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As low as $59/month...Your views on Apple Financing?

H

Hatchet

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 9, 2007
201
0
Baton Rouge
I was wondering if anyone here has experience with Apple Financing?

I did it once with Dell and let me tell you it was a nightmare...I think my rate was 22% or something ridiculous (This however, was my credit building opp since I was alot younger with no credit history) Now my credit is perfect and reliable...

Yay or Nay?
 
If your credit is perfect and reliable, then you can probably find better rates and deals by using other finance products.

My MBP (almost paid off). I managed to get a 0% rate on by shifting the debt onto a balance transfer card that had a great deal. Mind you, this was before the entire credit market went haywire a few months ago.

Store/retail credit is usually the most onerous, and maybe not in Apple's case, but many retailers will bug you unmercifully to take on useless product insurance as well, a scam if there ever was one.
 
Blue Velvet said:
If your credit is perfect and reliable, then you can probably find better rates and deals by using other finance products.

My MBP (almost paid off). I managed to get a 0% rate on by shifting the debt onto a balance transfer card that had a great deal. Mind you, this was before the entire credit market went haywire a few months ago.

Store/retail credit is usually the most onerous, and maybe not in Apple's case, but many retailers will bug you unmercifully to take on useless product insurance as well, a scam if there ever was one.
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Yeah, that is true.

However, I liked the idea of getting those iTune rewards points. I can see how they would give me a crappy rate though for that perk.

I guess there's no problem with seeing what they'll give me if I apply.
 
I don't think its actually "Apples" financing. They just offer a Juniper Visa card with XX.X% interest. The Juniper bank is the one providing the financing, Not Apple.

You would have MUCH better luck with getting a seperate credit card with a real zero percent 12 month interductory rate with a realistic fixed APR after the zero term is up. Doing so would would save some dough.
 
I did that when I bought my Mini a few months back. Getting three months to pay off $600 seemed nice. Honestly, I could have paid off the whole thing right away, but it was nice to use the flexibility of the payment plan. I paid it all off on time, so it worked out really well for me.

I don't know if I'll make much use of the Juniper card in the future, though. 90 days no interest is nice for a $300 iPod or a $600 Mini, but if I'm ever buying something in the four-digit range, I'm going to want more time to pay it off. I asked the store rep about longer financing, and was told that Juniper runs everything, so what's offered is all there is.

Needless to say, when I get around to buying a Mac Pro, I'm going to seek out other options.
 
I wouldn't recommend it. The fewer cards you juggle, the better. If you can't afford something without filling out a new application, that's never a good sign. I'd save up for a little longer until it was possible to buy it without a new card.
 
At the moment, well in the UK at least, they have an Xmas offer on thats 6 months interest free when you buy a new Mac. Our financial service is done by MBNA which usually has 15% or so which is about avg. for us.

Its always best to look around for interest free credit cards. Always best to have at least 1/3 or more of the actual cost on hand to put towards the payments, makes life that little bit easier
 
I'm 19 and so I don't think I would get approved but anyways I will never use multiple sources of credit... I have 1 AMEX card with a VERY generous line which I use 90% of the time but I believe if you don't have the money you shouldn't be spending it...
 
Willis said:
At the moment, well in the UK at least, they have an Xmas offer on thats 6 months interest free when you buy a new Mac. Our financial service is done by MBNA which usually has 15% or so which is about avg. for us.
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Yes, but look at the cut off date of the interest free offer... January 14th 2008.

Apple are EVIL.

I think I'll sign up for a credit card that offers cashback and 0% on purchases, buy whatever post-Macworld with that, then immediately clear it using my student account with 0% overdraft while getting a kickback through the CC's cashback reward... then worry about it in 2 years :D
 
Dell financing is HORRIBLE! My mom had an account with them, the interest rate was about 29% and by the time it was paid off a funky little Dell DJ ended up costing about $500 which ironically tore up the month after the account was paid off, but Apple wouldn't even give her credit.
 
je1ani said:
I'm 19 and so I don't think I would get approved but anyways I will never use multiple sources of credit... I have 1 AMEX card with a VERY generous line which I use 90% of the time but I believe if you don't have the money you shouldn't be spending it...
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Which AMEX card did you sign up for?! I'm 19 and have had great credit for almost 2 years and couldn't even get a Discover.
 
je1ani said:
I'm 19 and so I don't think I would get approved but anyways I will never use multiple sources of credit... I have 1 AMEX card with a VERY generous line which I use 90% of the time but I believe if you don't have the money you shouldn't be spending it...
Click to expand...

