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The ultimate guide for saving money on new iPhones

The new iPhones come with a hefty price tag.
CUPERTINO, CA - SEPTEMBER 12: An attendee looks at a new iPhone X during an Apple special event at the Steve Jobs Theatre on the Apple Park campus on September 12, 2017 in Cupertino, California. 

The new iPhone 8 and iPhoneX are drool-worthy devices, especially if your smartphone has taken a beating, no longer stays charged, or shoots crummy video. With new features like facial recognition and an all-glass design, they’ll be hard to resist.

The iPhone 8’s standout features are an all-glass design, wireless charging, and a retina HD display and technology that’s expected to make images crisper and more colorful. Camera improvements include a new color filter, a faster and larger sensor, and new technology that helps to keep your photos and videos from being shaky.

The iPhone X comes with two cameras and sensors with Face ID and a 5.8-inch “super retina” display, in addition to an all-glass front and back, wireless charging, and other new features available in the iPhone 8.

But, of course, these new editions come with a hefty price tag.

The iPhone 8 will start at $699 for a 4.7-inch display and $799 for a 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus. You can pre-order the iPhone 8 starting at 12 a.m. PST on Sept. 15.

You’ll have to wait until Oct. 27 at 12 a.m. PST to pre-order its fancier big brother, the iPhone X, which comes in at a staggering $999 base price.

Before you get sticker shock, here’s what you need to know to purchase and finance these souped-up smartphones, and to possibly carve out extra funds for new accessories.

Siri: How Do I Finance A New iPhone?

You can pre-order both devices at apple.com. You also can pre-order through some mobile carriers, such as T-Mobile.

There are several ways to finance a new iPhone if you can’t afford to fork over the cash. Just be sure you’re careful to pick the best choice for your finances. We’ll cover all your options below.

Finance directly with your carrier

The major carriers offering the new iPhones mostly have their own version of a financing deal, allowing you to break up payments over a set period of time. We’ll cover the highlights of a few major carriers below.

What to watch out for when you finance through a carrier:

  • If you cancel your plan before your phone is paid off, you may have to pay off the full balance immediately. Read your terms carefully.
  • Ask if the carrier will be doing a hard pull on your credit report, which could be a ding that you don’t want to take. Some carriers, like AT&T, say credit approval is required, but the fine print doesn’t provide a credit score minimum.

AT&T: AT&T has two financing programs — AT&T Next and AT&T Every Year. AT&T Next requires mostly no money down (but you will have to pay for sales tax), has no finance charges, and divvies up the monthly payments over 24 or 30 months. You can trade in your phone and get a new upgrade every two years. AT&T Every Year offers the same basic financing deal but with the ability to get a new upgrade every year with trade-in.

T-Mobile: Customers can finance a new iPhone through T-Mobile’s installment plan, which breaks up payments over 24 months. As an incentive, the carrier is offering a $300 credit for people who trade up from an iPhone 6 or newer, but that credit is spread across the term of your installment plan.

Sprint: Sprint is offering half off the iPhone 8, with a trade-in if you finance with their monthly Sprint Flex plan starting at $14.58 a month.

Sign up for special financing through Barclaycard

Through a partnership with Barclays, consumers can receive up to 18 months of 0% financing if they purchase the new iPhone ($999 to $1,149, depending on the model you choose) on the Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards card. They also can receive special financing on other Apple purchases — except for iTunes purchases — made within the account’s first 30 days.

You’ll also earn points on purchases at Apple, specifically three points for every $1 spent at store.apple.com, the Apple Store, the iTunes Store, or 1-800-MY-APPLE. To be eligible for the credit card, you also have to be 18 years and older.

The length of the 0% financing offer depends on how much you spend.

  • 6 months: less than $499
  • 12 months: $499 to less than $999
  • 18 months: $999 to less than $1,499
  • 24 months: $1,499 and over

But before you apply for this card, there are some caveats that are important to note.

