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PSA: Apple Card Owners Won’t Be Able to Combine Existing Accounts Until July

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Following its announcement last month, Apple today officially flipped the switch to allow parents to share their Apple Card with their teenagers or friends and the ability for spouses to co-own a single Apple Card account. However, one notable feature that didn't get released today is the ability for two separate Apple Card accounts to be merged into one.

apple-card-family.jpg

Apple announced the feature last month but didn't specifically pin a release date. Now, in a new support document, Apple says that starting later on in July, users will be able to merge two existing Apple Card accounts into one, and in doing so, be able to combine their credit limits.
Coming July 2021: You will be able to invite another Apple Card owner to combine credit limits and form one co-owned account.1
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The ability to share an Apple Card with iCloud Family members above 13 years old and the ability to co-own an Apple Card were released today as part of the iOS 14.6 update.

Article Link: PSA: Apple Card Owners Won’t Be Able to Combine Existing Accounts Until July
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/05/24/apple-card-merging-in-july/
So does adding a co-owner who currently doesn’t have an Apple Card not increase your credit limit?

I thought you were supposed to get a combined credit limit and the lower of the 2 APRs. Is that only when both have an existing Apple Card?

Edit: So I finally got my wife's phone to update. I shared my card with her as a co-owner and she was accepted immediately. Our APR stayed the same but our credit limit did increase.
 
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I simply don’t get how, if one partner’s Apple Card is closed, that doesn’t get reported as a closed card to the credit bureaus? If this is the case, I guess there’s no good reason for us to do this, outside of just wanting to see combined use.
 
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Think|Different said:
I simply don’t get how, if one partner’s Apple Card is closed, that doesn’t get reported as a closed card to the credit bureaus? If this is the case, I guess there’s no good reason for us to do this, outside of just wanting to see combined use.
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Yea I don’t really understand how it couldn’t be reported as a closed credit card either, unless all they do is update the account number and credit limit.

As long as closing a credit card doesn’t increase someone’s overall credit utilization, there’s really no negative consequence to closing a credit card though.
 
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steevn said:
Yea I don’t really understand how it couldn’t be reported as a closed credit card either, unless all they do is update the account number and credit limit.

As long as closing a credit card doesn’t increase someone’s overall credit utilization, there’s really no negative consequence to closing a credit card though.
Click to expand...
It can impact your credit history
 
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I have an Apple Card, and honestly I somewhat avoid putting stuff on it unless it is really worth the rewards (like Apple product) because of the fact it doesn't integrate with financial wellness apps, like Mint.

Support for Mint or other finanical wellness sites/apps is the enhancemnet I'm really waiting for.
 
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longofest said:
I have an Apple Card, and honestly I somewhat avoid putting stuff on it unless it is really worth the rewards (like Apple product) because of the fact it doesn't integrate with financial wellness apps, like Mint.

Support for Mint or other finanical wellness sites/apps is the enhancemnet I'm really waiting for.
Click to expand...
Chances are they'll probably introduce their own financial wellness app/feature than introducing full Mint integration. With Mint they can't ensure the privacy they're marketing the Apple Card with since it means giving a third-party access to your transaction history. Heck, not even Goldman Sachs' own Marcus Insights integrates with the Apple Card.
 
I have two cards, one is the apple, I try not to use it other than my app subscriptions and I admit an occasional pizza at Domino's. I don't see the value for me to put someone else on my card. My worry is that they might buy a lot of things and delay forking over any money my way to pay for the bill. then my credit rating dies a terrible death. Same goes for putting a kid on one. I suspect that apple would allow a credit limit for those who are add-ons, if they don't then they need to.

So if I do get an iPhone 13 (because I have the 8s, enjoy the finger print unlock) or an iwatch 7, I will use the pay off option on my apple card. But other than that, nada. The wife and daughter have their own cards and responsible for that.

So far I haven't any rewards, but maybe next fall when we break the bank ;)
 
verniesgarden said:
It can impact your credit history
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It's a misconception that your credit history is impacted just by virtue of closing a card.
The reason why credit scores go down when closing a card has to do with two separate factors; utilization and average credit age.

