Applecare vs. American Express Gold/Visa doubled warranty protections

[macnvrbck]

I just bought a open box/exterior box small damage Powerbook 12' 1.5 Combo from Amazon marketplace, warehouse_deals.

I was going to put the purchase on my American Express Gold card as I know it doubles the manufactures warranty to 2 full years but....

I called my Amazon.com Visa credit card and they also have the same benefits, doubling the warranty... and $25 bucks towards another purchase. ( Plus $12 shipping, this Powerbook cost me $961.

Does anyone have an experience with laptops and these extended warranty credit card benefits? (I know the protection is only for 2 years now rather than the 3 with AppleCare.)

 

[thejst]

They make you run around a lot more to get service (Last time I checked it was at least three different quotes) but It's free, so what else is new?


J

 

[mikeyredk]

If you already have the amazon visa card use that otherwise don't bother it will only ruin your credit rating just use the amex

 

[OldCorpse]

I just bought a open box/exterior box small damage Powerbook 12' 1.5 Combo from Amazon marketplace, warehouse_deals.

I was going to put the purchase on my American Express Gold card as I know it doubles the manufactures warranty to 2 full years but....

I called my Amazon.com Visa credit card and they also have the same benefits, doubling the warranty... and $25 bucks towards another purchase. ( Plus $12 shipping, this Powerbook cost me $961.

Does anyone have an experience with laptops and these extended warranty credit card benefits? (I know the protection is only for 2 years now rather than the 3 with AppleCare.)

I actually did consider exactly this, when I paid for my iBook from Amazon with my American Express Gold card. My plan is as follows: I will hold off on Applecare until almost the end - I bought the iBook dec 16/05. I have one year of the ordinary warranty, till dec 16 2006. During this time, I will assess the new mactel iBooks and Macbooks pro. If the new mactel offerings seem very promising, I will not buy Applecare, instead, I'll go into 2007 relying on the Amex warranty which would carry me until dec 16/2007. If my current iBook suddenly breaks down on dec. 17/2007 a day after all my warranties have been exhausted, then I will buy a the by then much more mature and superior apple/intel products. That gives me 2 years on my current iBook. Considering, that the iBooks should only be around $1000, that's not too terrible to spend another $1000 in 2008 for a brand new machine, instead of around $200 for Applecare. The only thing I lose in this scenario, is lack of phone support after the first 90 days. But then again, it has never happened that I had to call the manufacturer of any of my laptops (Dells), and I haven't felt the need with Apple either... if I have a problem, I'll just take it into the Apple store genius bar.

That said, I've never used the extended warranty coverage on my Amex, so I can't tell you how it compares to Applecare (which I haven't had either).

 

[vivia727]

macnvrbck, I am thinking about buying a refurbished (open box, slight damage to external box) computer from warehouse_deals. But I'm worried it will be too old to qualify for Apple Care. Do you know when you bought yours how long it had been since the original purchase date? Did you look into Apple Care/would it have been possible to get that? Thank you for any advice you can give.