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andy9l

macrumors 68000
Aug 31, 2009
1,699
365
England, UK
I'm considering buying the current TB Display with my AmEx since it'll have 90 day return protection. The question is whether the new TB Displays will be out within 90 days. Hmmm.

You can just return something for no reason with AmEx, as long as it's in 90 days? :confused:
 

NMF

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2011
885
21
You can just return something for no reason with AmEx, as long as it's in 90 days? :confused:

Yep. If it's outside the retailer's original return window you just send it to AmEx directly and they refund you the money. They cover accidental damage, loss and theft within the first 90 days also. Not to mention extend every manufacturer warranty an extra year (up to 5 max), including an extra year of AppleCare if you buy that. Not to mention all the free hotel nights I accumulate by buying all my major purchases (then immediately paying them off) on the card.

AmEx is the best value in personal finance. Especially since you can easily get the first year (and probably second) with no annual fee.

Note: I see you're in the UK. I'm not sure if they have different policies there. I'm only familiar with their US benefits.
 

andy9l

macrumors 68000
Aug 31, 2009
1,699
365
England, UK
Yep. If it's outside the retailer's original return window you just send it to AmEx directly and they refund you the money. They cover accidental damage, loss and theft within the first 90 days also. Not to mention extend every manufacturer warranty an extra year (up to 5 max), including an extra year of AppleCare if you buy that. Not to mention all the free hotel nights I accumulate by buying all my major purchases (then immediately paying them off) on the card.

AmEx is the best value in personal finance. Especially since you can easily get the first year (and probably second) with no annual fee.

Note: I see you're in the UK. I'm not sure if they have different policies there. I'm only familiar with their US benefits.

That's pretty useful, didn't know that. I know they're pretty good, didn't know they were that good! I'll be straight with you, I'm only 21 so have avoided credit cards thus far by personal choice. My parents use AmEx, though, so if it's worth me dragging them to the store, I definitely will. Might even manage to persuade them to let me pay them back over a period of time that way! ;)

Thanks for the info buddy!
 

patrickoneal

macrumors newbie
Feb 19, 2013
27
0
That's pretty useful, didn't know that. I know they're pretty good, didn't know they were that good! I'll be straight with you, I'm only 21 so have avoided credit cards thus far by personal choice. My parents use AmEx, though, so if it's worth me dragging them to the store, I definitely will. Might even manage to persuade them to let me pay them back over a period of time that way! ;)

Thanks for the info buddy!

You shouldn't do that with a credit card, unless you're talking about them paying off the balance and letting you pay them back over time, otherwise you're paying interest.

You probably shouldn't avoid getting your own credit cards, just be responsible with them. You'll have a much easier time getting a mortgage or auto loan later if you build your credit. Just never spend more than you can afford to pay off when the statement shows up, and you'll get all the benefits and never pay a penny in interest. You can get pretty good cashback too, Discover offers 5% back through their portal to the apple store site. Sales tax in my state is 5%, so Discover is essentially paying that for me. They also offer warranty extensions, price protection, and damage coverage on items purchased with their cards. Amex has similar benefits, but doesn't have the 5% back on online Apple Store purchases.
 

NMF

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2011
885
21
Yeah, not having enough credit cards will hurt your credit in the long run. I've never missed a payment in my life and I still can't crack into the top of tier of the credit rating. All the credit-monitoring services say I need more credit cards that have been open for multiple years. Ugh, I already have 3 wasting away in a drawer somewhere.

Anyway, I was able to have Best Buy price match Fry's $799 price on the current TB display. If the new TB display isn't out within 90 days I'll just keep this one and re-sell it later on craigslist. I'll probably still be able to get like $600-$700 for it in 6 months. It's worth $100-$200 to me to have a nice screen until then, heh.

Damn, my life is so good. :D
 

flynz4

macrumors 68040
Aug 9, 2009
3,244
127
Portland, OR
Yeah, not having enough credit cards will hurt your credit in the long run. I've never missed a payment in my life and I still can't crack into the top of tier of the credit rating. All the credit-monitoring services say I need more credit cards that have been open for multiple years. Ugh, I already have 3 wasting away in a drawer somewhere.

