Verdict: Trade-in and education are the real layers; wait on carryover iPhones
Apple
Tech · Premium

The best way to buy Apple products in 2026

Last verified September 16, 2026 ·Updated weekly· US cards·Report a wrong rate
September 16, 2026TopCashback now shows up to 4% on eligible categories (accessories, refurbished); still 0% on iPhone, Mac, and iPad. Rakuten 2% on eligible categories unchanged.
3-45% off Trade-in + Apple Card 3% + education pricing, or refurbished up to 15%
Check trade-in value →Apple Refurbished Store

Already on Rakuten? Open the Apple store page →

Some links earn us a commission. They never change the strategy we recommend. Disclosure

Apple is the hardest premium retailer to stack on, and September 2026 is the hardest month. Apple launched the iPhone 18 Pro ($1,199) and 18 Pro Max ($1,299) on September 9, raised carryover iPhone prices by $100 the same day, and cut iPhone trade-in values. Rakuten and TopCashback still pay 0% on iPhone, Mac, and iPad. The layers that work: trade-in (values move three or four times a year), the Apple Card's 3% Daily Cash, education pricing on Mac and iPad, the refurbished store (which now carries iPhones), and the back-to-school gift card through September 24. Used together they can clear 40% off; used alone, most of them are rounding errors.

The 30-second answer

The best current Apple stack

Rates read from each portal's apple.com store page. The iPhone 18 Pro ships September 18; back-to-school runs through September 24.

  • Rakuten / TopCashback
    TopCashback up to 4% on eligible categories (accessories, refurbished); 0% on iPhone, Mac, iPad. Rakuten 2% on accessories, refurbished, AppleCare+, Beats
    0-4%
  • Apple Trade In
    iPhone 16 Pro up to $510, 15 Pro $370, 14 Pro $285 (cut September 9); MacBook Air up to $705
    Varies
  • Apple Card Daily Cash
    3% on every Apple purchase; issuer moving from Goldman Sachs to Chase over ~24 months
    3%
  • Education pricing
    Dollar-based: $100-$200 off Macs, up to $100 off iPads; no iPhone discount; UNiDAYS verification
    5-15% off
  • Refurbished store
    Up to 15% off, 1-year warranty, new battery and shell; iPhone 15 Plus and 16 listed
    up to 15% off
iPhone 18 Pro ($1,199) with a 16 Pro trade-in and Apple Card
~$653
September is the worst month to buy a carryover iPhone. The 17, Air, 17e, and 16 all went up $100 on September 9 and trade-in values went down. The November 28 to December 1 holiday event and the refurbished iPhone 16 are better plays for anything other than an 18 Pro.
Check trade-in value →Apple Refurbished Store

Already on Rakuten? Open the Apple store page →

Best portal today
0-4%
Rakuten / TopCashback
Card layer
3%
Apple Card Daily Cash
Verdict
Mixed
Trade-in and education are the real layers; wait on carryover iPhones
Affiliate disclosure: some links earn us a commission. They never change which strategy we recommend. Methodology · Full disclosure.

Retailer overview

Apple controls reseller pricing through minimum advertised price policies and has never run a sitewide sale. The two annual events that come closest, the back-to-school promo and the holiday event, offer gift cards on select purchases, not price cuts on flagship hardware.

September 2026 was unusually bad for buyers. On September 9 Apple launched the iPhone 18 Pro line and the iPhone Duo, raised prices on every carryover iPhone by $100, and cut iPhone trade-in values across the board. The advice on this page is shaped by that: buy the 18 Pro if you need it, and don’t buy a carryover iPhone at full price this month.

Cashback portal strategy

Portal iPhone, Mac, iPad, Watch, AirPods Accessories, refurbished, AppleCare+, Beats
Rakuten 0% 2%
TopCashback 0% Up to 4% on eligible categories (accessories, refurbished, Beats)

Don’t waste the activation on a Mac or iPhone. Do activate it for a refurbished order, AppleCare+, or a cart of accessories; 2% on Rakuten or up to 4% on TopCashback on a $400 case-and-charger order is real money.

How Rakuten works, and how to get the $50 welcome bonus →

Credit card / Amex Offer strategy

Apple Card. 3% Daily Cash on all Apple purchases, posted the next day, no annual fee. Chase is taking over as issuer from Goldman Sachs (announced January 2026, roughly two-year transition); nothing has changed for cardholders yet. For anyone spending $1,500 a year at Apple, still the best return available.

Other cards. Apple codes inconsistently; Amex Platinum and Sapphire Reserve earn 1x. No apple.com Amex Offer surfaced for 2025 or 2026 (only small Apple Pay usage offers, $10 to $15). No Chase Offer found.

Education pricing

Open to college students and accepted students, parents buying for them, K-12 teachers and staff, and college faculty and staff, verified through UNiDAYS. The discount is dollar-based: $100 to $200 off Macs and up to $100 off iPads, roughly 5-15%. iPhones are not discounted.

The 2026 back-to-school promo ran July 16 to September 24 (extended from August 27): a $150 Apple gift card with a MacBook Pro, $100 with a MacBook Air, iPad Pro, or iPad Air. Excludes iPhone, iPad mini, base iPad, desktops, and the MacBook Neo.

Stacks with: Apple Card 3%, trade-in credit, the back-to-school gift card.

Does not stack with: refurbished pricing.

