Ok so even if you add apple care its still the same price. For Example: a 64gb iPhone X with apple care is 1198 out of pocket or 49.91 per month for 24 month, what is the difference ?
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Other Upgrade Program or Purchase Outright
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Ok so even if you add apple care its still the same price. For Example: a 64gb iPhone X with apple care is 1198 out of pocket or 49.91 per month for 24 month, what is the difference ?
IUP:
I would get my device either through carrier depends on their deal or purchase it outright using Apple Reward card since it can finance the device interest free like IUP and transfer the remaining AppleCare if it hasn’t been used.
The question is which works best for you? Do you get the hassle when selling older device? Impact to Credit history? Or consider alternative financing like Apple Reward by Barclayscard or carrier financing?
- Financing with affordable monthly installment
- Included AppleCare
- Payment upfront a month payment + tax
- Ease to trade in enrolled iPhone for newer device every year
- Enrolled iPhone after a year is equivalent to half MSRP
- Credit check for loan approval from third party for each time you plan to upgrade
- Unlocked device
- 0% interest
- “Loan” the device and AppleCare for the duration before upgrade
- Purchase at full price
- Ability to sell the device at higher value than trade in value or value balance after a year of IUP with hassle to resell
- Ability to add optional AppleCare
I would get my device either through carrier depends on their deal or purchase it outright using Apple Reward card since it can finance the device interest free like IUP and transfer the remaining AppleCare if it hasn’t been used.
The question is which works best for you? Do you get the hassle when selling older device? Impact to Credit history? Or consider alternative financing like Apple Reward by Barclayscard or carrier financing?
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IUP.
AppleCare included + I can afford one inquiry per year since I don’t request credit on a whim and haven’t needed to for years. Finally, I don’t have to deal with the hassle of reselling.
My financial situation is also in order.
This place turns into r/personalfinance whenever the iPhone launch comes around. It’s honestly cringeworthy.
AppleCare included + I can afford one inquiry per year since I don’t request credit on a whim and haven’t needed to for years. Finally, I don’t have to deal with the hassle of reselling.
My financial situation is also in order.
This place turns into r/personalfinance whenever the iPhone launch comes around. It’s honestly cringeworthy.
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These are my same reasons. I hated having to find a buyer every year and hoping I'd get at least half of my $ back because everyone else is selling theirs at the same time.
And in regards to the credit check, the only hard pull on my credit was when I first signed up - the subsequent years seem to be a soft check. Citizen's Bank doesn't even show up on my credit report as a loan of any kind and it never has. I don't know if it's the same for everyone but people keep listing this as a reason against iUP but it's a non-factor for me. But even if they did, my credit can handle it just fine and I'm not worried about it.
I use to buy outright, but as of last year decided to do Verizon’s upgrade program. I won’t do Apple because I prefer to use SquareTrade for warranty instead of AppleCare. I do the upgrade program now because I want to upgrade each year and I don’t have to worry about selling my current phone. It’s just become too much of a hassle and you can’t get as much as you use to be able to get. With the upgrade program Verizon is basically buying it back from me and no hassles with selling or getting scammed selling.
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In this case, I don’t know if I buy the bank needing extra protection. All of the major US cell phone companies offer the same upgrade program as Apple, but Apple Care or the carriers warranty isn’t included.
Another £1000 to invest isn't going to make much difference when you have lots more!
As I said I financed a house once. Took s 25 year mortgage. Paid it off in 8 years.
I don't like being in debt. But it's a choice. When I want a new car I go and pay for it cash. Other people like to lease.
We are not all the same. Therefore I'm not wrong.
My enrollment issue with the customer portal for IUP was resolved this morning. <crossing fingers it stays resolved>
Let’s be honest. The vast majority of people out there are paycheck to paycheck. Upgrade programs are the only way they can afford a phone that costs $1000. It’s crazy how many people don’t have $1000 but have no problem paying $50 per month. I’m no financial whiz, but my dad taught me if you can’t pay cash there’s a good chance you can’t truly afford it. This obviously doesn’t apply to a house or a car, since most of us are not 1%.
Thanks guys, a lot of opinions on the upgrade program, as most have said it's not for everyone. I'm going to wait for the prices and then make a decision.
Currently I don't pay anything for the phone as it was purchased outright, I'm on a sim only plan at £15 a month. The thought of paying £56 a month for a new handset isn't ideal, like most have said I hate the thought of any debt which is why I was looking at also purchasing the handset outright. However it is interest free which is the bargaining chip I guess.
I'll continue to read your comments and make a decision closer to the time. I'm sure were all looking forward to the announcement next Wednesday!
Mike.
Currently I don't pay anything for the phone as it was purchased outright, I'm on a sim only plan at £15 a month. The thought of paying £56 a month for a new handset isn't ideal, like most have said I hate the thought of any debt which is why I was looking at also purchasing the handset outright. However it is interest free which is the bargaining chip I guess.
I'll continue to read your comments and make a decision closer to the time. I'm sure were all looking forward to the announcement next Wednesday!
Mike.
You are wrong on this one.
Time value of money (TVM) dictates that money available at the present time is worth more than the identical sum in the future.
Based on that, IUP is a no-brainier because at the least, you are beating inflation. Furthermore, If you choose to passively invest the £1000 at 10% per annum (which is totally doable), you would end up with £1210 in 2 years, covering the cost of AppleCare and then some.
If you are as financial savy as you make yourself to be, you should know that IUP is absolutely a no brainer, even if your net-worth is in the billions. I am just as much against accumulating debt as you are, but in this case, It is simply the correct financial decision to make. For the simple reason that you are offered financing and at 0% interest and 0 additional costs.
The difference is being compelled to buy AppleCare even if you don’t want it.
