Warranty extensions are expensive and as a student it’s hard to swallow the costs associated with extending a warranty on a purchase such as a laptop or phone. If you buy an Apple iPhone the cost of an extra 1-year Apple Care iPhone warranty is $69, if you purchase an HP laptop the cost of an extra 1-year HP Pavilion laptop warranty is $119. That’s not cheap and if you end up never having to use the warranty extension services, it’s simply money down the drain. If you’re looking to save money but still want the peace of mind of being covered in case your iPhone or laptop break a week after the warranty expires, the way to go is to use an American Express credit card to make the purchase and you’ll get an automatic 1-year warranty extension via their Extended Warranty Shop Reassured program. I use an American Express Blue Card and always purchase electronics using this credit card because of their extended warranty program, the rewards may not be as great as you can get with some other credit cards, but the Amex extended warranty has saved me a couple of times.
How does the American Express extended warranty program work?
Any American Express card that you get directly from American Express has the extended warranty program. Be warned, Amex cards you get via your bank or other retailer programs may not offer this benefit, so the best way to go is by signing up for a card directly from American Express. Then, all you have to do is use the card when buying electronics goods with a valid U.S. manufacturer’s warranty and Amex will honor the terms of that warranty for an additional year after your warranty expires. For instance, if you get an iPhone 4 that has a standard 1-year warranty from Apple and use your Amex card to buy it from Apple, Verizon or AT&T then you automatically get warranty protection during the 2nd year from Amex, even though the Apple warranty has expired. So if your iPhone 4 breaks after you’ve had it for 56 weeks, all you have to do is contact American Express and work with them to get it repaired or reimbursed for the amount you paid for it if it is deemed irreparable.
What’s the process for making an Extended Warranty claim from American Express?
Continuing to use the iPhone 4 example, if it breaks on say the 56th week you own it then that means the Apple warranty has expired. So if you bought it using your Amex card give them a call at the toll free Extended Warranty support phone number 1-800-225-3750. You can also initiate an online extended warranty claim using the American Express claims center website. After you have submitted a claim be prepared to fax the original receipt for the product to prove you purchased it using your Amex card and you may need to send a copy of the original manufacturer warranty. After Amex has the necessary documentation from you the program administrator will decide whether to reimburse for a repair or replacement. Another important note, if you bought a subsidized phone, say the iPhone 4 for $199 from AT&T then you will only be reimbursed $199 and not the full $549 value of the phone. Amex will only reimburse up to the amount charged on the card, no more than that, so this is a disadvantage to buying a subsidized phone. After you are approved for the reimbursement for repairs or replacement, the amount will simply so up on your account as a credit. Amex says it generally takes 30-days to process a claim, but I’ve used it before and it took under a week!
What are the limits on getting an extended warranty from American Express?
Amex will only reimburse up to $10,000 per an item purchased, but that’s pretty generous! You are also limited to a max of $50,000 in claims per an account per year. Again, unless you’re racking up crazy amounts of purchases on your credit card then this probably won’t be an issue. Finally, this only works on products with warranties of 5-years or less. So if you buy a refrigerator with a 10-year warranty there is no possibility of getting a warranty extension.
Amex Extended Warranty program conclusion
Overall, the Amex extended warranty makes it well worth buying electronics using an amex card and you can forgo paying extra to the manufacturer for their extended warranty. There are some disadvantages, for example with the Apple Care program it also offers tech support along with warranty protection, and Amex does not give you that benefit. For most people buying a warranty extension they’re just interested in protecting losses should a product break and for that reason it’s better to go with this free form of warranty extension from Amex rather than forking over hundreds of dollars to a company or store. And if you’re a student on a budget, this is definitely a good choice!
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