The Apple Card is the shiniest new credit card on the market (no really – it’s made of titanium) but you probably haven’t been able to nab one. Here’s why.
One of the Apple Card’s proudest claims is that it was “created by Apple, not a bank” but that isn’t entirely true. To get your hands on an Apple Card, your application first needs to undergo an evaluation by US banking giant Goldman Sachs.
Once you apply, you can keep an eye on the status of your card by checking your Apple Wallet – the first thing you should see is a message saying that your application is in review. This means that Goldman Sachs is busy at work combing through your credit score, credit report and the income you report on your application to eventually decide whether you are worthy of owning the coveted Apple Card.
Related: What is Apple Card?
First, there are just a few preliminary requirements you’ll need to meet to be eligible for the next step:
- Be 18 years or older, depending on where you live.
- Be a U.S. citizen or a lawful U.S. resident with a U.S. residential address that is not a P.O. Box. You can also use a military address.
- Own a compatible iPhone with the latest iOS version.
- Use two-factor authentication with your Apple ID.
- Sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID.
- If you have a freeze on your credit report, you need to temporarily lift the freeze before you apply for Apple Card.
- You might need to verify your identity with a Driver’s license or State-issued Photo ID.
Easy, right?
Once they can confirm that you have fulfilled all of these requirements, the bank will look a little closer at your finance history.
You can probably expect to be denied if you are behind on debt obligations or have fallen behind in the past. Other reasons include if you do not have enough disposable income after paying debt obligations, you have negative public records (this includes late tax payments, litigation, bankruptcy and property repossession), you have applied for too many credit cards and loans or your credit score is below 600.
Related: Apple Card sign-up page is now live – here’s how to apply
If your application has been denied, you might receive an email with an explanation of why you were denied or a copy of your credit score.
Apple does recommend that if you were denied due to Apple struggling to verify your identity, it might be good to double check that the info you provided on your application was free of mistakes and that the ID you used was in date and matches the name you gave them.
Your credit score won’t be affected if you are declined and of course you can apply again but there is no guarantee that you’ll get it the second time around.
Even if you meet every other requirement, if you aren’t a US citizen the likelihood of you flashing an Apple Card at any point in the near future is pretty low. The credit card started rolling out in the US on August 6 on an invite-only basis and, as it is, there is no info to suggest when or even if the banking service will come to the UK.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
