I have been using a no annual fee Wells Fargo credit card cell phone insurance for years. It was great coverage, in that there was no monthly premium. Obviously, that was an unbeatable price.
The only requirement was to pay the monthly phone bill with the card in full, and the devices listed on the bill would be covered.
It covered up to $600 per phone for damage or theft. I put my T-Mobile bill on autopay on the WF card. We had 5 claims of $600 each in about a decade, including multiple thefts in the US and abroad, cracked screens and water damage (turns out even IP68 rated phones don't like falling in the hot tub that much, even for very short periods). The insurance experience was excellent.
Last year, T-Mobile did away with discounts for using credit cards for autopay, raising the monthly cost by $5/line, or $10 total, on a $136 bill ($120 for phone, $16 for Netflix 4K add-on), which is effectively a 7.3% credit card fee - much higher than the <3% cost they actually incur. We still kept using the credit card and paid this fee due to the smartphone insurance. Effectively, the cost of using the credit card for insurance was now $10/month, much worse then free as in the past.
We just switched to US mobile yesterday using eSIM, which saves us a ton of money over T-Mobile each month. It looks like it will be just $33/month after the first month free trial ends. The Netflix 4K is now paid separately for $22.99. However, US Mobile is a prepaid operator, and the wireless bill won't list the devices. Thus, the Wells Fargo cell phone insurance will no longer apply. And US Mobile does not sell device insurance.
Given our history of claims, I would prefer to have some sort of coverage, but only if it makes financial sense, of course. We can certainly afford to pay the cost of replacement devices, especially with the $90/month we are now saving by using an MVNO, but it is still not pleasant if a total loss happens early in the device life (say, first year or two).
I'm wondering if any credit card cell phone insurance plan will work with prepaid plans.
Or maybe, a credit card that would cover phones if purchased in full on the card ?
The last option would be standalone cell phone insurance plans. Is there any that's worth it ?
My 2-year old Samsung S22 Ultra 5G is still worth about $500, about half the original purchase price, and has 3 years of updates left.
Husband's nearly 4-year old Note 20 Ultra 5G is worth about $300, and will have no more OS updates, but still getting security updates - unknown until when.
I would probably cover just the more expensive phone, until our devices break down or are EOL, and we replace them with new, which is not currently planned.
I did some searches. It looks like Allstate phone insurance covers identity theft, but not smartphone theft (!?).
The best I could find was Worthwave through Progressive .
https://www.worthavegroup.com/progressi ... e/step-one
$7/month for $499 coverage with $75 deductible. Or $71 annually. $136 for 2 years.
Is this the best deal to be found, or is there better, in terms of either lower premium or lower deductible ?
The only requirement was to pay the monthly phone bill with the card in full, and the devices listed on the bill would be covered.
It covered up to $600 per phone for damage or theft. I put my T-Mobile bill on autopay on the WF card. We had 5 claims of $600 each in about a decade, including multiple thefts in the US and abroad, cracked screens and water damage (turns out even IP68 rated phones don't like falling in the hot tub that much, even for very short periods). The insurance experience was excellent.
Last year, T-Mobile did away with discounts for using credit cards for autopay, raising the monthly cost by $5/line, or $10 total, on a $136 bill ($120 for phone, $16 for Netflix 4K add-on), which is effectively a 7.3% credit card fee - much higher than the <3% cost they actually incur. We still kept using the credit card and paid this fee due to the smartphone insurance. Effectively, the cost of using the credit card for insurance was now $10/month, much worse then free as in the past.
We just switched to US mobile yesterday using eSIM, which saves us a ton of money over T-Mobile each month. It looks like it will be just $33/month after the first month free trial ends. The Netflix 4K is now paid separately for $22.99. However, US Mobile is a prepaid operator, and the wireless bill won't list the devices. Thus, the Wells Fargo cell phone insurance will no longer apply. And US Mobile does not sell device insurance.
Given our history of claims, I would prefer to have some sort of coverage, but only if it makes financial sense, of course. We can certainly afford to pay the cost of replacement devices, especially with the $90/month we are now saving by using an MVNO, but it is still not pleasant if a total loss happens early in the device life (say, first year or two).
I'm wondering if any credit card cell phone insurance plan will work with prepaid plans.
Or maybe, a credit card that would cover phones if purchased in full on the card ?
The last option would be standalone cell phone insurance plans. Is there any that's worth it ?
My 2-year old Samsung S22 Ultra 5G is still worth about $500, about half the original purchase price, and has 3 years of updates left.
Husband's nearly 4-year old Note 20 Ultra 5G is worth about $300, and will have no more OS updates, but still getting security updates - unknown until when.
I would probably cover just the more expensive phone, until our devices break down or are EOL, and we replace them with new, which is not currently planned.
I did some searches. It looks like Allstate phone insurance covers identity theft, but not smartphone theft (!?).
The best I could find was Worthwave through Progressive .
https://www.worthavegroup.com/progressi ... e/step-one
$7/month for $499 coverage with $75 deductible. Or $71 annually. $136 for 2 years.
Is this the best deal to be found, or is there better, in terms of either lower premium or lower deductible ?
Statistics: Posted by madbrain — Wed Mar 27, 2024 6:27 am — Replies 0 — Views 1
