan will build your credit faster than a regular credit card, also destroy faster if you don't make payments ontime. If you maxed out your credit cards, the Apple Loan is your friend. If you don't want to use most of the credit line on your credit card, use Apple loan. Some people like me always want to have at least 5K credits avalaile on your credit card for emergency purpose.

THAT IS NOT TRUE!!! It is a revolving type of credit, just like your credit card. These types of unsecured "loans" are really just like having another credit card. It took me 7 years; never a late payment and paying it off every month (except for a couple of times) on a CC to be able to get a loan to buy a car. Buying a computer or any other piece of electronic equipment on credit is not smart. Just save your money and you can get it in a few months. Also, what happens if you lose your job? If you're maxed out on credit, now your credit is really screwed because you can't make payments.

The ONLY loans that will help build your credit quickly are structured loans that have the same payment every month. For example a car loan or a house loan or some sort of secured loan where the bank holds a title for collateral. What I finally ended up doing in order to build my credit score the best was this:
Went to the bank and took out a secured loan for 2000 dollars. Had this money set aside in a savings account that I could NOT touch. This was the bank's collateral. Then in 12 months I paid off the 2000 dollars. Of course I paid interest, but it was at 5 percent. The bank had nothing to lose--They had their money in a savings account and I got the credit I needed in order to buy a car using top-tier credit. The 2000 (plus the little bit of interest I earned on it) made a nice down payment to go along with my trade when I went to buy a new car!

Don't be fooled by the term "loan" when buying electronics, motorcycles (yup even kawasaki has credit card "loans" at high interest they give you and other things. Often times it's good to build your credit and get a Credit card at 5-6% with stellar credit. Then if you have a hankering for something but are short on cash you can do so without paying 20% interest on some stupid loan that companies give to try and get business. Although again, I do not recommend using credit to buy unnecessary things that you cannot afford. Necessary things in my book are food, shelter, clothing, transportation, etc. I can live without a computer of my own. There are plenty of public places like libraries that have free access.

 

[Calvinatir]

With my Citibank Platinum card they offer me 1.9% interest for the lifetime of the loan i want. Im 20 years old with a credit score over 750 and over 5 figures in available credit with a TOTAL of 3 cards, (1 with a balance). I find that somewhat impressive. I built it up with constant credit card purchasing and paying off immediately. Citibank offered me a 1.9% loan on anything about a year ago and i jumped on it and bought my 17" PB. Minimum payments were $40 a month..but your credit score improves with payments larger than your min. My dad was a finance manager at a car dealership for 20 years and he would tell me what to do with my cards and how many to have, because he had seen way too many young people come in to buy a car and either get totally denied or given outrageous APR's. It worked out to my advantage in a good way