Apple Care + vs. Square Trade

wgillis

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Moving up to the 6s plus from a 5s. I'm generally pretty careful with my phone, but I think my chances of dropping it will increase due to the size.

With that, I think it will be a smart idea to get some insurance. In the past Apple Care+ was pretty competitive with Square Trade pricing, but it doesn't seem to be the case this year.

Apple Care +: $129 plus $99 damage coverage fee

Square Trade: $99 plus $75 deductible

So, is there a big enough advantage with Apple Care + vs Square Trade to justify the price difference?
 

ReeseyKups

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Moving up to the 6s plus from a 5s. I'm generally pretty careful with my phone, but I think my chances of dropping it will increase due to the size.

With that, I think it will be a smart idea to get some insurance. In the past Apple Care+ was pretty competitive with Square Trade pricing, but it doesn't seem to be the case this year.

Apple Care +: $129 plus $99 damage coverage fee

Square Trade: $99 plus $75 deductible

So, is there a big enough advantage with Apple Care + vs Square Trade to justify the price difference?
I've been looking at the options too and being that square trade will allow you to take to Apple Store and reimburse the cost of repair minus the deductible, I'm now leaning toward square trade. IMHO square trade wins.
 

John Yester

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To me it's only a difference of 6 dollars.


Also some other pros of Apple Care is you can go into Apple and have things taken care of that does not reflect you Apple Care plan. they just take care of it. Vs Square Trade, regardless you have to file a claim.
 

anon(4698833)

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To me it's only a difference of 6 dollars.


Also some other pros of Apple Care is you can go into Apple and have things taken care of that does not reflect you Apple Care plan. they just take care of it. Vs Square Trade, regardless you have to file a claim.

$6? How about $30...plus $24 every time you have to actually use it. I've never carried square trade insurance on my iPhones or iPads, but I had it on my Macbook Pro for years and on EVERY television I ever buy (and man it came in handy when one of my plasma screens went bad a few years ago...got a brand new replacement a few days later and they carried off the old one!)

Personally, if I were to get coverage on my iPhone, I'd go with square trade just to save some cash on something I probably won't use...especially since I only ever keep my iPhones for a year, which covers most of the warranty stuff under the factory 1 year warranty (which is really why I've never bought such coverage for any of my phones).
 

kilofoxtrot

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Dont forget your credit card company. YMMV depending on the card used.

I bought my phone using my Citicard Double Cash. 2% cash back on purchase of iPhone. Includes extended factory warranty for another year and protection from loss or theft for 120 days after purchase.
 

bailbrae

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For what it's worth...I have squaretrade on my teenage son's android phone. With good reason, lol...6 days after he got it for Christmas, he dropped it face first and the screen shattered. I will say that it was easy enough deal with the squaretrade people. Responsive and nice, however, we did have to send his phone to them to get fixed (he got an S5 Active and there was an issue finding a local repair person...dunno if that was a crap excuse or what). It only took a couple of weeks. Maybe just under. And we always have an older phone laying around the house, so he wasn't totally without during the repair.

My issue however, and this was not spelled out to me when I purchased my plan, was that when I was making the claim, the squaretrade rep told explicitly (because I asked explicitly) that while yes, there are 3 allowable claims on the device during the two years, that each time a repair is made, that total amount is deducted from the value of the phone. For example...the phone cost (at the time of purchase) $649 full price. His screen repair cost approx. $160. So, from that point forward, the value of the phone is only $489. Now, if he drops it again and he needs another screen repair, that's fine. BUT, if something happens to the phone and it can't be repaired and they can't replace the phone, they will only give me $489 towards a replacement.

For some, that might not matter. But my understanding of Applecare+ is that it's not that way. You pay your $79 (or now $99) and the phone is either fixed or replaced, period. I guess ultimately, it depends on how often you need to repair your phone. I have had Applecare on every single device, but have never made one claim. It's just comforting to me to have, because I do drop everything and I know at some point that's going to catch up with me. :D

If you don't anticipate really needing to file a claim, or needing to file more than one claim, then just for the sake of "peace of mind," squaretrade might be a more affordable option.
 

anon(4698833)

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From my understanding, they carry over the phone models they cover for up to 3 years, which outlives the warranty you end up buying from SquareTrade anyways. So while there may be incidents where the device has to be replaced, during your warranty period, there will never be a situation where they don't have the device to replace it with...but even if they did face that situation, they'd give you the next relevant version of the device. Essentially, if you bought an iPhone 5 when it was released and covered it under the plan, if they ran out of iPhone 5's to replace it with, they'd give you a 5S as they would still be stocking those for replacement purposes.

This is what happened with the plasma TV we had replaced by ST...the TV had a 4 year warranty, and 3 years into it it completely died. They did not have the TV anymore to replace it, nor could they find it...so they gave us the next years model variant (which actually came with more features). It was a remanufactured version, but we still have it today and it works perfectly.

Another pretty awesome feature of ST's coverage on mobile devices as far as I know though is that they cover battery replacement regardless of condition of the device...so if you're a person who keeps these things for years (like most people do with iPads I imagine), you can get a brand new battery in there years later when the original one starts pooping out.

One thing to keep in mind though when buying a ST warranty is that during the first year of ownership, ST will refer you to Apple for ANY warranty work outside of negligent repairs (broken screens, damage, etc). If the device starts acting up, and you want service, they won't touch it for the first year, even though when you buy the warranty, the coverage starts when you buy it, which would include the first year...kind of weird, but it is what it is.
 

wgillis

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I think I may hold off a day or so and see if SquareTrade offers a discount code for the new iPhone.

