Hey I'm a university student and I am looking to buy a mac because my HP is falling apart. I want to apply for the 24 month interest free financing barclay card that apple offers. I have established credit in the mid 700's but I dont have a job. My parents pay for my school and give me around $1000 a month as income but Im wondering if anyone else has had a similar situation and applied and what answer they got? Im just trying to see if its even worth applying for or not with my current situation.
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Barclay card for apple, student experience?
- Thread starter ramirezalex2410
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I think that there is some loose wording in credit card applications that lets you use your parent's income if they support you if you're worried about your income not making you eligible for the card. Proceed at your own risk though. Your parents can also cosign or you can use student loans. There are also many other better credit cards with 0% intro bonuses: Citi Doublecash, AMEX Blue Cash Everyday, Chase Freedom, Capital One Quicksilver, Discover It.
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I have income but my issue was somewhere in some bank's system they misspelled my last name by one letter. That slowed me down to a phone call to get my card and an hour or two later I was approved. If you have an issue with automatic approval Im sure a call would clear it up. You're very lucky to have school/pocket money provided to you by your parents
Card-wise, the 24-month no interest is glorious. I got 18 months no interest when I got my iPad pro and apple pencil in October 2016, and Im down to $200 left to pay off. Im very pleased with how this card boosted my credit score and the 18 months gave me plenty of time. I make between $30-$75 monthly payments and I put $500 down on it when I got my tax refund. The last 4 payments will be $50 and It'll be paid off! If you're going to invest in a computer, this sounds like a good way to give yourself time. DO be sure to calculate what your monthly payments SHOULD be a minimum of to ensure you get it all down in time because if you are late even by one month at the very end, I believe they calculate the interest for the life of the purchase and plop it on. The "minimum payment" barclay gave me was $27/mo and theres no way that would have paid it off in time so I had to boost it up.
I've had an Apple/Barclay card since 2005 when my university was subsidizing the cost of a new MacBook Pro for all of the students. The 24 months same as cash/no interest is an excellent deal, and with the funds you have coming in on a monthly basis you certainly should be able to budget to take advantage of the opportunity.
As a previous poster indicated, you definitely do not want to fail to meet the requirements of the terms - if you do you will end up paying the total amount of deferred interest, which is what they are betting on.
Also, once you've received the card be very, very careful about using it for anything else. Why? Because they charge usury amount for interest. That is, they charge the highest legally allowed interest rate for the state you live in. Where I am it's 28%. I would also add that they have absolutely no desire to lower or incentivize any purchases after your initial purchase, so don't expect to get future offers of 0% interest on this card. The initial offer is just to get you in the door and on the hook with them. I also find it interesting that this is the only revolving credit account I have that doesn't try to get me to transfer balances for a reduced or 0% interest rate, either.
I have a good credit score. On a lark a year or two ago I called them and asked for a reduction in the interest rate on the account (I have used it occasionally over the years just to keep it active, paying off the balance the same month to avoid interest charges.) They showed absolutely no interest in reducing my rate, despite my suggestion that I would be more inclined to used the card and carry a balance if they would. The customer service person seemed indifferent and made no indication that they would ever consider it.
So the card sits in my desk drawer and gets pulled out maybe once a year to buy something insignificant just to keep the account active.
Take advantage of the offer, pay it off in the time allotted, and toss the card in a drawer. If anything it will help to build your credit.
MacDann
As a previous poster indicated, you definitely do not want to fail to meet the requirements of the terms - if you do you will end up paying the total amount of deferred interest, which is what they are betting on.
Also, once you've received the card be very, very careful about using it for anything else. Why? Because they charge usury amount for interest. That is, they charge the highest legally allowed interest rate for the state you live in. Where I am it's 28%. I would also add that they have absolutely no desire to lower or incentivize any purchases after your initial purchase, so don't expect to get future offers of 0% interest on this card. The initial offer is just to get you in the door and on the hook with them. I also find it interesting that this is the only revolving credit account I have that doesn't try to get me to transfer balances for a reduced or 0% interest rate, either.
I have a good credit score. On a lark a year or two ago I called them and asked for a reduction in the interest rate on the account (I have used it occasionally over the years just to keep it active, paying off the balance the same month to avoid interest charges.) They showed absolutely no interest in reducing my rate, despite my suggestion that I would be more inclined to used the card and carry a balance if they would. The customer service person seemed indifferent and made no indication that they would ever consider it.
So the card sits in my desk drawer and gets pulled out maybe once a year to buy something insignificant just to keep the account active.
Take advantage of the offer, pay it off in the time allotted, and toss the card in a drawer. If anything it will help to build your credit.
MacDann
No true in my case. I have had several offers/opportunities for the 0% financing over the years, probably twice a year, when new Apple products are introduced and or when back to school happens and around Christmas
Bob
I saw that in some of the posts. I have never received an offer for Apple products or balance transfers that I can recall. I can only assume that it's tied to the age of my account and/or the fact that I never use it. You would think just the opposite would be the case since I don't use it.
Now if that offer was on a statement I wouldn't have received it as I don't get statements since I don't carry a balance or even use the card but maybe once a year. As far as separate mailings for such offers I can't recall ever getting one in the past.
MacDann
I have only had my card about 2 years and only use it once for the 0% Apple offers, pay it off timely. I do not receive statements ether, do all my payments on line, and that is where I get the offers, in fact I have received 2 notifications so far about the current 0%