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I'll add, I always buys my phones with an American Express card. They have a policy on all their cards where they automatically extended the warranty of any electronic item by a year. So that's your two years of coverage right there.

So besides for water damage, what else am I really missing out on?

No one is forcing you to buy it.

Not everyone has an Amefican Express card.

Common sense?
 
I've heard similar horror stories regarding Visa extended warranty, but that hasn't been my experience with Amex Extended Warranty.

The sleep/wake button got stuck on my wife's iPhone 4s. I put in a call to Amex to file a claim and they reimbursed us $299 plus tax in the next billing cycle, all without even requiring paperwork or asking for the iPhone. I did the out of warranty replacement for $199 plus tax so I actually got my wife a replacement iPhone plus some $$$.

You sure you're not mixing it up with your experience with Visa? A friend of mine tried to get a laptop fixed under Visa extended warranty and they made it a big hassle for him, requiring a mountain of paperwork/receipts/etc., obviously to dissuade the customer.

Yeah, had issues with both. Might just be a case by case basis, since they use a third party to administer the claims. My claim was for about $600, less than the cost of my phone, but still a big amount. I can see them just eating a couple hundred bucks, but they do their diligence when it comes to a larger claim, so that may be where it is.

The bottom line is that they CAN drag their feet based on the terms and conditions, so like anything it's YMMV with warranty repair\refund\replacement, so AppleCare is the only way to assure fast and easy coverage. For me though, the credit card coverage is good enough because the risk vs potential headache is a balance that makes sense to me in this case.
 
AppleCare+ has and will continue to be the best insurance for an iPhone. OP is the most asinine comment.
 
Fair enough. I've just gotten so used to the Amex coverage I almost forgot about the lapse in coverage after the year. It just struck me that when most people explain their decision to purchase AC+, it's for the broken screen coverage.

Just did a little research, it looks like certain cards from the three other major card companies also offer free warranty extension. It baffles me why anyone wouldn't apply for a no annual fee Amex card and just use it for electronic purchases. Even if you don't qualify for a no fee card, a card with a small fee would still be an absolute steal if you buy multiple expensive gadgets a year!

You're also not really comparing 'like for like' I don't think.

Your Amex card may offer you an extra year's warranty for your iPhone, but what happens if you drop it in water and killed it stone dead?

Even if they cover the financial cost of that, how long will it take?

With AC+, you could get it replaced, on the spot, in an Apple store.

Could you do the same with your Amex cover?

These free "benefits" that come with credit cards and banks accounts are invariably laced with clauses to discourage you from actually making a claim.

Everyone I know (in the UK) that has tried to claim for phone replacement on these free policies from either their bank or credit card, has decided not to proceed as the process simply takes too long ("approx 10 working days"), so they go and buy a new phone.

With AC+, that issue could be solved (same day) by visiting an Apple store and paying $99/£79.

See the difference?

IMO, AC+ is a classic example of getting what you pay for.

Want to rely on your free Amex policy getting you up and running quickly? Go ahead, that's your choice.

I'll stick to AC+, knowing I can give my phone a bath Sunday afternoon, go to an Apple store, have it replaced and be home for dinner time with a new replacement.
 
Not only once, but twice!!!

Exactly.

That £79 buys me peace of mind, that most credit cards and bank accounts cannot.

A good friend of mine recently dropped her 5S in the sink (drowned it).

She was about to go on holiday, so she started the process, put her sim in a loan iPhone she blagged from work and went on holiday for 2 weeks.

She got back and the phone still wasn't back and didn't come back for another 4 days.

She swore blind she'd never bother using that free "benefit" that comes with her bank account.

People never compare like for like and say they have all sorts of "cover" with their credit cards and bank account, but when you drill down into the actual terms and detail of that policy, the cover they get is very different (is has to be, to be free).
 
Why people chose to pay for extra warranty goes beyond me.

When it comes to other electronics or buying at Walmart, everybody knows it's a terrible deal. But if it's about buying Apple products, then paying more for extended warranty makes sense...

IMHO, if a device doesn't fail during its first year (which is already covered), it will hardly do so during the next two. Therefore, I always stay only with the free warranty and just take care of my stuff. I've had two Macs, four iPads, four iPhones and one iPod – and that system worked always well.
 
Why people chose to pay for extra warranty goes beyond me.

