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Buying with two credit cards

M

mrbrown

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 27, 2004
567
241
Springfield, Missouri
Hey all,
I've been thinking about purchasing a Powerbook from the Apple Store for Education. With taxes and all, the total comes out to be something like $1511 - 11 dollars over my credit card's limit. Does anyone know if there's anyway to get Apple to charge over two credit cards (like the retail price [$1399] on one card and the taxes on the other) ?

~Tony
 
I'm pretty sure they'll accommodate you on that. Some places (CDW) even have a system in place to let you do that automatically. I know some stores (I seem to remember Dell's, and maybe Apple's as well) allow you to put a daily transaction limit (usually for debit cards), but that won't help you.

A warning, just for reference: When you make a system purchase, Apple immediately puts a hold on your card for the ammount of the order plus a small extra (5% if memory serves), as a "just in case". So you definitely want to account for that extra. The actual charges when they ship your system will be lower, but you want to be aware of the potential extra.

I also had problems with them charging the actual purchase seperately from the hold, making it look like I needed twice as high a limit as I actually did (real money + hold), but hopefully that was a fluke case.
 
Assuming your $1500 credit card is paid off you can do this (I believe). Send them $100. Now you have a $1600 limit... it does work... but I'd say just call Apple and they'll be more than happy to charge both cards I'm sure... :) But I suppose my way is an option if all else fails... or just get your CC company to raise you limit... they probably will, although... I wouldn't advise it... I've cut up all my cards and am working on paying them off now... I'm not too far in debt via "the card" but I figured I'd ditch it while I was ahead of what most people seem to be...
 
I knows Dell's online store allows you to pay with more than one credit card. I'm sure Apple can do it too but I think you'll have to call Apple to place your order.
 
As of 2 years ago this WAS NOT permitted. I tried the same thing due to daily limits on debit cards and wanted to split the order up and I was told I could not.
 
your CC limit reflects what your credit says you can afford. call your CC company and ask for an increase. if they say no, maybe you should consider whether or not you can really afford the purchase.

as mentioned, pre-paying is a way around it.
 
zimv20 said:
your CC limit reflects what your credit says you can afford. call your CC company and ask for an increase. if they say no, maybe you should consider whether or not you can really afford the purchase.

as mentioned, pre-paying is a way around it.
Click to expand...

Very, very sound advice.
 
The apple store lets you do a wire transfer too directly from your bank account (but you have to order over the phone).
-jim
 
zimv20 said:
your CC limit reflects what your credit says you can afford. call your CC company and ask for an increase. if they say no, maybe you should consider whether or not you can really afford the purchase.
Click to expand...

A CC limit is what a computer algorithm poops out when fed the (often inaccurate) rough details of your life. It doesn't take into account a great number of things which definitely affect your creditworthiness. I mean, I saw a 20 year old buy a $150,000 house once, whereas an older woman who's now a widow, and very well off for herself, could have zero credit.

If you wanted to do this in a very high-interest way, if you'd be able to put some serious money back on card #2 in a quick hurry, you could probably write a check off of that account to card #1, inflating your limit. This is getting kind of shady tho when you start making cash advances... Try your luck with apple, then come back...

You might also apply for a small Apple loan to subsidize the card, since it's a line of credit with Apple itself, it could be applied to the amount before it hit your card-- But the minimum Apple loan may be $1,000 or something. Plus, they use MBNA bank, which may not approve you for the loan anyway.

paul
 
paulwhannel said:
A CC limit is what a computer algorithm poops out when fed the (often inaccurate) rough details of your life. It doesn't take into account a great number of things which definitely affect your creditworthiness.
Click to expand...
that's true, and there's also different standards applied, depending on what's being applied for.

my observation of anecdotal evidence shows that people tend to be extended more CC debt than they can afford ('cuz CC companies love that interest), at least until the cardholder becomes burdened and the limits are scaled back.

but apply for a mortgage, which also takes into account more factors, and you're given your pre-approval amount, to help the potential homebuyer in knowing what they can afford. i find this to be a pretty helpful number.

i do not rely on my CC limit as an accurate measure of how much consumer debt i can safely take on.
 
call your credit card company...I am positive they will increase your credit that little bit. They do this all the time and usually put things on bills that say..."need an increase in credit...just call" They will review your current credit history probably although for 11 dollars they won't bat an eye. Just be sure they increase it enough for the entire purchase including tax, shipping, etc. You don't want to be charged an overlimit fee from the credit card company which can be very high at times and increase your interest rate sometimes as well. They want the computer on their card cause they will get interest I assume?!?! If you are going the interest rought consider an apple account for the purchase. You can (I did, but you ahve to have perfect credit) get 9.9% apr on the purchase.
 
Its not as though I don't have the money to pay for it - I'm in school, have a job, and I'm financially sound. I just much rather use my credit card rather than my debit card so I won't be hit with a charge of $1511 all at once in one place (I know it sounds weird). In addition, I'm in the process of selling my "old" laptop (a 1.4GHz Pentium 4 Hewlett-Packard laptop), which will bring me the said required funds. ;-)
 
The other thing I would think about doing if you credit is good you might try to apply for a card that gives either cash back or some other benefit. I have a sony card though bank one I think...anyway it gives me free sony points which are very easy to redeem for free sony stuff. I charge everything and pay it off every month and so far I have received a free $69 stereo vcr (I know...a vcr, but I needed one for my kids videotapes) about $50 worth of blockbuster gift cards, three free PS2 games, $80 worth of sony PS2 controllers and memory cards along with a 256 MB Memory stick worth about $100. When you sign up they give you a bonus of quite a few sony points.

There are so many other cards out there with benefits like this. Just something to think about.

good luck
 
The Apple store will NOT let you split up the payment. I tried to do this on 2 lower interest cards in March with my 17" PowerBook. I had to end up paying off my Apple Loan and using it. They told me that it is not possible for them to do that. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me...but it seems to be their policy.
 
mrbrown said:
Its not as though I don't have the money to pay for it -
Click to expand...
excellent. if you've got the cash, then just pre-pay your card to guarantee the transaction will go through. and you'll pre-empt any interest charges. i do this all the time.
 
Assuming your credit card balance is $0, just deposit an extra $11 into the credit card account so that your amount owing is -$11. That way you have your $1500 available credit + the $11 you deposited. I am in Australia and I do this everytime I want to pay for something which is over my credit card limit (I get points on my card for purchases).

Edit: Zim you beat me to it!!!
 
Just call the credit card company. They will be MORE than happy to be making money off of you in interest charges.

Actually, if your credit is great, call them up, say you are going to be making a sizable purchase (tell them it's for a computer-- they love that). But tell them, for your business, you want:

1: An interest rate reduction
2: An increased credit line


You win big. And if they don't go for it (I bet they will), then at least you've tried. Negotiate with these people-- IT WORKS. :)
 
Advice

A car whacked me (or at least that’s what they think happened) and the end result to nearly maxed cards was devistating. I have a huge debit to pay off, it is an uncomfortable feeling, especially now that my employment is no longer "guaranteed". A word to the wise, don't bite off more than you can chew. Missing payments, even due to illness, raises your rates, and paying the minimum for months on end creates significant debit and damages your score.

Credit is a comedity, true, but beware.
 
put it on your debit card! i guess since it took me several years to pay off my credit cards, i hate seeing others paying for stuff this way. i have 2 cards with $5000 limits and i rarely let the balance go over $100 unless i'm drunk and eating sushi.
 
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