As if putting a shiny new credit card in the Wallet app ready to be used with just a few taps wasn’t enough, Apple Card customers in the United States can now purchase a brand spanking new iPhone on an interest-free payment plan.
As hinted yesterday, Apple Card’s Monthly Installments feature launched on Tuesday in the United States. To get started, choose your new iPhone and then select Apple Card Monthly Installments as your payment option in the Apple Store app or online at apple.com.
Here’s Apple’s blurb promoting the new feature:
Introducing an awesome new way to buy an iPhone from Apple – online at apple.com, in the Apple Store app or at an Apple Store near you. Pay with interest-free monthly payments. Get Daily Cash back. And see it all alongside your everyday Apple Card purchases.
In other words, you can pick up a brand new iPhone from Apple and pay it off gradually with 24 monthly installments on your Apple Card with the interest rate at zero percent. You also get three percent Daily Cash back on the purchase price of your new iPhone, automatically added to your Apple Cash card in the Wallet app.
Your monthly installment payments could be even lower if you trade in your old phone. Keep in mind that Monthly Installments are subject to credit availability.
According to TechCrunch, all purchases made with Apple Card through December 31, 2019 get you six percent cashback instead of the usual three precent back on Apple purchases.
Apple already offered customers a way to pay for their iPhone purchases interest-free through its existing iPhone Upgrade Program. That program required a 24-month installment loan from Citizens One, but could still charge other fees — like those on late payments, for example.
The new iPhone installment program is a first-party offering with all the advantages that entails, including the three percent or six percent back — depending on when the purchase is made — as well as the ability to manage payments directly within the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone.
The installment program won’t replace the existing Apple Upgrade program, as that will remain available for non-Apple Card users. However, Apple Card owners will likely choose the first-party program the next time they want to upgrade for all its obvious advantages.
Monthly Installments are found alongside your everyday Apple Card purchases in Wallet.
You can see the full details of your monthly installment, including the remaining balance and your installment history. And because your monthly iPhone installment is automatically added to the minimum payment due on your Apple Card, you make a single payment.
To learn how you can view and pay your Apple Card Monthly Installments, read Apple’s support document. and visit apple.com/apple-card/monthly-installments for additional information.