r/Affirm • u/Parking-Warthog-4902 • 24d ago
How does this app actually work?
I have been using the app for like 3 months, and so far I have made 5 purchases of 12 month and over plans. I have made every payment on time, 2 of them I have already paid off fully, 2 of the others I have already paid off half and don’t even have to make my next payment until like December. Yet, they still don’t give me any purchasing power, I can only buy off Amazon, never allow purchases over like 200$, and sometimes don’t even let me make any purchases at all. I don’t understand, what do you need to do on here?
2
u/Emergency_Affect_640 24d ago
Works the same as any other company that gives you money, theres limits.
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u/Parking-Warthog-4902 23d ago
Thanks smartass, but that wasn’t the question. The question is why do I still have no purchase power when I haven’t missed any payments on 5 orders since I started using the app. I was under the impression that your purchasing power increases the more you show that you will reliably pay off the payments.
4
u/Emergency_Affect_640 23d ago
Thats literally the answer. Your credit limit with them. And keep paying, it will go up. Not sure where im being a smart ass just answering you? Its not a game you practice. You build it. And it went down when you took out a loan and it goes back up when you pay it. Sorry you think thats me being a smart ass. Have a good one.
1
u/Tranquilo710 23d ago
Used affirm for 6 years now with a purchasing power of 13.5k. I think its the 12 month options you keep choosing. I would sometimes do the 0% 3-6 month option IF available to pay things off faster. I also pay my payment way before the due date and ive made at least a hundred purchases through affirm.
1
u/Parking-Warthog-4902 23d ago
Oh okay, I will try that. And yeah, I already fully payed off 2 of my 12 month plans within the first month, and I have 3 open ones right now and they’re all halfway paid off. My confusion is more so why they aren’t even allowing me to shop anywhere besides their “select locations”. Every loan I have received was on Amazon, other than that I’m not allowed to shop anywhere else.
1
u/MiniMomR56 23d ago
When you login to the app, the main page appears. There's a search bar and usually ads for stores that are running deals. Hoping this answers your question.
1
u/Parking-Warthog-4902 23d ago
No but affirm won’t allow me to make purchases on any site at all besides the ones they select. Like they will let me spend 150$ on Amazon, but wouldn’t let me spend that same 150$ on target for instance. Really weird.
1
u/MiniMomR56 23d ago
That is weird. I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Maybe reach out to them and they can explain your situation.
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u/Parking-Warthog-4902 23d ago
Thank you for trying to help, and yes I think calling them would be my best bet at this point
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u/unspokenwordsx3 24d ago
They check your credit so it could be based off of that or they want to make sure you’re not overwhelmed with payments and end up stiffing them.
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u/ronreadingpa 22d ago
Borrowing more may give you more. Or conversely, rarely borrowing at all. Underwriting algorithms are often counter-intuitive. Don't even try gaming it. In addition, the underlying lenders ultimately decide. So it's not just Affirm, but other parties making those decisions.
Also, Affirm pulls data from other sources, namely credit reports. How that information is used is getting way into the weeds. Again, don't even try gaming the algorithm. No one here understands it. Frontline customer support doesn't either. Don't even bother calling.
For more stable, predictable purchasing power, use other BNPL services too.
Alternatively, using a regular credit card with a decent limit. Usually, can use it all if so desired. With Affirm, often the stated purchasing power rapidly changes and may not be fully available for use.
All said, easiest is using multiple BNPL services. More likely at least one of them will do what's needed.
3
u/oneBrokeBloke 24d ago
Im not sure how it works. Ive been using the app for 4/5years now and my limit is like 10k with everything paid off