When the Apple Card first launched last August, credit data was not reported to any of the three United States credit bureaus. In December, Apple Card partner Goldman Sachs confirmed it will report to TransUnion. Apple and Goldman Sachs have not yet officially confirmed reporting to Experian, but many Apple Card users have noticed the creditor addition to their Experian credit reports. Currently, there is no indication as to when credit reporting may begin to Equifax as well.
Credit reporting from any card issuer impacts the cardholder’s credit score in either positive or negative ways. Federal law entitles you to get a free copy of your report once a year from each of the three credit agencies – you can request yours at this joint website. With the coronavirus outbreak, all three credit bureaus made changes, and you can now get your FREE credit report updates every week.
During these times of COVID-19, accessing your credit is important. That’s why Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are now offering free weekly online reports through April 2021.
Your credit score is determined by the following 5 factors:
- Payment History 35%
- Amount Owed (credit utilization) 30%
- Length of Credit History 15%
- Credit Inquiries 10%
- Types of Credit Used 10%
Here is a more detailed breakdown of these factors that affect your credit score and how you can use them to your advantage to build or maintain an already good score.
Applying for an Apple Card
Apple Card is a no annual fee card and offers 3% cashback – paid out daily – at popular merchants, including Apple, Nike, Uber, Uber Eats, Walgreens, Duane Reade, and T-Mobile.
To apply:
- Open the Wallet app on an iPhone running iOS 12.4 or later
- Tap the plus button in the top-right corner
- Follow the on-screen steps.
The entire application process takes a few minutes, and if approved, a digital Apple Card will be immediately ready for you to use. However, it reportedly hasn’t been easy to get the approval. If you’re a declined Apple Card applicant, you can take advantage of the Path to Apple Card program – a new opt-in program that is designed to improve the credit worthiness of the applicants. The program highlights reasons for the previous decline, and helps improve the specific credit score markers.
