Best Buy Upgrade Plus lets you pay for a new Apple Watch Ultra over three years - The Verge

Best Buy Upgrade Plus lets you pay for a new Apple Watch Ultra over three years

Best Buy Upgrade Plus lets you pay for a new Apple Watch Ultra over three years

Best Buy Upgrade Plus lets you pay for a new Apple Watch Ultra over three years

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After three years, Best Buy offers a discount to return the device or upgrade to something new, or you can pay it off yourself and keep the device you have.

By Sheena Vasani , a writer covering commerce, e-readers, and tech news. She previously wrote about everything from web development to AI at Inside.

Jun 14, 2023, 7:35 PM UTC |

The Upgrade Plus offer applies to both the latest 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Image: Dan Seifert / The Verge

Best Buy is expanding its monthly financing program, Upgrade Plus, to include more Apple devices, the company announced. Starting today, the program will finance the latest 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pros or Apple Watch Ultra to approved customers via Citizens Bank.

Much like how Apple lets users “lease” iPhones through its iPhone upgrade program, customers can pay off their iPad Pro or Apple Watch Ultra over an extended period of time. Apple gives iPhone customers 24 months, though, while Upgrade Plus stretches things an additional year.

After the three-year period is over, customers have the option of staying in the program and upgrading to a newer model or returning the device and leaving Upgrade Plus. Alternatively, customers who want to own the device could make the final payment in the 37th month.

When you do the math, it means paying $17.32 every month for three years for the $799 Apple Watch Ultra or the base 11-inch iPad Pro model. If you want to pay off the device, you’d fork out $175.78 for the final payment due in the 37th month. If you choose to upgrade it, though, Best Buy will cover the last payment for you. Best Buy will also pay off the remaining balance of the purchase if you return the device and leave the program, which means you could potentially be saving $175.78.

However, there’s a catch: that number assumes you qualify for a zero percent APR offer. If you don’t, you could be paying a max interest of 29.99 percent, depending on your creditworthiness. Also, the program will only cover the Wi-Fi-enabled version of the iPad Pro.

Meanwhile, you’ll be able to get up to 24 months of AppleCare Plus free if you’re a paying Best Buy Totaltech member who purchases the tablet or rugged smartwatch through Upgrade Plus. You’ll have to remain an active Totaltech member during that time period, however. Non-Totaltech members won’t get AppleCare Plus for free, but they can finance the plan along with other Apple accessories through Upgrade Plus.

Launched in collaboration with Apple last October, Upgrade Plus initially only financed Macs for its first few months. It’ll continue to provide financing for the latest models of the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Studio, and the Mac Mini.

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