William Gallagher
Apple has updated the details of how to pay monthly for products with Apple Card, by specifying the steps purchasers need to go through to get interest-free terms.
Since December 2019, it's been possible to use Apple Card to buy certain Apple products and pay monthly without incurring interest. Initially, this option was solely available for buying an iPhone, but Apple has steadily added eligible products — while not changing the terms of the process.
It still hasn't, but Apple has updated its support documentation to emphasize when buyers have to choose to pay this way. It remains the case that buyers have to select monthly repayments using Apple Card at point of purchase, it cannot be applied later.
"To receive a 0% APR installment on eligible products from apple.com, the Apple Store app, or an Apple Store, you must choose Apple Card Monthly Installments as your payment option at checkout," says Apple's updated support document.
"If you choose to pay for your eligible Apple purchase all at once with your Apple Card," it continues, "that purchase will not receive 0% APR and instead will be subject to the standard purchase APR assigned to your Apple Card."
The option to use Apple Card Monthly Payments is available via the online Store, physical Apple Stores, or the Apple Store app, in the US. The number of months users can spread a purchase over varies depending on the cost of each item, or bundle of items.
Apple displays the monthly installment as part of users' next Apple Card minimum payment. It separates out these installments in the Wallet app under the heading Monthly Installment History.
The monthly plan is limited to the US because currently so is Apple Card. However, Apple was recently granted trademarks for Apple Card and Apple Cash in Canada. It's most likely that the installment plan will be made available wherever Apple Card launches.
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7 Comments
Clarify? I guess so. The Apple Discussion Forums are full of questions from confused users on how to do this. See for yourselves. Go the Apple forums and get in the Apple Card section (you may have to use the sitemap to find it). Now start reading. The Apple Card section is a morass of confusion over how the card works, how to apply for it, how to find out why you were denied, how to download transactions into Quicken or Mint, how to raise credit limits. I didn’t realize how many people are apparently ignorant about how credit works or how many play games with credit by transferring balances to stave off paying the bill. Amazing education.
I had that problem. When I bought my laptop, I asked that the payments be installments but I was charged credit card. It turns out that I have to ask for it BEFORE the sale is made. Solution is to "return" it and then buy it again with the installments option.
I bought my MacBook Air M1 using Apple Card payments. The complexity for me is the accounting for it.
I use Quicken -- not software which allows double entry accounting -- which would be overkill.
Anyway, the Apple Card loan doesn't appear as a loan. You have a debt for the product, but without a counterbalanced account. What happens is your Apple Card limit is decreased by this debt. Your minimum monthly payment includes the monthly amount of this debt. Say, you pay at least the minimum on March 1. Apple does not record that payment split between the loan debt and the credit card debt. No, Apple doesn't credit you on the loan debt payment until March 31 or say April 1. At that point, you have to enter counterbalancing transaction to pay off that month's portion the loan debt, and behind the scenes your Apple Card limit increases by that amount.
You can't readily see that loan debt payoff in your Wallet. It just tells you 4 of 12 payments on the debt has been made, but it's not part of the list of Apple Card transactions.
Generally, I'd like to see explicit transactions shown in the Wallet. Apple has been making improvements in the wallet -- this is one that I think is needed.
Apple: take my money, by making your credit card available in Canada.
A nice feature would be the ability to select a recently made qualifying purchase (say, within the last 7 days) and convert that transaction to a 0% instalment plan.