How I Saved Money Repairing My iPhone Without AppleCare [CNET]

When my battery needed service, I used this credit card perk to save $46.

I’ve been using my iPhone 12 Pro Max for just over three years, and as my Apple device began approaching its third anniversary, it became clear that its battery no longer holds a charge like it used to. For some people, this might be a reason to trade in their phone to get a new one, especially as Apple will likely announce the iPhone 16 series at its   Sept. 9 fall event. My iPhone still works great in every other respect.

Despite being released almost four years ago in 2020, I’m still quite happy with my iPhone’s 6.7-inch OLED display and the quality of the 12-megapixel camera system, and I’m content that my phone runs nearly every app in the App Store, apart from the more intensive games that exclusively run on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max phones. The iPhone 15 Pro Max does have a much-improved camera, USB-C support and access to the upcoming Apple Intelligence feature suite, but I’m not craving these features right now. I especially don’t want to pay over $1,000 for a new phone, nor do I want to trade in my device for a subsidy in exchange for having to commit to T-Mobile service for another two years. 

Making the decision to swap out the battery, a repair that any Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider can do, was easy since it’s much cheaper than buying a new phone. Doing this will prolong the life of my device at a much smaller investment than buying a whole other phone, and will help my phone last a full day again by running on a fresh new battery. The only issue with this choice is that I don’t have an AppleCare plan or a traditional phone insurance plan attached to my iPhone. This could mean I have to eat the full $89 pre-tax price that Apple charges for a battery service with this iPhone model.

In place of AppleCare, I instead was able to get partially reimbursed for my battery service through my credit card’s cell phone insurance perk. This feature, which is available on several credit cards, allows you to file a claim when your phone is broken and get reimbursed, minus a deductible. To qualify, you have to use your eligible credit card to pay for your cell phone bill every month and collect a variety of documents during the repair process that will need to be submitted when making a claim.

The exact rules will vary depending on your credit card, but here I’ll talk about how I made use of the perk using my Chase Freedom Flex®* card. This card counts as a World Elite Mastercard, and as such, the steps will be similar for any other credit card that bears the same designation. Some World Elite Mastercards do have an annual fee, but the Freedom Flex does not. This makes it a more passive method of phone insurance, without having to set up a recurring payment with either Apple for AppleCare or with a wireless carrier for phone insurance.

The crucial first step to filing a claim

The first step for using this process involved a bit of intentional waiting for my iPhone’s battery capacity to degrade under 80% of its maximum capacity. That’s because to qualify as a repair, my iPhone needed to declare that the battery needed service. This is a bit frustrating, as I certainly noticed my phone having less battery life when I was down to 85% and less. Yet until the battery depleted under 80%, the phone was not considered in need of repair.

You can check the status of your battery’s health by tapping Settings, then Battery and then going to Battery Health & Charging. On this page, your iPhone will show its current Maximum Capacity. Once my battery’s capacity fell below 80%, this page displayed a message stating that my battery’s health was “significantly degraded,” along with an option to Find Your Service Options. Take a screenshot of this page when you get it, as it will help when filing a claim later.

When tapping to Find Your Service Options, your phone will direct you to either Make a Reservation at a physical Apple Store’s Genius Bar or an authorized service provider. Alternatively, you can also arrange for a mail-in repair. This page will also show the pretax cost of the repair, which for me is $89. Take a screenshot of this page, too.

Taking the iPhone to the Apple Store

I chose the in-person option and made an appointment at Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York to get my iPhone’s battery serviced. If you choose the mail-in option, many of the following steps should still be applicable.

After arriving at the Apple Store, the Genius Bar representative I met with had me remove my phone from Find My to repair and emphasized that I’d need to know my Apple ID’s password to access the phone after the repair, as well as to reattach it to Find My. The representative will run a diagnostic test to verify that the phone’s battery is depleted, and to make sure there aren’t any other issues with the device. Then you’ll receive the repair estimate, which should match the pricing displayed earlier in this process and will also get sent to you in an email. Save a copy of this estimate, as you’ll need it later.

The Genius Bar employee will then ask you to agree to the cost of the repair, but you won’t be charged until it’s time to pick up your phone. Then you’ll receive a time to return for pickup, during which you’ll need an identification card to verify you’re the owner of the device. I was given a 6:50 p.m. pickup time after dropping my phone off around 5:30 p.m.

During the intervening time, I had hoped to use my cellular-enabled Apple Watch SE to keep up with any calls or texts, but I did note a few issues that I didn’t expect. While my phone was off, the Apple Watch on its own wasn’t able to take phone calls, nor could I use SMS/MMS services. I could text people over iMessage or make calls over FaceTime Audio. It’s a mild annoyance, especially since the turnaround time wasn’t very long, but one worth planning for, especially if you are hoping to use any other Apple device like an iPad or a MacBook to cover for your iPhone while you wait. It’s likely best to schedule this repair on a day when you aren’t expecting any important phone calls.

When it was time to return to the Apple Store for my pickup, I used my driver’s license to verify my identity, and I was directed to a table where a Genius Bar employee brought over my phone. Before leaving, I received the full bill of $96.90 after tax and paid it. Then I had my phone back, and inside was a brand-new battery. Make sure that the bill is sent to you over email, and hold onto it for the next section.

Filing the claim

Now that I had the new battery, it was time to file a claim to get reimbursed for as much money back as possible. For my Chase Freedom Flex, this meant visiting Mastercard’s benefits website and logging in to start filing.

You’ll need to submit a series of documents, which Mastercard fully outlines in its benefits guide. If you need more time to find some of the documents that are requested, you can save your claim as a draft and return to the website when you are ready to upload. The documents that you need include:

• Your most recent credit card statement showing that you paid for your cell phone bill with the eligible card

• A copy of your wireless service provider’s billing statement

• A copy of the repair estimate provided (in this case, by Apple)

• A proof of purchase for your phone, which I had to obtain from T-Mobile’s website since I bought my iPhone through the carrier

• A copy of the repair bill

• Any other relevant screenshots that can help your case, which I suggest taking before the repair when the Settings menu shows the battery needing service

In my case, nearly all of these documents were available online or emailed to me as a PDF. This meant I either took screenshots of documents like my proof of purchase or downloaded the PDFs that were provided. In the event you have these as physical documents, using your iPhone’s built-in scanner will quickly help you create digital copies.

After submitting my claim, I received an email response a few days later from an insurance examiner who asked to correct a few of my forms. I had mistakenly submitted a screenshot of my bank statement and was asked to instead submit my June card statement and matching T-Mobile bill. Once those documents were sent in, I waited a little over a week and then saw a credit for $46.90 applied to my credit card bill. I did not receive a communication that otherwise declared the claim had been approved, but receiving the money is certainly proof enough.

For my card, the cell phone protection benefit has a $50 deductible per incident, and that’s why the reimbursement only covers the amount I paid above that amount. That’s nearly half the cost I get back, and it’s certainly worth a few emails and documents to obtain. 

This benefit will also cover other types of phone damage or incidents, including if I need to repair a broken screen or if the phone was stolen (except if it was from checked luggage). It does not cover a phone mysteriously disappearing or being lost, so if you are someone with a tendency to lose devices in that way, it’s probably best to consider AppleCare or traditional phone insurance.

This was my first time taking advantage of the cell phone insurance perk on my credit card and found it to be a relatively easy way to recoup some repair costs without having to sign up for a full insurance plan.

*All information about the Chase Freedom Flex has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.