Anyway, I was able to have Best Buy price match Fry's $799 price on the current TB display. If the new TB display isn't out within 90 days I'll just keep this one and re-sell it later on craigslist. I'll probably still be able to get like $600-$700 for it in 6 months. It's worth $100-$200 to me to have a nice screen until then, heh.

Damn, my life is so good. :D

I've heard that having credit cards... but never using them is also not great for your credit rating. I make sure that I use every card every month. I always pay the bill for each in full.

/Jim
 

NMF

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2011
885
21
I've heard that having credit cards... but never using them is also not great for your credit rating. I make sure that I use every card every month. I always pay the bill for each in full.

/Jim

The credit bureaus don't know whether you use the individual cards or not; all they are aware of is whether your account is "good" or "bad" for each month (meaning you paid or you didn't). The reason why you want many credit cards is your debt-to-available-credit ratio. It's good to have more credit AVAILABLE to you than debt. It doesn't matter whether you actually use the cards or not, just make sure you keep the accounts open.
 
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rpmucha23

macrumors newbie
Aug 22, 2009
29
7
i went to best buy today, and asked them to match the fry's price, and they did. Fry's was out of stock, but they still honored it.

Used a bunch of reward zone certificates, and gift cards, and picked the thunderbolt display up for 500 after tax.
 

andy9l

macrumors 68000
Aug 31, 2009
1,699
365
England, UK
You shouldn't do that with a credit card, unless you're talking about them paying off the balance and letting you pay them back over time, otherwise you're paying interest.

I was referring to paying my parents back...who I doubt would charge me interest!

It was supposed to be a joke ;)
 

patrickoneal

macrumors newbie
Feb 19, 2013
27
0
Yeah, not having enough credit cards will hurt your credit in the long run. I've never missed a payment in my life and I still can't crack into the top of tier of the credit rating. All the credit-monitoring services say I need more credit cards that have been open for multiple years. Ugh, I already have 3 wasting away in a drawer somewhere.

Anyway, I was able to have Best Buy price match Fry's $799 price on the current TB display. If the new TB display isn't out within 90 days I'll just keep this one and re-sell it later on craigslist. I'll probably still be able to get like $600-$700 for it in 6 months. It's worth $100-$200 to me to have a nice screen until then, heh.

Damn, my life is so good. :D

I was thinking of buying one on my new Amex as well, to take advantage of the 90 day return policy and extended warranty. Unfortunately I don't have a local Fry's, and the Amex perks don't apply to refurbs. Also, I found out the Amex 90 day return policy is only good on items up to $300 each, up to $1000 total in one year.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/pdf/card-benefits/return-protection/Return_Protection.pdf

If that puts a damper on your plan, you may want to return it to Best Buy. I will say your plan of enjoying the display, then getting most of your money back on craigslist sounds like a solid idea. Who knows when the iMac screen manufacturing issue will be sorted... I doubt we'll be seeing a new TB Display until then.
 

NMF

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2011
885
21
If that puts a damper on your plan, you may want to return it to Best Buy. I will say your plan of enjoying the display, then getting most of your money back on craigslist sounds like a solid idea. Who knows when the iMac screen manufacturing issue will be sorted... I doubt we'll be seeing a new TB Display until then.

Hmm, yeah thanks for the heads up. I think I'll take my chances and craigslist it if I need to. It's actually looking like I may need to mount the display to get it how I want it, and it's possible the new TB displays won't allow for that. If that's the case I'll probably just keep this one anyway. I honestly don't have any need for USB 3 for the time being.
 

ChunkAhoy

macrumors member
Jan 31, 2007
69
16
Mmmmhhh... the ACD and TBD just passed from available in 3-5 days to available in 24h. :confused:
 

andy9l

macrumors 68000
Aug 31, 2009
1,699
365
England, UK
I believe it has gone up since a couple of weeks ago, but I may be wrong. I forgot to keep tabs, sorry. I'm looking to buy one too...the new one that is.