I've gone into detail when the matter got brought up the last time. See my post below

forums.macrumors.com

Apple Shares Details on How Apple Card Family Works

The reason why closing a card lowers your score is generally twofold. Your total amount of available credit goes down and with it, often times, your general utilisation goes up (e.g. you’ve got an outstanding balance of $2k amongst your total credit of $10k (20% utilisation), you close your...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
 
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verniesgarden said:
It can impact your credit history
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The closed account would still remain on your report for up to ten years, the history of those payments will still be on there. Unless you were going from 1 to 0 credit cards not much is going to change as far as Fico score goes.
 
longofest said:
I have an Apple Card, and honestly I somewhat avoid putting stuff on it unless it is really worth the rewards (like Apple product) because of the fact it doesn't integrate with financial wellness apps, like Mint.

Support for Mint or other finanical wellness sites/apps is the enhancemnet I'm really waiting for.
Click to expand...
Understandable, I've found Copilot's implementation pretty digestible by having the option for me to import my statements.

That way I still have the benefit of the insights Copilot provides, albeit it delayed until the card's statement date.
 
WeatherWeasel said:
I have two cards, one is the apple, I try not to use it other than my app subscriptions and I admit an occasional pizza at Domino's. I don't see the value for me to put someone else on my card. My worry is that they might buy a lot of things and delay forking over any money my way to pay for the bill. then my credit rating dies a terrible death. Same goes for putting a kid on one. I suspect that apple would allow a credit limit for those who are add-ons, if they don't then they need to.
Click to expand...

I think the idea is you share that with a family member that y’all share accounts with, similar to how everyone might have a debit card for the same checking account.

As for the kids, I believe there’s a limit you can put on their part of it, maybe $50 if they’re going with friends to the movies or something.

I see a bigger concern that they get to the movies and they don’t accept Apple Pay.
 
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WiseAJ said:
I really wish they would allow this with Apple IDs, I hate having different Store and iCloud and Apple IDs.

Just figure out how to let people merge them already. Its 2021.
Click to expand...

I kept asking for this, years ago. Totally agree. I've got an old iCloud account I created specifically to use with an iPad that was dedicated to music creation/editing. So that account had a lot of somewhat expensive apps registered under it that were various virtual synthesizers from KORG and a recording studio package, etc. It's been years since I had that iPad and now I'd just like a way to xfer whatever I bought with that ID to the one I actually use daily with all of my devices.
 
When Apple announced Apple Card sharing, there was a lot of discussion here about the downside of closing one of a couple's existing accounts. Giving this latest news, I take it that the issue was a real risk, and that Apple is working on a procedure to mitigate it. Otherwise, they wouldn't be telling people to wait for July.
 
davidg4781 said:
What? I use the same ID for both.
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When I first got my Mobile Me account (and then later transitioned to a new iCloud account) it wouldn't let me use my existing Apple ID, that I had been using to buy Music/Movies/Tv shows with, and just add it as an email since it was its own Apple ID. So thus I am forever stuck with 2 Apple IDs since they don't seem to care enough to let people like me combine them and I don't want to lose my vast collection of media and app purchases over the last approx. 15 years.
 
Here’s the killer app: being able to cancel ONLY the kid’s card which was lost instead of ALL THE CARDS. Any idea if this is possible with the Apple Card with whatever “unique” ID scheme it uses?
 
davidg4781 said:
I see a bigger concern that they get to the movies and they don’t accept Apple Pay.
Click to expand...
You’d be hard pressed to find one that doesn’t. I don’t bother carrying a card anymore, the only places that I shop that don’t take Apple Pay are Amazon Grocery, Kroger, or Walmart, and they all have their own pay apps I’m signed up for too. I can’t think of any place that still requires a physical card?
 
WiseAJ said:
When I first got my Mobile Me account (and then later transitioned to a new iCloud account) it wouldn't let me use my existing Apple ID, that I had been using to buy Music/Movies/Tv shows with, and just add it as an email since it was its own Apple ID. So thus I am forever stuck with 2 Apple IDs since they don't seem to care enough to let people like me combine them and I don't want to lose my vast collection of media and app purchases over the last approx. 15 years.
Click to expand...
This is an issue for me too, they finally let me change the email on my Apple ID but it won’t let me remove my old one.
 
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