When it comes to other electronics or buying at Walmart, everybody knows it's a terrible deal. But if it's about buying Apple products, then paying more for extended warranty makes sense...

IMHO, if a device doesn't fail during its first year (which is already covered), it will hardly do so during the next two. Therefore, I always stay only with the free warranty and just take care of my stuff. I've had two Macs, four iPads, four iPhones and one iPod – and that system worked always well.

Yes.

Because the fact that you've never dropped your device on the pavement or in the toilet, absolutely means that you never will...

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...depending on how far away you live from the closest Apple store. :(

Still quicker to drive 100 miles to an Apple store, than to send it away for a free repair for 10 working days and be without it.
 
I'll add, I always buys my phones with an American Express card. They have a policy on all their cards where they automatically extended the warranty of any electronic item by a year. So that's your two years of coverage right there.

So besides for water damage, what else am I really missing out on?

I don't think that you understand warranty versus damage.
 
One point no one has brought up yet....if you like to upgrade every year like I do, selling the phone with one year of AppleCare can increase the value by a good $50. If you don't have an incident, you will be getting half your money back and have peace of mind. It's a small price to pay if you look at it from that perspective.

I was just about to bring that up. Easily by $50, and you'll have an easier time to sell it. I've been buying AC+ since the iPhone 5. I sold both (32GB), each for nearly $600 almost a year later. Well worth the $100 investment for the peace of mind and resale value.

The iPhone 6 is just a slipper piece of gadget. 3 times this thing almost slipped out of my hand. First time was straight out of the box before I bought the case (went straight to Apple and added AC+ and bought the leather case). Second time was taking it off the case to try on another. Third time, with a case on, my thumb slipped as I tried to press the power button.
 
Why people chose to pay for extra warranty goes beyond me.

When it comes to other electronics or buying at Walmart, everybody knows it's a terrible deal. But if it's about buying Apple products, then paying more for extended warranty makes sense...

IMHO, if a device doesn't fail during its first year (which is already covered), it will hardly do so during the next two. Therefore, I always stay only with the free warranty and just take care of my stuff. I've had two Macs, four iPads, four iPhones and one iPod – and that system worked always well.


Usually stuff I buy from Walmart/Best Buy pretty much sits there idly and does what it's supposed to do. Televisions, HDTV stuff like Chomecast, routers, etc.

My phone is constantly going in and out of my hand, and far more prone to accidental damage than those above items.
 
I have bought Apple Care+ on my 4s and 5s and I had an issue where I let a person use my phone to make a call and they dropped it on a cement sidewalk and severely damaged the phone.

I took the device to the Apple Store and for 50.00 they gave me a new device. I was thrilled!! .

I would never, never allow let anyone touch my expensive phone...Never

PS: The cost is now $79.00, not $50 now days. Apple raised the price a little bit ago....
 
Clearly Apple makes money on Applecare otherwise they wouldnt sell it. Insurance companies are multi-billion dollar companies for this reason. They use actuarial data to spread out loss risk over millions of users. I had Applecare on my 5S, never needed it so wasted $99. But my prior phone shattered a few times, had other button issues and was well worth it.

Your mileage may vary. But insurance provides some peace of mind which is valuable to many. Odds are you will never need it but doesnt mean you should not buy it.

I have life insurance but dont plan on dying this week either. But feel better having it.
 
the bent phones will be covered under the standard 1 year warranty assuming Apple acknowledges the "problem"

The batteries and lock button weren't acknowledged until way late in the game for the iPhone 5, so....I won't hold my breath for it.
 
AT&T insurance for me. $6.99 a month, $199 deductible that now goes down 25% every 6 month for the first year... Covers all damage and lost/stolen. And with AT&T insurance, and an iPhone, you get a BRAND NEW DEVICE. No refurbished garbage. Yes please.
 
Just thought I would add my two cents in.

Between my partner and I we have had 6 iPhones and have not purchased Apple Care for any of them. If we had we would have spent $600 plus tax (here in Ontario that would make it $678) on coverage we didn't need. Neither of us have had any accidental damage to any of our phones. We have only ever had issues during the first year of warranty for things that were covered under the original warrenty.

I also paid for my iPhone with my AmEx card so that extends the coverage for a second year for any problems that arrise that aren't accidents. For me that is enough because the only issues I have had have been defects and not accidents. If one of us did have an accident with the 6 Plus and we had Apple Care then I would have paid $678 for the warrenty plus $79 for the deductible for a grand total of $767 taxes included. An out of warrenty replacement would only cost me $399 ($450 with tax) which is $317 cheaper.

