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nnjcafl

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 12, 2019
5
2
Has anyone noticed that if you trade in an iPhone the option to select a new iPhone 11 with the iPhone Upgrade Program disappears? It only provides the Apple iPhone Payment option without the annual upgrade and Apple Care + options. Is it best to trade in a device through your carrier instead of Apple? I want the option to upgrade annually but noticed that option was completely gone when trading in my iPhone X. Wasn't sure if this was new or not, but appreciate any input.
 
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Hmm, I noticed this too. When doing trade-in, options are:

Apple iPhone Payments
One-time Payment

When not doing trade-in, options are:

Apple iPhone Payments
AT&T Installment Programs
Apple Upgrade Program
One-time Payment

And come to think of it, when doing my pre-approval on Tuesday, I may not have done it correctly...per my confirm email:

iPhone 11 Pro 64GB Space Gray
$33.24/mo. for 24 mo. with trade-in
Apple iPhone Payments
AppleCare+ included in the monthly payments

Did I miss something in the initial iUP pre-approval process?
 
I figured it out after chatting with an Apple rep on iMessage:

“With trading in online, since we have a financing plan that allows the value of the trade-in to lower the monthly payments and is able to be applied immediately, before sending in the trade-in, the iPhone Upgrade Program option does go away when adding the trade-in. The options available are the iPhone Payments and full price purchase.”

“With the trade-in and iPhone Upgrade Program enrollment, once the credit for the trade-in is applied to the taxes and other items on the purchase, the remainder of the trade-in value would be in the form of an Apple Store Gift Card. With our financing partner, Citizens One, they have provided the iPhone Payments plan as an option to apply the trade-in value to lower the monthly payments, but with the iPhone Upgrade Program, that option is not there as they have the pricing set with the AppleCare+ included in the monthly payment, which we are not able to adjust I’m afraid.”

I was really after iUP, but at this point, since I’m already pre-approved for AIP, going to stick with it. It’s the most efficient way at this point. Plus I’m getting full trade-in value for my X and not a gift card, which is good.
 
I figured it out after chatting with an Apple rep on iMessage:

“With trading in online, since we have a financing plan that allows the value of the trade-in to lower the monthly payments and is able to be applied immediately, before sending in the trade-in, the iPhone Upgrade Program option does go away when adding the trade-in. The options available are the iPhone Payments and full price purchase.”

“With the trade-in and iPhone Upgrade Program enrollment, once the credit for the trade-in is applied to the taxes and other items on the purchase, the remainder of the trade-in value would be in the form of an Apple Store Gift Card. With our financing partner, Citizens One, they have provided the iPhone Payments plan as an option to apply the trade-in value to lower the monthly payments, but with the iPhone Upgrade Program, that option is not there as they have the pricing set with the AppleCare+ included in the monthly payment, which we are not able to adjust I’m afraid.”

I was really after iUP, but at this point, since I’m already pre-approved for AIP, going to stick with it. It’s the most efficient way at this point. Plus I’m getting full trade-in value for my X and not a gift card, which is good.
I guess this is currently what I’ve been weighing, is to either do the iPhone Payments with the trade in, or to continue in the Upgrade program…don’t really need Apple Care, but of course that might be famous last words, lol.
 
I guess this is currently what I’ve been weighing, is to either do the iPhone Payments with the trade in, or to continue in the Upgrade program…don’t really need Apple Care, but of course that might be famous last words, lol.

More from the chat with the Apple rep:

“The iPhone Payments plan is a straight 24 month financing option that would be the price of the iPhone minus the trade-in value divided by 24 payments. That option does not have the yearly upgrade option nor does it come bundled with AppleCare+, however, you can add the coverage either at full price or monthly as well.”

“With that program, you can certainly log into your Citizens One account each month or periodically to make additional payments to shorten the amount of payment to be able to upgrade the phone when you are ready and not have a sizable balance to pay as well.”

Anyway, I plan on adding Apple Care as I’ve done with every upgrade in the past. The AIP obviously doesn’t have the option to upgrade every year, but I certainly can upgrade whenever I’m ready...
 
We're contemplating upgrading our Xs Max's. Currently on iPhone Upgrade Program - is it more advantageous to continue on that route or find a way to do the AIP?
 
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