I'll try to report any changes.
 

andy9l

macrumors 68000
Aug 31, 2009
1,699
365
England, UK
Sorry for double post...

UK shipment estimate has dropped to within 24 hours again. It's going to be a long wait for the new one, by the looks of things...

Looks like I'll be waiting for Haswell after all!
 

Dr Charter

macrumors 6502
Feb 26, 2011
277
8
Oklahoma
Those $829 refurbs are starting to look tempting. The only downside is that I'll end up buying a second ATD when the new ones come out. It reminds me of a movie quote.

"First rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price?" S.R. Hadden, Contact
 

jetjaguar

macrumors 68040
Apr 6, 2009
3,553
2,319
somewhere
i want one to go with my new imac .. just dunno if it will be worth getting one now or if i should just wait .. it will definitely be a few months ... prolly not until the mac pro gets updated
 

Dr Charter

macrumors 6502
Feb 26, 2011
277
8
Oklahoma
i want one to go with my new imac .. just dunno if it will be worth getting one now or if i should just wait .. it will definitely be a few months ... prolly not until the mac pro gets updated

I'd probably wait if I already had a 27" screen to work with. I'm on a 13" rMBP and while I love this computer, it would be nice to spread my work out a bit at home. I don't really need to muscle of an iMac, but it's tempting since I could just end my wait today.
 

patienceofjob

macrumors newbie
Mar 10, 2013
1
0
Patience at an end; going for 27" Dell or ASUS

I have seen 1.5 years since the Thunderbolt Display was updated. No USB 3.0, which was an issue when the product first appeared (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4832/the-apple-thunderbolt-display-review).

I have been teased about dwindling inventories for the last six months.

I need a 27" monitor for my MBA. I do not want a refurb of the current Apple model.

I can take a hint. This product ain't getting updated any time soon, and there is an alternative:

* 27" ASUS PLS monitor for $650, with DisplayPort for 2560x1440 goodness.
* A decent USB 3.0 HUB.
I don't need firewire, ethernet, audio, and I can use my MBA for the camera. Those things would have been fine, and well implemented with Thunderbolt, but they, plus the admitted beauty of the design are not worth $300.
* With the ASUS, I get a monitor that display portrait mode and is height adjustable.

Someone want to talk me off the ledge? Thanks friends...
 

Titanium81

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2011
510
0
I have seen 1.5 years since the Thunderbolt Display was updated. No USB 3.0, which was an issue when the product first appeared (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4832/the-apple-thunderbolt-display-review).

I have been teased about dwindling inventories for the last six months.

I need a 27" monitor for my MBA. I do not want a refurb of the current Apple model.

I can take a hint. This product ain't getting updated any time soon, and there is an alternative:

* 27" ASUS PLS monitor for $650, with DisplayPort for 2560x1440 goodness.
* A decent USB 3.0 HUB.
I don't need firewire, ethernet, audio, and I can use my MBA for the camera. Those things would have been fine, and well implemented with Thunderbolt, but they, plus the admitted beauty of the design are not worth $300.
* With the ASUS, I get a monitor that display portrait mode and is height adjustable.

Someone want to talk me off the ledge? Thanks friends...


DON'T DO IT!!!! GO APPLE!!!

I just ordered the current Thunderbolt Display, yes the one that was updated 542 days ago. It is a very nice setup for the MBA and I'm thinking so what if a new model comes out in a few months, the current one is a timeless design, and I will be happy with it for years to come.
 

ndpitch

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2010
278
24
Right now I'm using a 13 inch MacBook hooked up to a Dell U2711 via DisplayPort, using a HengeDock.

It would be nice doing away with all of the cables and having just one thunderbolt cable - but do you think it's worth the price of the new thunderbolt display, whenever it gets released? I wonder what the display quality is like between the U2711 and a new TBD with the lamination and all that good stuff.

One other question... does anyone know of any good solutions out there for hooking other devices up to a TBD that don't use thunderbolt? Such as an Xbox, PC, etc?
 
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