AppleCare?

Just purchased a new 2015 rMB from B&H and was debating picking up AppleCare. Thoughts? Worth it? I get an extra year warranty through my credit card but am not sure how it would compare.

If there is any manufacturers defect, it's covered by Apple under Apple care. I've personally always purchased it on every machine I've owned and gotten my money's worth out of it.

Near the end of the Apple care on my 15" MBP the logic board failed. It would've cost me $750 outside of care, repaired and shipped back to me for free.

Apple care does not cover accidental or user based damage though, so if you're accident prone that's a different bag of worms. I have personal experience using it though, and I have to say its always been worth it.

Its two extra years of warranty. So three years from date of purchase.
Totally worth it for a rMBP. Your trackpad goes out? well since its integrated in the top case with the battery, $400. Display has a dead pixel? $800. Applecare? $350.
Its like a condom, better to have it and not need it than needing it and not having it.

One thing to be aware of is that it doesn't cover accidental damage. I dropped my rmbp, and it was $1100 to replace the screen and case. Luckily the credit card I paid with had a warranty that covered the damage, though from reading online its hit of miss if your credit will actually cover that.

If you think you may drop it some point in its life time, you might want to consider square trade warranty instead which would cover that.

Also the process of using the warranty through my credit card was kind of a pain. I had to have an itemized repair estimate from apple and submit to the warranty center, it took roughly 2 or 3 months for them to pay it.

I had applecare on mine as well, but I worked for apple so I got a huge discount, applecare helps alot for resale value.

You can wait a year from purchase to purchase it as well. I usually replace my machine every year, so getting AppleCare isn't worth it to me personally.

That being said, it's definitely worth it if you plan to keep the machine for a while. Anything goes wrong on your mac, iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc., you basically either get it repaired for free, or get a brand new item right there in the store. The $350 is pennies compared to what parts cost.

I always bought AppleCare for my devices, but chose SquareTrade instead for my current rMBP and iPad. I don't get any extended warranty for my iPhone because I always upgrade it every year.

ST is cheaper than AC, offers the same coverage, is transferable, AND includes accidental like drops or spills. I dumped a bottle of Pepsi on my iPad, back in January. ST sent me a check for the full purchase price 4 days after I sent them the defiled iPad. No questions asked. They covered the shipping cost, too. Can't beat it.

EDIT: ST is great if you can be without your device for a week because of having to send it to them. AC has the advantage of just stopping by the nearest Apple store for repair/replacement (if covered).

For the laptops, I get it with every Apple Laptop, especially since the batteries, SSD, and RAM are all integral and non-user replaceable. The service is top notch if you have to use it, but yeah, it's not full insurance, just a warranty extension.

We use a lot of Apple Laptops at work - all of them have AppleCare. Of all the laptops, maybe 5% of them have some issue that requires service. But when they do, it's such a fast and painless turn around it pays for itself and then some, which is why we continue to buy it.

For the desktops/iMacs/phones/tablets - I've let it slide and played the odds. The mobile stuff your more likely to drop/dunk it and that isn't covered, and the desktops tend to not be treated as roughly (since they are on a desk) so they don't see as many failures.

Think I might go the 2 year Square Trade route since it has accident protection included. I don't think I'll go 3 years since I have not been keeping laptops that long - although if it's transferable it'll increase resale as mentioned. Question is if it'll increase it by $100.

I always get AppleCare on my MacBooks.

I would call it a customer care agreement rather than a warranty.
Apple has replaced things that were not technically covered under AppleCare, fixed things outside of AppleCare, and generally ensured that I am a happy customer with and without AppleCare.

AppleCare makes things easier but the biggest reason to buy it is because it ensures my device sells first on the used market over someone who doesn't have it. It's transferrable and you can get a refund for the unused portion, as well.