Is paying for an iPhone in one shot a good idea?
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (44721)
Staten Island, New York
February 17, 2020 3:10pm CST
My mom recently got herself a new iPhone because her old one was not working as well as it used to. I saw a charge on her credit card for the full amount of the phone and the charge was from Apple and not our wireless service provider. I was very surprised.
I wonder why she did that when we usually get our phones from our wireless service provider and do monthly financing. Is there really a benefit to paying for the phone in full rather than paying it off over time and also getting it directly from Apple?
I have iPhone 6S and it only has 16 GB of storage. I have hardly any left. I want to upgrade to a new one and with more storage but my current phone still works and I do not feel like spending all that money on a new phone, unless maybe my mom finances it.
5 people like this
6 responses
@LindaOHio (181821)
• United States
17 Feb 20
Is there interest charged if you pay it off over time? Maybe that's why...or she just wanted to be over and done with it.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44721)
• Staten Island, New York
17 Feb 20
You know, I am not sure on that. Thankfully, my mom can afford to pay for it in one shot. However, I think that paying a little every month is better than spending between $900 and $1000 at once.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (181821)
• United States
17 Feb 20
@lovebuglena Sometimes, if you can afford it, it's better to not have it to deal with...a personal choice.
@lovebuglena (44721)
• Staten Island, New York
17 Feb 20
@LindaOHio I wonder why she went directly to Apple. Is there a benefit to that?
@lovebuglena (44721)
• Staten Island, New York
17 Feb 20
That's a lot of money to spend in one shot. Not everyone can afford that, so it's great financing is available. I remember AT&T used to have this thing where you got an iPhone for $199. That's how I got my first iPhone and even gifted my mom one years ago. That doesn't exist anymore. 
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (120142)
• United States
17 Feb 20
@lovebuglena My ex bought our iPhone Xs for $1000 each but he did finance them. Me? I would have just paid for it in one shot
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
26 Feb 20
i pay for my phones out right so I don’t have to deal with extra payments. I need an upgrade soon, eventually. I have an iPhone 7 Plus right now
@lovebuglena (44721)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Feb 20
If you can pay for it in one shot that's great.
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
26 Feb 20
@lovebuglena yeah I don’t like my phone bill to get messed up :) it’s a fixed rate that works perfectly
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247184)
• United States
17 Feb 20
I just bought a new iPhone 11 Pro Max last Wednesday from Verizon. I went from a 6s with 16 GB to 65GB.
Rather than laying out all that cash for them to earn interest on, I financed it for $45 a month extra on our bill.
I can upgrade one year from last Wednesday if I want to.
@lovebuglena (44721)
• Staten Island, New York
18 Feb 20
65 GB seems like a good amount of storage. What's a Pro Max?
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44721)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Feb 20
@DianneN Is that like a Plus they used to have?
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@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
18 Feb 20
Yeah I know what you mean as we usually pay as we go with the service. Although we just spoke to them as they seemed to forget to lower the monthly cost after we paid.
@lovebuglena (44721)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Feb 20
How can they forget that?
1 person likes this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
21 Feb 20
@lovebuglena Just being sarcastic cause we had to phone and REMIND them as they just kept asking for the same money. They did resolve it though but I be they were hoping WE would forget :/
1 person likes this
@porwest (92625)
• United States
17 Feb 20
I am pretty sure when you do it that way, in monthly installments, you ultimately pay more either through interest or other fees. Most carriers KNOW most people will opt for monthly installments and this is just another way to get more money out of you most of the time.
@lovebuglena (44721)
• Staten Island, New York
18 Feb 20
So if a person pays in installments in the end that person pays more for the phone than they would had he/she paid in full? If that is the case, it is better to pay for it in full, assuming the person can afford it.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44721)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Feb 20
@porwest Yeah. My dad got $5 back from Geico for paying in full.
1 person likes this
@porwest (92625)
• United States
18 Feb 20
@lovebuglena That is the way I have always understood it to be. You pay at least some sort of additional finance fee for breaking it into installments. It's the same as if you pay your insurance premiums monthly or upfront. If you choose to pay your insurance premiums in installments you always pay more for the insurance policy than if you were to pay the premiums in full twice a year.
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