sflagel

sbdude said:

The only reason I got the card was the attractive no-interest financing on Apple products. And even that has become less attractive as Apple/GS only give one year (one!) to pay off a mac, and two years to pay off an iphone (because that makes sense).

As far as transitioning banks, no, you won't have to "reapply" for a new card. When Costco dumped Amex for Citi, I did not have to reapply, and all balances, credit limits, etc. carried over without issue. Yes, it will show as a closed account and, if it was your card with the most longevity, it would affect your score. Given how new the apple card is, I doubt it establishes a majority of users' credit histories or is their "lengthiest" card.

Why is the credit score so important? You really only need good credit once: when you want to get a mortgage. Surely, mortgage lenders look at income vs expenses, savings, outstanding loans, and value to mortgage ratio more closely than they look at a credit score.

..........

I never understood what Apple brought to the table in this deal, other than their logo. Apple is just the distributor. The card is issued by GS; credit extended by GS; cash-back paid by GS; billing, customer service, etc. provided by GS. This is just a white labelled credit card, with a good app - there are plenty of these in the world, all of which can be added to Apple Wallet. GS wanted to make the deal because as a newcomer to the CC market, which has very high marketing costs, they saw a lot of value in Apple distribution, but I doubt any established card issuer will see it this way.

Xed said:

sflagel said:

Xed said:

22july2013 said:

For those of us outside the USA who have been waiting for 4+ years for this service, with no hint of it arriving in our countries, we kinda hope the service will die in the USA. Apple needs to think worldwide, and not provide services to Americans only. How many other Apple services are available in the US only?

Which worldwide issuing bank works with every single country in the world?

Citi

Not even close. They are big, but not the biggest. They don't even a ground presence in half the world's countries.

https://www.citigroup.com/global/about-us/global-presence

You don’t need a ground presence to issue a credit card. 

Xed said:

22july2013 said:

For those of us outside the USA who have been waiting for 4+ years for this service, with no hint of it arriving in our countries, we kinda hope the service will die in the USA. Apple needs to think worldwide, and not provide services to Americans only. How many other Apple services are available in the US only?

Which worldwide issuing bank works with every single country in the world?

Citi