Don’t trade-in with Apple when using gift cards

eurovision_fan

Seriously… do not use Apple Trade In if you intend to use primarily use Apple Giftcards towards your purchase.

I know buying new gear is never cheap, but my old iPhone 11 was starting to lag and as my area is only just getting to 4G standard - it meant my phone was struggling to keep up, as my phone was based for 3G and 4G (as a bonus). 

So seeing how a new iPhone 15 was going to cost me £800, I thought I would use my old phone as a trade-in (£170) leaving me with £630 remaining to save up.

One of the perks from my employer was I was able to buy certain giftcards for a percentage less than face value - not much but I was thinking, a saving is a saving. 

But it was not… every thing I did thinking I was saving myself time and money, ended up making my situation worse.

I had planned to buy various small value cards each month as a way to save up towards my phone

Alarm bell 1 🔔- You can only use a maximum of 6 giftcards in a single transaction. 

I had purchased my giftcards as Digital Giftcards that arrived by email - I was worried about keeping these in my inbox, lest anyone somehow gain access and steal them, or me inadvertently deleting them when clearing my inbox… so I added them to my Apple Account to be safe…
Alarm Bell 2 🔔 - If you redeem your gift card onto your Apple Account, it cannot be used for in-store transactions

Whilst I was browsing my phone on the Apple website - it said even though I was intending to return my iPhone 11 for £170 off the list price, I still had to pay the whole £799 outright first, and I would get the £170 back upon return.

So I thought well since I’m getting the £170 back, I’ll pay that £170 in cash off my bank card, Apple could then once they’ve got my old phone, refund me my £170 back to my bank account…
ALARM BELL 3 🔔- APPLE refunds the trade in value to the payment method that paid for the majority of the item.

So this meant, because I paid £630 in Apple Giftcards and £170 in cash… they paid me my £170 trade-in value in giftcards. 

I spoke and complained to Apple about what my situation was and why I paid the way I did - and the chat assistant said, unfortunately because it is listed in their T&Cs about all the above issues, there is nothing they can do.

As much as I do have Apple products, I rarely use the rest of the Apple ecosystem - which means I now have £170 of my money locked behind their paywall with no way of retrieving it.
I have looked at various items on the Apple Store, but there is nothing I need nor want. 

So my ultimate warning to forumites or TLDR - DONT USE THE APPLE TRADE-IN OPTION IF BUYING WITH GIFTCARDS.

Newbie_John

Gift cards come with a lot of problems sadly - unless it is for a store that offers a lot like Amazon, supermarket then you always risk having the item returned and returned and receiving gift cards back and no longer needing them.
I once purchased £300 Airbnb giftcards for the same reason as you mentioned above - and the host cancelled the stay, we got giftcards back. Purchased last minute accommodation elsewhere and had money frozen with Airbnb. Used a year later but still.. 

So your warning should apply not just to Apple but all giftcard use, it can be risky, and cancel all the savings you thought it could give you.