AppleCare + Q: reseller or Apple; plain AC vs AC+ ?

[4sallypat]

So I have a personal laptop (MBP 16") that I just purchased and still within the 60 days to get AC coverage.

All my work Apple products have never had AC in the past 5 years. Before that, we used to purchase AC (standard plan) for every device but then when we started to buy hundreds of devices for multiple Bretford carts, we stopped buying the AC.

So at my work, we get taken care of by our Apple account rep for any issues past 1 year because we buy so many Apple products we buy every year....

My questions:
1. Is it worth the $379 cost to cover my persaonal $2500 MBP 16" ?

2. Is it better priced getting AC from a reseller or is price the same across the board with Apple ?

3. What happened to the standard AC plan that I used to get 10-15 years ago that covers warranty for 3 years ? Is there only AC+ now and no choice to get the plain AC only (without physical damage protection) ?

I only need extended warranty (plain AC only) and don't really don't need AC+ because this laptop will stay on a desktop 99.9% of the time...

I also bought this on my Amex Platinum card so I don't know if there would be extra warranty provided since there have been so many changes to credit card issuers lately....

 

[TheIntruder]

1) Can you afford to self-insure, or bear the out-of-pocket cost of a major repair during the post standard warranty period should something go wrong?

2) The days of discounted AC plans, sold as standalone retail purchases (boxes and codes), has seemingly passed. Now, AC(+) plans much be purchased along with the item, or directly from Apple within the 60 day grace period. If you can find them, those cute AC-only cards that look like gift cards on store racks do not contain any codes, nor will they ring up as anything if they're not on the same receipt as the covered item. I've tried.

3) AC+ has supplanted AC in areas where the latter is not protected (probably by statue). IIRC, Japan is one such country where plain AC is still sold. Based on anecdotes that it could still be purchased by phone, I've also tried this tactic, and according to the AC rep I spoke to, who put me on hold to double check, AC+ is now the only option in the U.S.

That said, in the past, if one had an older retail AC code that was un-redeemed, there was a loophole were Apple would accept them to cover a newer model if the code conformed to the same product category. But I doubt that loophole still exists, at least without some resistance and risk of failure.

Discounted AC+ is still possible through the EDU channel or employee F&F. Sweet talk your rep and see if they might be able to help you out.

AMEX eliminated the extended warranty benefit for all the no-annual fee cards as of 2020. The others retained it, for a maximum one-year extension, instead of doubling the original period as before. Check your fine print.
[automerge]1580374399[/automerge]

 

[4sallypat]

Does anyone know how I can purchase AppleCare+ using my digital wallet that's on my iPhone for the Macbook I purchased from my PC ??