invisible

I don't know if it is common knowledge or was mentioned before.

As you know, Apple allows you to have 0% interest loans when you buy a phone/mac with an Apple Card and have 3% cashback. I did it 2 years ago - monthly payments are like $28.

However one thing I noticed when I checked the credit score recently on the Chase portal - $356 balance on my Apple Card. And that balance has a ‘high impact’ on the score.

Now, I have 790 and not really am concerned but the score simulator shows I can get my score to 806 if I pay that ‘balance. The weird thing is that - there is no balance on the card - I don’t use my Apple Card and when that monthly $28 is posted, I pay it off the next day so the statement shows $0. I contacted Chase and they told me that we have no idea - it is how Apple/GS report it.

I contacted GS/Apple Card and learned that when you have an installment loan, the remainder of the loan is reported to the credit bureau, even if you have paid off the card's posted balance/charges before the statement is generated.

So yes, they report that I owe them $356 currently and that amount goes down every month when I pay it. If I want my score to go up - I need to pay off the whole amount.

dw

Yes, it�s always been that way. It�s in fact a loan that you are paying off, so the balance of the loan will be reported. Frankly, the impact to your credit score is going to be quite low. Between my mortgages and my auto loan, the few hundred on my Apple Card installments is a rounding error.

cjw2001

What's the percentage of credit utilization on that card? (amount owed divided by total credit limit reported)

Is it being reported as a credit card balance or a separate line of credit on the report?

invisible

3%
Credit card balance.

cjw2001

I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you keep utilization on each card under 10% you are looking good. And 16 points isn't going to make any meaningful difference if you were to pay off the balance.

Plus this is a Vantage score from the Chase portal which has only slight resemblance to an actual FICO score most lenders would use.

You are going to see some variation even with FICO scores depending on which flavor of score they use -- e.g. my FICO score on Citi is 830 (FICO 8 Bankcard), on Discover is 802 (FICO 8), and on Wells Fargo is 837 (FICO 9) while Chase shows a Vantage score of 821. That's a 35 point variation between different sites on the same base information.

G2244

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan but a few hundred doesn't get you much haha.