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Carrier iPhone 18 AT&T Bill Credits via Apple Pre-Order?

T

thetaco25

macrumors regular
Original poster
I'll be trading in an iPhone 15 Pro through the AT&T Special Trade-In Offer that gives $1,200 of bill credits (over 36 months) when you purchase the iPhone 18 Pro. I went through the Pre-Order flow through the Apple Store app, and the confirmation email that I received has some confusing language.

"Your total trade-in credit includes an instant credit of $370.00 from Apple and $1,200.00 from AT&T in bill credits.."

Shouldn't I only be getting one or the other, rather than both? I thought I'm trading in the phone to AT&T, which is why I'm getting the $1,200 in bill credits, rather than trading the phone in to Apple. At least that's how it has worked in the past. Screenshot of the email is below.
 

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thetaco25 said:
I'll be trading in an iPhone 15 Pro through the AT&T Special Trade-In Offer that gives $1,200 of bill credits (over 36 months) when you purchase the iPhone 18 Pro. I went through the Pre-Order flow through the Apple Store app, and the confirmation email that I received has some confusing language.

"Your total trade-in credit includes an instant credit of $370.00 from Apple and $1,200.00 from AT&T in bill credits.."

Shouldn't I only be getting one or the other, rather than both? I thought I'm trading in the phone to AT&T, which is why I'm getting the $1,200 in bill credits, rather than trading the phone in to Apple. At least that's how it has worked in the past. Screenshot of the email is below.
Click to expand...
It's correct.
Trade in for your 15 Pro thru Apple - you will get a trade in box to send it out.
AT&T offer includes the trade in but you are stuck with a long term monthly bill credits that will total $1200.

You just can not upgrade every year.
 
Wow, this still seems too good to be true. I know the credits lock me in for 36 months, but I figured AT&T would need my old phone to make it worthwhile for them. Thanks!
 
Here's what Apple Chat had to say:

If you choose the carrier deal during checkout on the website, your trade-in device will go to AT&T to ensure you get their specific promotional bill credits.

Even though you are purchasing through the website, the phone is processed under your carrier account, and you will typically receive a prepaid shipping kit from them or you can drop the old device off directly at an AT&T corporate store within 30 days of activating your new iPhone.

You will still absolutely receive that 370 credit because it is part of the total promotional value of your trade-in.

When you preorder on the website using carrier financing, the $370 is applied immediately at checkout as an instant credit from Apple, which lowers the total price of your new iPhone so you finance a smaller amount.

The remaining portion of your total promotional value will then be applied by AT&T as monthly bill credits spread over your 36-month installment plan.

Because this is a joint promotion where Apple handles the upfront value and the physical device inspection, you will actually use the trade-in kit sent by Apple to mail your old phone back, and this action triggers both your instant $370 savings and your monthly carrier credits.

I found this a little contradictory, so I clarified and here's further detail:

Oh, sorry for the confusion. For online preorders utilizing carrier financing, customers must use the trade-in kit provided by Apple to return their old device and handle the inspection process. Separate drop-off options or shipping kits from AT&T only apply to purchases made directly at an AT&T retail location.

For further clarification: Since you are purchasing your new iPhone on the Apple Website, Apple is the retailer processing the order, so you must use the trade-in kit sent by Apple to mail your old phone back to them for inspection.

AT&T only handles the shipping kit or store drop-off if you buy the new iPhone directly from an AT&T retail store or the AT&T website.

No matter which place you buy it from, you still get your monthly AT&T bill credits, but buying through Apple means Apple physically takes your old phone and gives you that instant credit upfront at checkout.
 
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I'm going to inspect this myself now...very interesting development. I didn't see that when I initially did it, but wondering if I didn't "do it right" and merely saved my configuration instead. Will report back.
 
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That's what this chat agent is suggesting. Still doesn't really make a lot of sense to me / seems too good to be true.
 
That's a good point. That's contradictory to what the email says, which refers to both the $370 and a full $1200 amount of bill credits.
 
Yeah, this is weird...I got something similar. I put a $263 deposit down to lower my monthly cost from $8 to $1/mo. Was that not needed in my scenario?

1789149474647.png
 
That specifically says you’ll get the $33.33 credit when it shows before and after monthly payment. What remains to be seen is if you’ll actually get the $455 credit from Apple. I can’t believe that’s how it will work though.
 
I asked Claude. It saw the same discrepancy—it hypothesized that the Apple trade-in credit could still be received as a reimbursement to a payment method (card) on file once Apple receives the trade-in. Maybe the $1200 from AT&T is their promo credit for signing on for another three years...?

So I could see a reimbursement of my $263 down payment once Apple gets my iPhone 15 PM. Either way, I'm getting an upgrade for a very attractive price with or without the Apple Trade-In.
 
Nope, nothing that really clarifies what we’re discussing. Just:

Carrier-financed iPhone
You will be charged separately by your carrier for your monthly iPhone payments and any one-time upgrade or line access fees.
Applicable fees and taxes will be applied at time of charge.
 
So what are yall planning to do tomorrow morning? Are you going to try preordering through Apple or through AT&T?
 
I posted on Reddit, and it seems like you’ll get the trade in for your old phone up front, with the att credits as ($1200-apple credit)/36. That makes the most sense.
 
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