Apple's false advertising that applying for an Apple card not affecting their credit score?

JoeAugusto wrote:

I too feel I was misled by their initial advertisement that by applying it would not affect my credit score. Unfortunately their policy on this is buried on page 14 of a 19 page document.

In my case it’s really not a big deal but I still feel it’s very misleading advertising.

Again, Apple states the soft inquiry does not affect the credit score. If you do not accept the card once approved or you are not approved your credit score should not be affected. This is stated plainly in their main How to Apply for Apple Card support document. It's not buried anywhere.

If you do accept it, then yes it will affect it. But that's perfectly normal, any credit you accept after being approved will affect your credit score. Nowhere does apple even so much as imply that accepting the card will not affect your credit score.

Bolding and underline is mine for effect.

Link->How to apply for Apple Card - Apple Support

About your credit score

You can apply for Apple Card without impacting your credit score. If your application is approved and you accept your Apple Card offer, a hard inquiry is made. This may impact your credit score.

If you apply for Apple Card and your application is approved, there's no impact to your credit score until you accept your offer. If you accept your offer, a hard inquiry is made. This may impact your credit score. If your application is declined or you reject your offer, your credit score isn't impacted by the soft inquiry associated with your application.

I too feel I was misled by their initial advertisement that by applying it would not affect my credit score. Unfortunately their policy on this is buried on page 14 of a 19 page document.

In my case it’s really not a big deal but I still feel it’s very misleading advertising.

Phil, I realize all that, my comment was to draw attention to the fact that the disclaimer is somewhat obscure being written on page 14 of a 19 page document.

Plus when you first get the invitation it does say it will not impact your credit

As per the site:

If you apply for Apple Card and your application is approved, there's no impact to your credit score until you accept your offer. If you accept your offer, a hard inquiry is made. This may impact your credit score. If your application is declined or you reject your offer, your credit score isn't impacted by the soft inquiry associated with your application.

Well, no. We're all just users on the forum. But yes, I cut and pasted what is on the site as it is there for anyone to read. For what it's worth, it's only 5 points. Those scores, especially the inferred ones that approximate the score, bounce up and down 5-10 points every month like a 5-year-old in a bouncy castle on a sugar high.

The application does not impact it. Accepting it once it's been approved does. This is what Apple established. They in fact explain that the hard inquiry will affect your credit score.

The soft inquiry for Approval does not.

Those are 2 different things.

This is standard practice in the credit card industry. Not only Goldman Sachs (issuer and servicer of Apple Card) does it, so does many institution that offer to pre-qualify the applicant. This pre-qualifying includes American Express, Capital One, J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Navy Federal Credit Union, to name just a few. This is a well established practice in the credit industry and has been done for decades.

In regard to reading what you sign, I read anything and everything I sign when it comes to my money and credit health. Here is a copy of the Apple Card Credit Agreement,

https://www.goldmansachs.com/terms-and-conditions/Apple-Card-Customer-Agreement.pdf

But it's not just in page 14 of a 19 page document. Its mentioned in multiple places.

Its promintently explained in their support document for how two apply as I showed above and in a footnote in the very page you posted a screen shot off.

If you click on the small #2 next to the text "...approved with no impact to your credit score" it takes you down to that footnote and further explains accepting the card may affect it.

Again, only the soft inquiry will not affect it. And that's the only thing they are referring to there.

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