The only solid disadvantage to Square Trade is if you totally destroy the phone, they'll give you a reconditioned replacement. For everything else, it's pretty much a draw.

The one big advantage to SquareTrade is you can cancel anytime and get a prorated refund. So if you upgrade to the IPhone 7 next year, you'll get money back. No so with AppleCare.
 

John Yester

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Typing didn't go to well yesterday lol. Meant $60. well $54 to be exact comparing apples to apples. cost of plan and deductible as you stated....


Really debating if i should go this route now..

$6? How about $30...plus $24 every time you have to actually use it. I've never carried square trade insurance on my iPhones or iPads, but I had it on my Macbook Pro for years and on EVERY television I ever buy (and man it came in handy when one of my plasma screens went bad a few years ago...got a brand new replacement a few days later and they carried off the old one!)

Personally, if I were to get coverage on my iPhone, I'd go with square trade just to save some cash on something I probably won't use...especially since I only ever keep my iPhones for a year, which covers most of the warranty stuff under the factory 1 year warranty (which is really why I've never bought such coverage for any of my phones).
 

anon(4698833)

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I think I may hold off a day or so and see if SquareTrade offers a discount code for the new iPhone.

The only solid disadvantage to Square Trade is if you totally destroy the phone, they'll give you a reconditioned replacement. For everything else, it's pretty much a draw.

The one big advantage to SquareTrade is you can cancel anytime and get a prorated refund. So if you upgrade to the IPhone 7 next year, you'll get money back. No so with AppleCare.

You get a reconditioned replacement from Apple too unless you need one in the first few weeks...in the first few weeks, there's simply not very many reconditioned devices so you stand a better chance of getting a new replacement, but after that, you're assuredly getting a reman'ed unit.
 

jpw94

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I just spoke to apple folks today as I was upgrading to iPhone 6s. They said advantage to the AppleCare+ plan was that if you need a new phone it's NEW... no expereience with this but I believe him.
 

anon(4698833)

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I just spoke to apple folks today as I was upgrading to iPhone 6s. They said advantage to the AppleCare+ plan was that if you need a new phone it's NEW... no expereience with this but I believe him.

For the first few weeks this is probably true...simply because of the lack of stock of refurbished variants. After that, you're almost assured to get a remanufactured replacement if you need a full replacement. It's always been like that...good thing is, the refurbished models go through a pain staking quality control process, some even think it exceeds that of the new out of box models.

Either way, what that guy told you is only partially true.
 

ReeseyKups

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Nice. Okay so maybe AppleCare+ is worth it if you live close enough to an Apple Store. If not, Square Trade sounds like a viable option.
 

anon(4698833)

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I've been told before that AppleCare+ warranty repairs were usually refurbished units but for a damage claim where you pay the deductible, it's a new unit (but in a plain white box because it doesn't come with he accessories).

And that very well may be true...but given the way the identifying details have been clouded over the years between new iPhones and refurbished ones, I doubt you'd really ever know truthfully.
 

phreddyl

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OK I am resurrecting this thread... Just got my 6s- Love it by the way... Square trade would cost me $90 per phone ( hubby upgraded too) compared to $130 for apple care+- I live maybe 15 minutes from an apple store- does it make sense to spend the extra $20 for the one year per phone or save it and lets say buy another case or something lol. How has apple stores been with dealing with square trade warranty issues? Anyone regret going with square trade over apple care?
 

eyecrispy

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OK I am resurrecting this thread... Just got my 6s- Love it by the way... Square trade would cost me $90 per phone ( hubby upgraded too) compared to $130 for apple care+- I live maybe 15 minutes from an apple store- does it make sense to spend the extra $20 for the one year per phone or save it and lets say buy another case or something lol. How has apple stores been with dealing with square trade warranty issues? Anyone regret going with square trade over apple care?

I never buy apple care+. I have taken a few back for warranty issues within the first year and Apple has done a great job taking care of me. I've also used squaretrade in the past and have had really good experiences with them as well. If you live near an Apple Store, I would go with the apple care+. It's just faster and less hassle. Just my $0.02.
 

meyer

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Glad this popped back up because I just got done chatting with Verizon and apparently we have Asurion Wireless Protection Plan that is $11/phone a month which covers the iPhones from lost, stolen, damaged, cracked, etc but there is a deductible of $149 for a 128gb 6S+ but $199 for a 6+...weird.
Basically, $22 a month for both phones fully covered. That's a lot but I never gave it much thought because I've been paying it forever; not to mention I don't think we've ever made a claim expect way back in MY Droid Charge days.

I feel like I need to look into other alternatives.
 

John Yester

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So that's $528.00 for two years. Only thing it gives you is coverage on lost. Everything else is covered under Apple care.

Glad this popped back up because I just got done chatting with Verizon and apparently we have Asurion Wireless Protection Plan that is $11/phone a month which covers the iPhones from lost, stolen, damaged, cracked, etc but there is a deductible of $149 for a 128gb 6S+ but $199 for a 6+...weird.
Basically, $22 a month for both phones fully covered. That's a lot but I never gave it much thought because I've been paying it forever; not to mention I don't think we've ever made a claim expect way back in MY Droid Charge days.

I feel like I need to look into other alternatives.
 

meyer

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I know. I'm kind of sour about it now :rotfl: Wish I would of looked into it WAY sooner but I got complacent and that's my bad.

It's all good, I dropped the insurance with Verizon. I'll activate mine when it shows up tomorrow and go with Apple Care if I think it's necessary. I have one within about an hour driving so it's not all that bad.
 
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