Personally I would rather roll the dice and save my money seeing as so far (knock on wood) I have had no accidental damage. If you are accident prone or have damaged phones in the past or just want peace of mind then by all means Apple Care is good for you, but not everyone wants to pay extra money for something they only might need.
 
Why are there so many haters these days?

If you don't like applecare plus, don't buy it.

Not to sound like an uppity dick but what's the deal here -- inability to afford the warranty on top of the phone price?

I buy the warranty so I don't have to worry about it. The way I see it, I'm paying for the luxury of not having to use a case and not having to worry about what happens to it. I don't spend money on hardly anything -- not food, not clothes, nothing tangible or intangible EXCEPT I like iPhones. If people don't like that, well, they need to reexamine what's important to THEM and why they care so much what other people like and do.
 
Yes.



Because the fact that you've never dropped your device on the pavement or in the toilet, absolutely means that you never will...

----------





Still quicker to drive 100 miles to an Apple store, than to send it away for a free repair for 10 working days and be without it.


Dropping my phone in the toilet? Never. And probably I'll never do, because you have to be really... careless to do so.

Dropping my phone on the pavement? Never, and probably I'll never do neither.

Now, dropping my phone on the floor? I've done that deveral times. Still, I don't see the correlation between that and buying an extended warranty. My phone still works flawlessly – and I don't even use a case!

Again, it's just a matter of being careful and perhaps, just perhaps, lucky. (Though considering my personal history, I doubt it's about luck.)

Cheers.
 
Since the 5 (or whenever AC+ became available). And if you're going to throw numbers at me, I'm well aware. My peace of mind is priceless and I don't mind spending the money to keep it that way. And as far using them, one damaged and no theft/loss. To me, insurance is a "just in case," not something the I rely on and have to use to get my money's worth.

You keep saying "don't throw numbers at me", but how can you say it brings you peace of mind if you haven't looked at the numbers? If you know you are losing money with this double insurance then what is your peace of mind about if not money? If you know you're not getting the actual monetary value out of them then wouldn't you get more peace of mind simply putting the nearly $300 into a jar every iphone for self insurance? Insurance is a purely monetary deal, I don't understand how else it can give you peace of mind if not for the money aspect.

For you to just break even you would have to either consistently 1) lose every other iphone you buy, a 50% loss rate, starting with this one or 2) completely break every iphone twice each cycle (completely, no mere screen shatters).
 
Was this in the first 90 day period or later?

No, within the 2nd year as the sleep/wake button got stuck. Amex provides accidental damage coverage in the first 90-day period. You can't use Amex Extended Warranty in the first 90 day or the first year; you use the standard warranty for that.

It covers two damage incidents that includes liquid damage

I wrote $109 (the cost of screen replacement) will not cover the cost of water damage replacement, responding to the OP that water damage coverage is one of the benefits of AC+.

Yeah, had issues with both. Might just be a case by case basis, since they use a third party to administer the claims. My claim was for about $600, less than the cost of my phone, but still a big amount. I can see them just eating a couple hundred bucks, but they do their diligence when it comes to a larger claim, so that may be where it is.

The bottom line is that they CAN drag their feet based on the terms and conditions, so like anything it's YMMV with warranty repair\refund\replacement, so AppleCare is the only way to assure fast and easy coverage. For me though, the credit card coverage is good enough because the risk vs potential headache is a balance that makes sense to me in this case.

Yeah, the bigger the claim, the harder-nosed they may be about it. They'll also drag their feet if you abuse the program. I've used Amex Extended Warranty for only one iPhone since 2007 so they were easy on me. Also have never broken a screen nor dropped it in water for that matter.

These free "benefits" that come with credit cards and banks accounts are invariably laced with clauses to discourage you from actually making a claim.

Everyone I know (in the UK) that has tried to claim for phone replacement on these free policies from either their bank or credit card, has decided not to proceed as the process simply takes too long ("approx 10 working days"), so they go and buy a new phone.

That's true although Amex is the exception, unless you abuse the program. The one time I needed extended warranty coverage through Amex, they didn't ask for paperwork/receipt/phone, etc. Just one call to them and the credit was on the next billing statement.
 
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