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Apple Card Owners Will be Able to Purchase an iPhone and Pay Over 24 Months With No Interest Starting Later This Year
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When I negotiate for a car, I first negotiate a lower price (never pay MSRP), then secondly ask for the manufacturer's 0% finance rate. The dealer reduces the price from their profit margin.
BTW, by getting the 0% rate, I know I am not eligible for cash off coupons / manufacturer incentives - it's one or the other...
There’s not much to take advantage of here. Apple and carriers already offer this. Financing on a cc isn’t something you’d want to do.
As of right now you have to sign up for Apple Card on an iPhone, so yes you must own an iPhone to buy a new iPhone with 0% financing. However, there's nothing saying this won't change once this program rolls out. You may be able to sign up for financing with Apple Card on Apple.com, then register the card when your new iPhone arrives. Who knows what'll happen in the future.
That typically depends on your credit standing as to if you receive Visa Signature or MasterCard World Elite status. That status is what extends the warranty.
I said relative payments. $1 today is worth more than $1 in 24 months. Young people have lived mostly in a period of very low inflation, but even today the dollar is losing ~2% of buying power per year. The value of the phone does not factor in here.
Speaking of investments. Assuming a rate of return of 7%, if you take the $1200 and invest it while making monthly payments out of the invested money you will end up with ~$95 left in 24 months when the phone is paid off.
The phone is a simple/small case, but typically in an inflationary environment if a price can be locked in today for free (0% interest), but paid for at some point in the future, that is beneficial to the purchaser. And, not liking payments is fine reason to pay it all up front, but in this case it is not optimal financially.
Anytime any business let’s me borrow money on their dime it’s a win for me.
Your credit rating would take a slight hit, but it really isn't a big deal - unless you don't pay it off in 24 months and Apple back charges you nearly 28% APR interest starting from day one. That is alway dubious. I think I'd rather pay through my carrier, T-Mobile where I can finance at 0% down and not take a credit hit.
Notably I bought the AirPods Pro on AppleCard using ApplePay; so you get the 3% cash; but did you realize the 1 year warranty extension does NOT apply to AppleCard as it does to other MasterCards? I also bought the iPhone 11 Pro Max using ApplePay/AppleCard; but didn't even think about that as I never keep one more than a year. But I bet most people 'think' they have the warranty extension; and they don't.
A good point. How does one get an interest free loan if they already carry a balance? Not an impossible task but something we all need to pay attention too. Before jumping on this, be nformed.
You didn't understand my question. Point is, if you don't have an iPhone, you can't apply for the Apple card hence you can't avail of the 0 interest 24 month financing they are going to offer. I never finance my phones when there is interest but if it's 0%, why not....it's free money for 24 months. Otherwise, I charge it to a card then pay the entire balance when due.
You don't mean that you can just pay $1,200 at the very end, right? Don't you still need to make minimum payments every month?
paying off a monthly statement on time for a 0% APR means no interest. The debt (lien) on the phone still very much exists, hence monthly statements. Debt vs interest. Two different things.
So you’re saying that the AppleCard is just a plain MasterCard? They aren’t giving World Elite status to those with credit worthiness like other banks?
The Apple Upgrade Program only allows a payment plan for locked devices. If you want to buy an unlocked phone using the AUP, you have to pay in full up front.
This will be a nice option if you want to buy an unlocked iPhone with a payment plan without getting a ding to your credit from applying for a CitizensOne loan.
This will be a nice option if you want to buy an unlocked iPhone with a payment plan without getting a ding to your credit from applying for a CitizensOne loan.
So much confusion. The iPhone upgrade program doesn't force you to upgrade every year. You can make the decision to upgrade if you want to. If you pay the phone off, the phone is yours to keep or trade in. If you would like to get a new phone before it has been paid off, then you would turn your phone in.
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You receive 3% cash back on your iPhone upgrade payments.
Maybe when the holidays arrive next month, Apple might offer 24 month interest free payments on a Macbook I have been eyeing....
Yes, you can pay off your Apple Card balance at any time, with no restrictions.
Yes, as long as it's an iPhone.
Yes, it uses your existing credit limit, which means no credit score pull (hard or soft), but also means your available credit will be reduced by the amount financed, which can affect your credit score.
The program is only for iPhones and not for any other Apple product.
If you have a balance, will the iPhone purchase also be interest charged upon purchase or will it be interest free for that portion owed ?
As long as you make the monthly payments, the balance of the iPhone purchase will be interest free for 24 months.