Square Trade

[Hawkmech]

Anyone used Square Trade before?
Do you get a new phone, is it hassle free?
Did a online quote and it was $6 month and $50 deductible for 2 years.
Covers defects and drops, water, etc.
Have 90 days to order it.
Better deal than Verizons

 

[jrm1013]

I signed up for Square Trade. Make sure you search for a coupon code before you place an order. I did and it came to like 110$ for 2 years of coverage w/ accidental. I have no personal experience of having something replaced through them, but I've heard great stories.

 

[Hawkmech]

Was reading the FAQ, sounds like you have to send the item in for them to evaluate if you are making a claim, dont think I would like that?

 

[superchaos]

I have it but have not had to use it. PM me your email and I can send you an offer to a 20% discount if you can't find a better discount.

I heard a lot of complaints about square trade not fulfilling the warranty but you have to fax or email the receipt of your phone over to them per the agreement or they will not do the warranty. You can do that after you buy the warranty from them.

As the OP asked, has anyone actually had to use the warranty?

 

[milnivlek]

SquareTrade has a pretty good reputation for its laptop warranties (which people often purchase when buying a used laptop off eBay). Hopefully their service quality is just as good for their smartphone warranties.

 

[GrandMasterB]

Anyone used Square Trade before?
Do you get a new phone, is it hassle free?
Did a online quote and it was $6 month and $50 deductible for 2 years.
Covers defects and drops, water, etc.
Have 90 days to order it.
Better deal than Verizons

Not so sure you can call it a better deal than Verizons, its also only $6 a month and thats month by month , not a 2 year commitment so you can cancel after 3 months or whenever and not have to try to get a refund for the remaining 21 months.

If you file a claim with Asurion they overnight your replacement device upon claim. No sending it in and waiting for an "inspection"

Square Trade does not cover loss/theft, Asurion does.

 

[AllezDada]

Not so sure you can call it a better deal than Verizons, its also only $6 a month and thats month by month , not a 2 year commitment so you can cancel after 3 months or whenever and not have to try to get a refund for the remaining 21 months.

If you file a claim with Asurion they overnight your replacement device upon claim. No sending it in and waiting for an "inspection"

Square Trade does not cover loss/theft, Asurion does.

Agreed. The deductible is more - $89 with Asurion, but you can stop coverage at any time (eg after a year or 18 mo) and coverage for theft/loss is a big plus for me.

 

[Hawkmech]

Anyone know, do you really have to send your phone in to Square Trade if you make a claim so they can inspect it, thats likely a deal breaker for me? Granted you might get a new phone but I think I would prefer Verizons where they overnight you a like new refurbished phone.

 

[an_icon]

I believe that you can now take your broken phone to a corp store and they will do the claim there and you get your phone right away.

 

[mzlou2]

I bought the warranty a few weeks ago, but luckily, I haven't had to use it. I just got an e-mail from Squaretrade: 30% off insurance plans with the code "ULTIMATEDAD" ... it's a father's day promotion. Just thought I'd pass it on.

EDIT: The promotion is "today only" according to the e-mail.

 

[shaggymatt]

EDIT: The promotion is "today only" according to the e-mail.

Today only, but they have the promo weekly. As others suggested, search for codes, they ALWAYS have them.

My Dinc is still on order. I haven't decided if insurance is worth it. I've had cell phones for almost 20 years now (ha-ha basic plans had 60 minutes back then), and have never lost or damaged one. If I had paid insurance over all those years, I'd have spent a lot of money.

The way I look at it is (Asurion):
$89 deductible.
$6-$8/month.

So if I take a swim with my phone, six months into my contract, I'll have to spend $89+$36=$125 to get a new phone.

6 months from now, I'd be able to buy a used Dinc for probably $200. Or a Droid or Eris for much cheaper. Then in another six months, I can get a new phone at contract price. So I'd almost rather take my chances and not waste the money...

I'm a person that gets a phone at the annual upgrade point. For that reason, SquareTrade doesn't make sense for me, because I'm essentially paying ~$120 for a two year warranty, used for one year (granted it is transferable).

 

[GrandMasterB]

Today only, but they have the promo weekly. As others suggested, search for codes, they ALWAYS have them.

My Dinc is still on order. I haven't decided if insurance is worth it. I've had cell phones for almost 20 years now (ha-ha basic plans had 60 minutes back then), and have never lost or damaged one. If I had paid insurance over all those years, I'd have spent a lot of money.

The way I look at it is (Asurion):
$89 deductible.
$6-$8/month.

