Does the Apple Credit Card do a hard inquiry?

Applying for the Apple Credit Card does lead to a hard inquiry into an applicant’s credit report, but only at a certain point in the application process. First, Goldman Sachs, the card’s issuer, does a harmless soft pull of the applicant’s credit. Some people may be denied right away based on this soft pull. People who seem to qualify for the card based on the soft pull will then get to see an offer for what their initial credit limit and APR would be. If they accept this offer, Goldman Sachs will then do a hard pull to finalize the application.

So in short, everyone who gets the Apple Credit Card will have to go through a hard pull, which will temporarily drop their credit score by a few points. But people who are immediately denied or who do not accept the card’s credit limit and APR offer only have a soft pull, which will not affect their score.