You should have more than one credit card. You need a VISA. You can't use AMEX everywhere. If you are a student you can easily get a card. It's likely you can get a card with almost any company. They will just start you with a low credit limit. If you have been paying off the AMEX card on time every month then it won't be a problem.
 
GSMiller said:
Which AMEX card did you sign up for?! I'm 19 and have had great credit for almost 2 years and couldn't even get a Discover.
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I have an AMEX Blue. Which I just got around 4 months ago... Originally I had a $400 Prepaid VISA card.. I guess that built my credit? It's a "Secure VISA." Which I never use anymore... Anyways I know i could get more lines of credit being a student but I just don't need it. I'm not too considered with my credit because i'd rather save up for something. You should check out the movie "MAXXED OUT." It weaned me off credit lol
 
My rule is never to buy electronics with credit. Always cash, or just all at once. Might not work out for everyone, but i like knowing my outdated hardware is paid for.
 
japasneezemonk said:
My rule is never to buy electronics with credit. Always cash, or just all at once. Might not work out for everyone, but i like knowing my outdated hardware is paid for.
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I also prefer paying off the whole amount at once, butI also always buy my electronics with American Express and then pay off the whole balance; they double the manufacturer's warranty automatically so that's free insurance right there.
 
I always buy everything with a credit card, then pay it off that month. It builds good credit and I can get rewards as well. With Discover, if you buy through the Discover website into Apple.com, they give you 5% back. There are tons of other stores as well, worth a look.
 
I only use financing on major purchases like houses, cars, and tuition. The insane interest is just not worth it for smaller purchases.
 
wwooden said:
I always buy everything with a credit card, then pay it off that month. It builds good credit and I can get rewards as well. With Discover, if you buy through the Discover website into Apple.com, they give you 5% back. There are tons of other stores as well, worth a look.
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5% is a nice rebate! I'll have to look into that for my MBP in Jan. I just hope that Disc does not have an annual fee. Otherwise I say no thanks! My current card has 1% back with no annual fee. Not great, but it ads up. And I pay it off each month. If I can't afford it, I won't buy it....unless its a really good deal :p
 
Just be careful you read the fine print on those special offers.

My sad story: Apple offered 180-days-interest-free financing. The rev B 12" PB was just announced. I wanted one, but couldn't afford to pay it all off right away, and saw 6 months interest free as the ideal way to spread the payments out.

At the time, Apple also had a special offer: Final Cut Express just $149 with the purchase of a Mac.

So I bought a BTO 12" PB, and FCE, for a total of close to $3100 Cdn, on my new credit account.

The FCE box shipped first. The PowerBook shipped a few weeks later.

And that's when I learned that the "interest free financing" applied only to the FIRST item charged to the credit account.

Yes, I had 6 months of interest free payments on $150, and I paid 22% interest on the other $2800.

That, in combination with some poor financial planning and some payroll glitches at school, threw me into a cycle of carrying credit card debt that took me 3 years to fully recover from.

So... read carefully!
 
notjustjay said:
Just be careful you read the fine print on those special offers.

My sad story: Apple offered 180-days-interest-free financing. The rev B 12" PB was just announced. I wanted one, but couldn't afford to pay it all off right away, and saw 6 months interest free as the ideal way to spread the payments out.

At the time, Apple also had a special offer: Final Cut Express just $149 with the purchase of a Mac.

So I bought a BTO 12" PB, and FCE, for a total of close to $3100 Cdn, on my new credit account.

The FCE box shipped first. The PowerBook shipped a few weeks later.

And that's when I learned that the "interest free financing" applied only to the FIRST item charged to the credit account.

Yes, I had 6 months of interest free payments on $150, and I paid 22% interest on the other $2800.

That, in combination with some poor financial planning and some payroll glitches at school, threw me into a cycle of carrying credit card debt that took me 3 years to fully recover from.

So... read carefully!
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Aww that sucks :(
 
sk8ordie said:
Hehe, well they dont make money off me, I only use 0% cards ;)


They make money off people who dont know how (or dont care) to manage thier finances.
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The merchant pays the credit card company something like $.10 per transaction. I know American Express costs more than others to accept.
 
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