Introduced in March, and offered every month since, the COVID-19 Customer Assistance Program has allowed Apple Card holders to skip their monthly payment without incurring interest charges amid these challenging times.
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In an email to a MacRumors reader today, Apple Card financial partner Goldman Sachs indicated that it is currently planning to offer customers the ability to enroll in this program up to six times in 2020, which it said is "consistent with current regulatory guidelines" in the United States. For customers that have been enrolled since March, this means that August would be their sixth and final month of eligibility this year.
Customers can change their enrollment status for August at any time prior to August 31, should they wish to save their sixth enrollment for a later month. In this case, their next payment would be due at the end of the month, including interest if applicable. Goldman Sachs can be reached through the Wallet app or by phone at 1-877-255-5923.
"We know this is a difficult time for many and our thoughts are with you," said Goldman Sachs, adding that it is developing additional payment plans for customers who need them and that it hopes to share more details soon.
To enroll in the program, open the Wallet app on an iPhone or iPad, tap on the Apple Card, tap on the black circle with three dots, tap on the message bubble, and send a message along the lines of "I want to enroll in the Customer Assistance Program." Confirmation of your enrollment will be sent to the email address associated with your Apple ID.
Customers need to re-enroll in the program each month.
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Not necessarily. If you've already enrolled for each month from March through August, you won't be able to enroll again should they (presumably) offer it again in September, October, November, and/or December, as you've already enrolled for six months in 2020. If you enrolled for three months in 2020, you can enroll for three more months through the end of the year. The counter should reset, assuming they continue to offer this program, in January.so it is good for another 6 months????
This is more intended as an emergency measure for people whose finances have been really, truly upended by the pandemic, not necessarily for people who were living paycheck-to-paycheck previously, so they don't have to choose between necessities like rent and food, or paying their credit card bills.When do you repay your deferred credit card debt, when you obviously live paycheck to paycheck?
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Slightly off topic, but I've seen some TV financial advisors telling folks to take these credit card deferments even if they don't need it and save back that money instead. Given that these programs may show up as remarks on your credit report — they don't directly hurt your score but it may concern a future creditor — and the impact of revolving credit utilization on credit scores, I'd recommend against taking the deferments and instead paying your bill if it's feasible at all for your situation. The debt doesn't go away, you're just delaying its repayment, and it can get out of hand pretty quickly.
Probably not a good idea if you're able to pay it off now. This should only be used as a last resort.Thank you for clarifying that. I guess I'll just defer the payments since no interests is being charged.
This reminded me of the Futurama quote - "I respect your diversity to the extent the law requires"."We know these are difficult times and want to assure you that we at Goldman Sachs are as compassionate as regulatory guidelines demand."
When you like to live dangerously, like taking advantage of payment deferral, using the money to buy calls on AAPL and then 6 months later you can pay off the balance and get a Tesla. Same thing as AAPL floating billions in bonds when they don't need the money. :)When do you repay your deferred credit card debt, when you obviously live paycheck to paycheck?
It's crazy how uneducated most people are on credit and credit cards. People upthread eyeing this as a 6 month interest free loan are wild. If you can afford to pay it off, you should be paying it off. Otherwise you should work to setup savings goals over time to purchase the things you want.They show up as remarks, which at least in the case of the Apple Card’s deferral program shouldn’t impact one’s score directly (as I don't believe they're treated as adverse remarks), but they may lead to higher revolving credit utilization if nothing at all is being paid and the card is still being used, which does greatly impact one's score.
A creditor who looks closely at credit reports may also see a remark about deferred payments on a potential debtor's credit report and have some concern that this person may not be able to repay what they owe, even if the remarks aren't explicitly considered adverse and the score hasn't been impacted. That's why I recommend against doing this unless it's truly necessary.