Opinions please..re the program and the "hard pull" credit check....wondering how others feel...I have good credit and can do it, but something tells me "why."...I keep asking myself...is the 7 really worth the credit risk..?? (I have 6s now) price wise it seems like a no brainer to just upgrade..basically sameish monthly payment so why not have the newest..but since the phones are so similar is it really worth the credit risk? Thanks
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Do not even bother with the Apple upgrade program.
- Thread starter JustCrusin
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
AT&T had a couple of programs.
AT&T Next 12:
20 installments, upgrade at 12 installments (pay 60%, effective trade-in value of 40%)
AT&T Next 18:
24 installments, upgrade at 18 installments (pay 75%, effective trade-in value of 25%)
I believe there was also a Next 24 but I'm not sure about the specifics for that one. Needless to say, probably has even worse trade-in value compared to Next 18. My guess, 30 installments, upgrade at 24, 20% effective trade-in.
I can't either. I guess it's so they have a better chance of getting that 0.5% interest rate decrease when they ask the bank to buy the house or car they can't afford.
That's not the point. Last year people with excellent credit were getting denied. Specialists were accidentally entering information incorrectly and people were being denied. People with little or no credit were being approved. Systems went down in some cases and people were being denied. That's what I mean by roulette. It was a crap shoot last year. Hopefully this year will be smoother.
[doublepost=1473618613][/doublepost]
I'm in Miami so I have a bunch of stores close by. I was up at 2:50am EDT and right at preorder open on the Apple Store app none had the 7+ in either black. I can still today get a 7+ in anything but black and a 7 in any color and memory. I ended up reserving a 7+ 128 silver and I'll ask if they have any black when I get there. If they allow us to have them shipped next year and allow us to return to store within the 14 days stated by the IUP rules then we won't have these issues. At least I'll feel like the playing field is more level for everyone.
Or it could be the case that there are young people who are trying to establish their credit and every little bit counts?
Except that it doesn't. I had a similar situation with IUP and I live between three very well stocked Apple stores.
I suppose. In the big picture, I see credit score more as a how-good-I-am-at-being-in-debt score. Been there, done that and I'm much happier when I don't owe people (especially banks) money. Even so, a couple of hard pulls per year isn't going to ding a debtor with good habits. And if it does, they're probably better off saving to buy the thing outright.
That's all fine and good for someone who's further along in life but avoiding the use of credit is not always practical when you're starting out. And it's not just debt. Nowadays even utilities and cable/internet providers do hard pulls to establish service.
You might be in a position to scoff at a few basis points, but that might not be true for the guy trying to buy his family their first house in the best school district he possibly can. It doesn't mean that he's miss-using credit. The fewer entities leaving tracks all over his CR, the better off he is.
Citizens could have set up these loans as revolving lines of credit which would have only required a soft pull (or none at all) with each new phone purchase. A hard pull once a year is completely unnecessary.
It's a lot further than upgrading via a website with a few clicks. I used to drive over an hour each way to and from work but that's hardly the point the OP was making, it's not about commuting.
I get that the program is supposed to be easier. But if you try to reserve a phone and it isn't available then you can't reserve it. I understand it stinks and you want to phone but if it takes a few days or a week it's ok. The program never said you were guaranteed a phone on launch day. I just order online and have it shipped. It may take a bit longer but in the end I'll be ok. The phone will come. You'll be ok also.
The issue is those people who ordered to have it shipped, including first time IUP buyers, had access to all the choices (other than jet black) where existing program members had to rely on what their local stores were allocated. So joining last year put us in a disadvantage. I'm just asking for the playing field to be even among all customers.
Exactly this. There should have been a way to get the upgrade without being locked to standing store stock.
Thanks that is a big one. I'm usually careful and never broke a screen before since using PDA devices back in the day when you had to carry a separate phone and pager in your pocket...but never say never right.
Last year I scratched the screen putting the phone in my pocket with car keys. Have to see if $65 is worth the extra 12 mo. coverage, probably is.
This year there were only two choices
- AT&T Next: 30 monthly installments; eligible for upgrade with eligible trade-in when 80% of the full retail price is paid off (approximately 24 monthly installment payments)
- AT&T Next Every Year: 24 monthly installments; eligible for upgrade with eligible trade-in when 50% of the full retail price is paid off (approximately 12 monthly installment payments)
There primary goal of this program is to sell more iPhones, sell more AppleCare and fatten the bottom line for Apple.
And it's working brilliantly.
And it's working brilliantly.
I'm a current IUP member, and the 6S/6S Plus was my last time doing it. I plan to pay these phones off and buy every iPhone outright from here on out. I can easily do it if I save $100 bucks per month between releases, and id just rather do it that way
No issue with how the program is set up, and unless you're buying a house/car, a couple point drop can be recovered from relatively quickly. Inquiries lose most of their reporting power after this first year anyways.
My issue with the IPhone upgrade program is unit availability with my carrier (T-Mobile). I was unable to locate a single T-Mobile 7 Plus for reservation in my entire state (and the state next to me) despite having been on the Apple site as soon as it went live. AT&T/Sprint/Verizon all had units in various sizes and colors available. As a result, the IUP no longer makes sense for me as a TMO customer, if TMO unit allocation is low like the last two iPhone releases(6s and 7) have proven.
No issue with how the program is set up, and unless you're buying a house/car, a couple point drop can be recovered from relatively quickly. Inquiries lose most of their reporting power after this first year anyways.
My issue with the IPhone upgrade program is unit availability with my carrier (T-Mobile). I was unable to locate a single T-Mobile 7 Plus for reservation in my entire state (and the state next to me) despite having been on the Apple site as soon as it went live. AT&T/Sprint/Verizon all had units in various sizes and colors available. As a result, the IUP no longer makes sense for me as a TMO customer, if TMO unit allocation is low like the last two iPhone releases(6s and 7) have proven.
I know that Apple's doing this to sell more iPhones, but since they've started directly competing against carriers for hardware sales, AT&T's changed their yearly upgrade plan to where it's now 10% cheaper for the customer (by speeding the monthly cost over 24 months, instead of 20), and now it looks like all of the carriers are offering a $650 credit if you buy a new iPhone 7/7 Plus from them (not Apple) and trade in an iPhone 6/6 Plus or newer.
So whatever Apple's primary goal is, things everywhere seem to be getting shaken up.
Not on early upgrades. It's a straight up swap for a new phone.
Financially, it's kinda of a lousy deal but I get it from the convenience standpoint.
You're telling everyone to avoid the Upgrade Program because....you are finding issue with traveling 40 minutes to your nearest Apple Store and because you have to go pick up the phone instead of shipping it to you? The logic.
Nope. The Apple CS rep told me I had to go 40 minutes to reserve the phone (today) and the drive another 40 minutes to pick it up on Saturday or Sunday next week. I have no problem traveling to the store to pick up and trade in my old phone. But I do have a problem having to drive 40 minutes to reserve a phone. This program is suppose to make things easier, this is not easier.
Does anyone know if you can change from a NEXT 18 plan to a Next Every Year? Both offer payment period of 24 months, but one you have to pay off 75% of the phone vs. only 50%!
I'm on 18, but could get a 7 now if was on the Every Year plan due having paid off 50% my 6S.