So if I take a swim with my phone, six months into my contract, I'll have to spend $89+$36=$125 to get a new phone.

6 months from now, I'd be able to buy a used Dinc for probably $200. Or a Droid or Eris for much cheaper. Then in another six months, I can get a new phone at contract price. So I'd almost rather take my chances and not waste the money...

I'm a person that gets a phone at the annual upgrade point. For that reason, SquareTrade doesn't make sense for me, because I'm essentially paying ~$120 for a two year warranty, used for one year (granted it is transferable).

I 100% understand where your coming from because I am almost in the same boat as you. Do consider this,

1- I sold my 7 month old Motorola Droid for $306 on EBay

2- your 6 month analogy is great but what if you drop it and shatter the screen on day number 2?

3- the way things are going the Incredible will still be sold out in 6 months. ( ok probably not but its a funny notion.)

 

[shaggymatt]

2- your 6 month analogy is great but what if you drop it and shatter the screen on day number 2?

That's what's got me (and has me pondering insurance...) I hear that this thing is FRAGILE. I've got the Wrapsol Ultra screen protector waiting for the arrival, but I put it on the Droid as well, and am not that happy with it. Awaiting a replacement kit from Wrapsol...

 

[tarponbeach]

Yes, I had my iPhone 3G insured with SquareTrade. I spilled a coke on it (by accident), and called them to file a claim. They asked me to send it to them for evaluation, which I did. Within the week, I received a check from them for $500.00.

In my experience, they are very reputable and responsive.

My Incredible is insured with them as well.

 

[CheezWiz]

I cannot accept a refurbished phone, so waiting 5 days or less for a check from ST is a better option for me. I pay $24/year to get theft/damage insurance via State Farm. So either way I am covered. The square trade warranty can be sold with the phone as well, so it ads value to the sale...

Insurance is all about peace of mind, not economics anyways.. Some of us are not good at gambling...

 

[drdoom]

Square Trade also prorates their insurance if you want to cancel it early. I purchased my warranty from them since I don't enjoy the idea of having a refurb phone given to me. I'll wait a few days and get a brand new Incredible 2 with the $600 check they give me. I won't be losing this phone and no one will come close enough to it for it to be stolen, so I don't have to worry about that.

 

[GrandMasterB]

Square Trade also prorates their insurance if you want to cancel it early. I purchased my warranty from them since I don't enjoy the idea of having a refurb phone given to me. I'll wait a few days and get a brand new Incredible 2 with the $600 check they give me. I won't be losing this phone and no one will come close enough to it for it to be stolen, so I don't have to worry about that.

Nobody ever plans on having their device lost or stolen... but at the end of the day people need to do whatever makes them feel they have adequate protection. If your happy with the coverage then thats all that matters.

 

[drdoom]

Nobody ever plans on having their device lost or stolen... but at the end of the day people need to do whatever makes them feel they have adequate protection. If your happy with the coverage then thats all that matters.

I tap my pocket to make sure my phone is with me every 5 minutes. I figure I am much more likely to drop/break the phone than let someone else steal it and I think it is worth risking that in order to get a brand new phone/check. But like you said, it depends on the person.

 

[Hawkmech]

Seems like realistically by the time you send in your phone to have them evaluate it and then wait to receive a check you could easily be without a phone for a week, not sure if I could deal with that.

 

[CheezWiz]

Seems like realistically by the time you send in your phone to have them evaluate it and then wait to receive a check you could easily be without a phone for a week, not sure if I could deal with that.

They will either have you a working phone or a check in 5 days or less. I have three old VZW phones I can use for that short of a period of time. I will not accept someone else's face crud on a replacement ever again. Yes, that happened to me with Asurion... By the time I got them to resolve that, more than a week had passed..

 

[k.electron]

i signed up with square trade and i used a code that got me the insurance for 104.. thats like a few cents over $4 a month. with just $50 to replace, its a steal.

also, i found my comparison that i had put up earlier.. here it is..

Comparision:

Verizon(Asurion)
Cost: $192 for 2 years (pro-rated every month)
Cancellation: whenever
Deductible: $89
Coverage: Defect, Damage and total loss.
Exclusions: Nothing really.

vs.

SquareTrade
Cost: $144 for 2 years (-$40 with 'lovemom' code) pay upfront
Cancellation: whenever with remaining charge refunded.
Deductible: $50
Coverage: Defect and Damage
Exclusions: first 30 days.

If you want to save a lot of money, will not destroy it in the first 30 days (wait until after to submit a claim), and are not going to lose it, then SquareTrade wins hands down.