Deferred interest. If you don’t pay off your card before your promotional period ends, you’ll get hit with deferred interest charges. That means they’ll act as if you’d been paying interest all along and add the entire total to your credit card bill.

Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the balance isn’t paid off by the end of the promotional period or if you make a late payment. The annual percentage rate (APR) on your purchase will be 14.99%, 20.99% or 27.99%, based on your credit history when you open the account.

If you purchase the lowest cost version of the iPhone 8 ($699), at best you could qualify for the 12-month 0% intro APR offer. That would require monthly payments of at least $58.25 per month if you want to pay it in full and avoid getting slapped with deferred interest.

You won’t have to worry about interest if you pay the balance for your new iPhone in full by the end of your promotional period. Know your deadline, since it may be different from a friend’s deadline if they spent more or less than you.

Use a no-interest, no-fee credit card

If you can’t fork out the full amount, look for other credit cards with 0% intro interest offers and zero fees. Pay attention to the length of the 0% intro offer because you will need to pay off the purchase before it expires or you might be hit with interest.

The Citi Simplicity® card is MagnifyMoney’s top pick for credit cards with a 0% intro APR offer right now. The card gives you 0% intro APR for 21 months after you open the card, and there’s no annual fee.

The best part? There’s no sneaky deferred interest clause, which means if you don’t pay the card off in full after that 21 months are up, you won't get back-charged for interest.

Just make sure you purchase the phone after you open the card because the 21-month time limit starts ticking from the moment you’re approved, not from when you make a purchase.

How to get a discount on your new iPhone

If you’re savvy, you can try these ways to shave some money off the total cost of a new iPhone.

Switch carriers to score discounts

Check out the offers from your current phone carrier or a competitor if you’re interested in switching carriers and can do so without penalty. Some promotions include a discount on the purchase of a new iPhone if you trade in your old phone, or discounts on other Apple products.

Most promotions have caveats, such as required enrollment in a monthly installment plan or credits divided into a series of lower payments.

Trade in to trim the cost

Verizon is offering $300 off an iPhone 8 if you trade in phones from a list that includes iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, Galaxy S8 and Moto Z2 Force.

T-Mobile’s $300 credit will be broken up over a 24-month installment plan for consumers who turn in a paid-off iPhone 6 or newer version, according to its @TMobileHelp Twitter account.

Sprint is offering half off the iPhone 8, with a trade-in and the monthly Sprint Flex plan starting at $14.58 a month.

You can receive up to $260 in credit from Apple if you trade in an eligible smartphone. Estimated trade-in values, according to Apple, include:

  • iPhone 5: $45
  • iPhone 5c: $35
  • iPhone 5s: $70
  • iPhone SE: $135
  • iPhone 6: $135
  • iPhone 6 Plus: $170
  • iPhone 6s: $215
  • iPhone 6s Plus: $260

Of course, you don’t get the credit in cash outright, but here’s what you can do with the trade-in bonus:

  • Apply the credit to the full iPhone cost or the monthly payments to your mobile carrier.
  • Use the credit toward the purchase of any device at the Apple Store.
  • Receive an Apple Store gift card by mail.

Upgrade your old phone through Apple

Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program is still around. If you have made at least 12 payments for an existing iPhone, you can return your phone to Apple and upgrade to a new version.

For this program, payments start at $34.50 a month, and you will enter into a 24-month, 0% APR agreement with Citizens Bank, also an Apple bank partner. A credit card is required for this program, which also provides AppleCare+ coverage (a $129 value).

You have to activate the phone with AT&T, Sprint or Verizon, or activate with T-Mobile through the Apple Store. There’s no requirement that you remain with a certain carrier, if you want flexibility in switching carriers while paying off the phone.

The perk of this program is that Apple says the new iPhone will be shipped to your house for free or you can pick it up in a store. Then you will either use the Trade-in Kit to return your old iPhone to Apple or bring it to the store.'

MagnifyMoney is a price comparison and financial education website, founded by former bankers who use their knowledge of how the system works to help you save money.

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