If you had to buy $200 of cases or cables you didn’t want, would you still think it was a good deal?
I do the Verizon plan so that I don't have to get AppleCare and so that I don't have to run a hard credit check every year and end up with an actual new $1k loan every year on my credit report (years from now that's going to look ridiculous, my credit reports still have all my accounts on them from back to when I was 17, I'm 34 now), AND have to make a separate third party payment with a credit card (not even allowed to use a debit card) to another party.
With Verizon's plan it's the same as Apple's but I don't have to get AppleCare, and my device payment is just part of my normal phone bill rather than a separate external payment, and there's no hard credit pulls every year or new loans being added to my credit report.
With Verizon's plan it's the same as Apple's but I don't have to get AppleCare, and my device payment is just part of my normal phone bill rather than a separate external payment, and there's no hard credit pulls every year or new loans being added to my credit report.
Again, very few people on the iup do so in order to maximize their investment portfolio. Most people simply can not afford what they are buying in a one time fee. People on this forum are enthusiasts and outliers.
And if we’re being Dave Ramsey here, none of us should be buying a phone for $1k or more. We would buy a $300 used phone and keep it for several years. There’s no fun in that, though.
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In this case, I don’t know if I buy the bank needing extra protection. All of the major US cell phone companies offer the same upgrade program as Apple, but Apple Care or the carriers warranty isn’t included.[/QUOTE]
The bank doesn’t have any leverage if for example you break you phone, don’t fix and just stop paying. Verizon and AT&T do. They could ultimately terminate your service if you don’t pay.
In this case, I don’t know if I buy the bank needing extra protection. All of the major US cell phone companies offer the same upgrade program as Apple, but Apple Care or the carriers warranty isn’t included.[/QUOTE]
The bank doesn’t have any leverage if for example you break you phone, don’t fix and just stop paying. Verizon and AT&T do. They could ultimately terminate your service if you don’t pay.
Just curious but what is it about SquareTrade that you prefer? I have no experience with them but my sister swears by them for her family.
The bank doesn’t have any leverage if for example you break you phone, don’t fix and just stop paying. Verizon and AT&T do. They could ultimately terminate your service if you don’t pay.[/QUOTE]Is that meaningfully different from the bank’s perspective if someone just stops paying with a phone that isn’t broken?
Well I always buy apple care + for every iPhone I buy, but cellphone carriers offer ways to pay monthly for the iPhone without AppleCare + and you can trade in for a new phone after 12 payments.
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Well I always buy apple care + for every iPhone I buy,
True there is no right or wrong answer, but if someone is just using carrier financing and has always. paid their bill on time its just paying for something monthly vs all at once.
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then just buy it threw your carrier they offer the same deal without apple care +
It's 24 months at $50 and that includes AppleCare (which I buy anyway). That assumes you keep your phone until paid for like I did. If you upgrade every year, it is worth it for sure. I just question my case because I tend to upgrade every other year. But, you can call Citizens Bank (US) and they would be happy to let you pay off the entire thing at any time (though, they may make you wait a period of a couple of months. Unsure about that.).
I would rather just own the phone so I typically pay in full. I haven't financed a phone since 2 year contracts went away, and even then it wasn't really financed it was just how phones were sold. The iPhone Upgrade program from Apple is a good program though, particularly if you're going to buy AppleCare anyway. I avoid carrier installments because I like being free to change carriers as my needs change.
I look at it as, I pay for my Macs, AirPods, furniture, etc., in full - why not my phone too? I don't buy thousand dollar phones, my current phone is an SE I bought from Cricket for $159 - before that I owned a Moto G5 that was $250 or so.
Debt at 0% is still debt in my eyes. It's something I'd rather not deal with as much as possible. I have a car loan, a mortgage, and student loans and those are more than enough payments for me. To each their own. I used to be a "how much down and how much a month" person for everything (even financed a TV at 0% once) but nowadays I pay for the things I need in full. I find I buy less when I have that huge sting all at once. I wouldn't have bought that TV if I had to pay $600 upfront for it, I would have bought a less expensive but perfectly adequate model. It's easy to be eaten alive by payments if you're not careful.
Anyway this isn't a financial advice website, but that's my viewpoint since the question was asked.
I look at it as, I pay for my Macs, AirPods, furniture, etc., in full - why not my phone too? I don't buy thousand dollar phones, my current phone is an SE I bought from Cricket for $159 - before that I owned a Moto G5 that was $250 or so.
Debt at 0% is still debt in my eyes. It's something I'd rather not deal with as much as possible. I have a car loan, a mortgage, and student loans and those are more than enough payments for me. To each their own. I used to be a "how much down and how much a month" person for everything (even financed a TV at 0% once) but nowadays I pay for the things I need in full. I find I buy less when I have that huge sting all at once. I wouldn't have bought that TV if I had to pay $600 upfront for it, I would have bought a less expensive but perfectly adequate model. It's easy to be eaten alive by payments if you're not careful.
Anyway this isn't a financial advice website, but that's my viewpoint since the question was asked.
Fully agree with you that you should not finance an item you cant afford to buy outright. However, I was replying to the gent who categorically considered the IUP a bad decision.
People perceive value in a different way. I think the iPhone X is worth every penny, however a 1k pair of Prada shoes is not. Im sure if you ask an upper class Milanese, he'd tell you something else. But you shouldn't buy either if you cant afford them.
But not everyone wants AppleCare. The claim was the upgrade program was better for everyone. It isn’t. It may very well be better for some people.
I’ve had an iPhone since 3G. I’ve never had an incident that would have been covered by AppleCare. I don’t want to pay for it or it’s relatively high deductible. If you do, that’s your call.