Apple Trade In

Instant credit at checkout, values updated several times a year. As of September 9, 2026 (a cut for iPhones):

Device Up to
iPhone 17 Pro Max $885
iPhone 17 Pro $785
iPhone 16 Pro Max $610
iPhone 16 Pro $510
iPhone 15 Pro Max $455
iPhone 15 Pro $370
iPhone 14 Pro $285
MacBook Air (generation not broken out) $705

Third-party resale (Swappa, Gazelle) usually beats Apple’s number by 10-25%, at the cost of shipping and waiting. Trade-in stacks with the Apple Card and education pricing.

Refurbished store

Macs, iPads, Apple TV, HomePod, and now iPhones (15 Plus and 16 listed) at up to 15% off, with a one-year warranty, new battery, and new outer shell on phones. Refurbished stacks with the Apple Card and earns 2% on Rakuten, but not with education pricing. Inventory rotates; in-demand configurations go within hours.

Best time of year to buy

Back-to-school
July 16 to September 24, 2026. Education pricing plus a $100-$150 gift card on Macs and iPads. Ends this month.
5-15% + gift card
Holiday event
Four days around Black Friday (November 28 to December 1 in 2025). Gift cards $25-$250; prior-generation iPhones only.
Gift card
Post-launch (September)
In 2026 the launch came with $100 increases on carryover models and a trade-in cut, not markdowns. Prior-generation refurbished stock is the better entry.
Refurb up to 15%
Trade-in peaks
Values rose in March, May, and August 2026 and fell in September. Sell before a launch, not after.
Varies

Reseller alternative

Best Buy and Costco sometimes undercut Apple on specific configurations, and Amazon occasionally drops $50 to $100 on a SKU. Trade-offs: no Apple Card 3%, returns to the reseller, no engraving. For most premium buyers, direct wins on convenience; for a large Mac purchase, price the reseller.

Checkout sequence

  1. Pick the path: education (if eligible), refurbished, or retail with trade-in.
  2. Check your trade-in value at apple.com/shop/trade-in and compare to Swappa. Values move; note the date.
  3. Education: shop apple.com/us-edu. Refurbished: apple.com/shop/refurbished, with Rakuten activated for 2%.
  4. Build the configuration, apply trade-in credit at checkout.
  5. Pay with the Apple Card (3% Daily Cash).
  6. Retail iPhone, Mac, or iPad: no portal click; it pays nothing.
Worked example

iPhone 18 Pro, $1,199, with an iPhone 16 Pro to trade

Trade-in, iPhone 16 Pro (up to)$510.00
Apple Card 3% on $1,199$36.00
Portal, education, card offer$0.00
Effective cost~$653 (46% off)

Without a trade-in: $1,163 (3% off). A refurbished iPhone 16 at up to 15% off with 2% Rakuten and 3% Apple Card is the better buy for anyone who doesn't need the 18 Pro.

Get alerted when Apple's holiday event opens or trade-in values move.

Trade-in values changed four times in 2026 (up in March, May, and August, down in September). We email when they move, when the holiday gift-card event is announced, and when a refurbished configuration you'd want restocks.

FAQ

What does the 2026 iPhone lineup cost?
As of September 9, 2026: iPhone 18 Pro $1,199 (256GB) and 18 Pro Max $1,299, shipping September 18. iPhone Duo, the foldable, $1,999 to $3,199, pre-orders October 16. Carryover models rose $100 the same day: iPhone 17 $899, iPhone Air $1,099, 17e $699, iPhone 16 $799. The base iPhone 18 and 18e are expected in spring 2027. Apple cited memory chip costs, not tariffs.
Is the Apple Card still 3%, and who issues it?
3% Daily Cash on Apple purchases is unchanged. Chase was announced as the new issuer on January 7, 2026, with a transition of roughly 24 months pending approvals; Goldman Sachs still issues the card today. Watch for terms changes as the transition completes.
How does the education discount work now?
It's dollar-based rather than a flat 10%: typically $100 to $200 off Macs and up to $100 off iPads, roughly 5 to 15% depending on the model. No iPhone discount. Eligibility (students, parents buying for them, K-12 and college staff) is verified through UNiDAYS. The 2026 back-to-school promo adds a $150 gift card with a MacBook Pro or $100 with a MacBook Air, iPad Pro, or iPad Air, through September 24.
Does Apple sell refurbished iPhones in the US now?
Yes. Earlier versions of this page said it didn't; that's changed. apple.com/shop/refurbished/iphone lists the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 16 at "save up to 15%" with a one-year warranty, new battery, and new outer shell. Rakuten pays 2% on refurbished orders.
What are current trade-in values?
Apple cut iPhone payouts on September 9, 2026: 17 Pro Max up to $885, 17 Pro $785, 16 Pro Max $610, 16 Pro $510, 15 Pro Max $455, 15 Pro $370, 14 Pro $285, 13 Pro $255. MacBook Air up to $705 (generation not broken out). Values were raised in March, May, and August before the September cut, so they move three or four times a year; check the day you buy.
When is Apple's holiday event?
Short. The 2025 event ran November 28 to December 1 only, with Apple gift cards from $25 to $250 on select purchases; among iPhones, only prior-generation models qualified (16e $50, 16 and 16 Plus $75). Expect a similar four-day window in 2026.

Sources

What we read to write this page. Every link is the company's own page, not a summary of it.

Paxton Pennington
Written and verified by the Stackable team · Paxton Pennington, founder

Stackable started when a search for the best week to buy luggage turned up only coupon sites that were wrong, expired, or worse. Every page here is the team reading the portal's own store page, the issuer's offer terms, and the retailer's policies, on the date shown, with a named person accountable for it. How pages are made · LinkedIn

Ready to buy?

Pick your path (education, refurbished, or retail with trade-in), then pay with the Apple Card.

Apple Refurbished Store →Education Store →

Already on Rakuten? Open the Apple store page →

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