Unlocked iPhone Apple Card Financing

I just learned about this new demand when I was looking into financing an iPhone as a gift - definitely not interested singing a new carrier contract for that so I guess Apple will keep that iPhone as I don't have the budget to buy it cash at the moment. Don't see a benefit for having the Apple Card now.

Sorry if this is late, I never saw any work arounds, guess I need to pay better attention, I’ll buy it on the t mobile then not activate it, great help thanks and sorry it’s been a non issue but it helped me!! Better late then never!

My experience has been whenever you select an iPhone with a carrier you are connected to that carrier until released, and you cannot connect with any other carrier.

Never again will I get new carrier linked iPhone, and think that I’ll be able to use it anywhere with any server any provider of service, because it doesn’t work. There’s a process you must go through. In my case AT&T has to let Apple know, and then Apple does something to place the phone to an unlocked condition, but only after you have completed the contract.

I go out of country and absolutely, again in my experience, you do not want one of the international AT&T plans. I suspect other major carriers operate in a similar fashion. You can’t possibly use any of their plans, and not exceed one of the limitations, and then automatically get placed into international Rates, and end up with a bill of $500-$700 for a two week visit out of country. The only way around this is to have an unlocked iPhone directly from Apple, never from a carrier, and take the Sim card out in Miami before you go over the ocean. And you have to remember to forward calls to the AT&T number they have so you don’t get charged international rates for people calling you. If you do not do this, you will get charged for international calls whether or not you answer the call or not. You must do this before leaving Miami or whatever airport you’re at that leaves our airspace. on any of the Caribbean islands, you can get a local carrier for two weeks for about $20, Claro or Altice, with unlimited data and hundreds of minutes of calling, which you won’t need much of. You can do everything on one of the messaging apps that has calling and video chatting.

going on a trip sometime this year and see how the eSIM situation affects travel. I’m assuming you can turn off the eSIM to your local carrier here in the USA, and activate an available eSIM when you get to your destination. Again, it must be an unlocked iPhone from Apple directly. If not, then One can use an Internet unlimited data plan using one of the portable Wi-Fi hotspot devices. You can still get those that use SIM cards, then you just connect to it over its Wi-Fi. If you must make local phone calls, they buy a cheap burner type phone and buy a few hundred minutes for a few pesos.

I have not tried this any other way in the past five years or so, and what I have stated here may have changed, but I doubt significantly.

Best, Seth

You can still buy a phone through the Apple Installment Plan. Just go through the purchase process and select a carrier. Once you get home with your phone, contact your carrier and request an e-sim for your new phone.

The past experiences you post about, were you using the Apple Card Monthly Installment plan available with your Apple Card MasterCard? That’s what this thread is about, how to use ACMI with Apple Card.

magnusfromarlington wrote:

And I am just saying Apple lost my business - not up for playing these games.

You should buy from whatever company best meets your needs. No one here in this user-to-user forum has a vested interest in your choice.

It appears that you cannot switch a purchase made with the Apple Card to Apple Card Monthly Installments (ACMI) after the purchase has been completed. To receive the 0% APR installment plan, you must select ACMI as your payment option at the time of checkout. If you choose to pay for your eligible Apple purchase all at once with your Apple Card, that purchase will be subject to the standard purchase APR assigned to your Apple Card and cannot be changed to ACMI later.

Here are the key points from the website's information:

1- Select ACMI at Checkout: To receive 0% APR installments, you need to choose Apple Card Monthly Installments as your payment option when you check out. If you pay for your purchase in full with the Apple Card, it will be subject to the standard APR, not the 0% APR of ACMI.

2- Carrier Requirement for iPhone: When buying an iPhone with ACMI, you need to choose AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon as your carrier at checkout.

3- Ineligible Post-Purchase Conversion: The information does not mention any possibility of converting a full-price purchase to ACMI after the transaction is complete.

4- Separate Installments for AppleCare: If you buy AppleCare at the same time as an eligible product with ACMI, a separate installment plan is created. If AppleCare is purchased separately, it must be paid in full.

Therefore, if you want to use the ACMI plan for your new iPhone 15 Pro Max, you must select this option at the time of purchase. It would be advisable to ensure you select ACMI during checkout to benefit from the 0% APR installment plan.

I don't think Apple will let you get away with that.

My friends call me Jeff, but you wouldn’t be the first to call me Donald. 😁 How close are you to an Apple Retail Store? I saw a post on Reddit about something similar a few weeks ago. But they were in store and signed up for an account and then cancelled it as soon as they go home.

Yours is the first report of this. I’ll do some digging around and see what I can find and we can compare notes in a day or two. If I don’t post, just post a reply to this or basically bump the post. We’ll figure it out.

koustubh272 wrote:

Well looks like during checkout there is a page that asks for T-Mobile number and T-Mobile pin else you cannot proceed with the next steps of buying the phone by selecting T-Mobile as the carrier. This is about the method Donald had recommended. Any way out of this?

An active line with one of the carriers is required to access the monthly installments yes. This has been the case for a long time now.

The active line does not need to be yours. You can borrow one from a friend or relative just for the checkout procedure.

Once you get the phone and are setting it up, you can do what Jeff suggests to bypass the T-Mobile setup screen and use your own carrier.

You don't believe Apple has monetized this by funneling every new phone purchase on the apple card through the big 3?

Not in any meaningful way. Apple Card issuer had more to lose than Apple.

You’re welcome. Hit your $500 Signup Bonus and It pays for ½ your iPhone.

Thought it was $200?

Yes that true, but the APR is some crazy amount. Might as well charge it to a credit card at 6%.

I just did the exact same thing! Thanks to the other poster for letting us know.