HIDDEN FEE
Extended warranty & care plans
AppleCare+Protection planCare plan
Extended warranties and care plans add repair or accidental-damage cover to a device for an extra fee, often on top of a manufacturer warranty and your statutory consumer rights. Whether they are worth it depends on the device’s repair cost, your likelihood of damaging it, and what cover you already hold — some home-contents or card policies overlap.
Where it applies
How to avoid or shrink it
- Check your statutory rights and existing cover (home contents, premium cards) before buying — you may be double-insuring.
- Weigh the plan price against the realistic repair cost and your own track record with devices.
- Compare the manufacturer’s plan against standalone gadget insurance, which can be cheaper.
THE HONEST CAVEAT
For fragile, costly-to-repair devices a care plan can genuinely pay off — this is not always a bad buy, just one to price against cover you may already have.
Count it in your true total
Run a specific booking through the calculator and this fee is counted — sourced, dated and confidence-graded alongside everything else the headline price leaves out.
Back to the full fee glossary, or browse the Hidden-Fee Index.