So you want a new mobile phone and, naturally, you want the latest iPhone or BlackBerry but how are you going to pay for it? Well, thanks to a plethora of tie ups between mobile phone companies and some UAE banks, there are now flexible payment plans on offer that will give you the mobile phone you want straightaway and at a better price.
Getting the right mobile to suit your work and leisure needs is one of the modern world’s biggest decisions. We all want the latest model and we all want it before our friends but affording it is a different matter. If it is the new iPhone 5 or the BlackBerry Z10 you are after, you will need to spend around AED2,700 and that is just for the handset.
But before you put your hopes of leading the crowd to rest, there is a glimmer of hope. Mobile phone companies and some of the nation’s leading banks have teamed up to offer bundles which combines the mobile phone and the plan with an easy installment payment plan to make it accessible and more cost effective to UAE consumers.
So how does it work?
Let’s say the iPhone 5 16GB is selling for AED2,749. If you buy it upfront and then add the AED99 monthly fee for a 1GB data package, you are looking at a total amount for the year of AED3,937.
However, take up the bundled deal from du that comes with a 12-month instalment plan from any of the participating bank (by paying with their credit card) and you end up paying AED3240 for the year and that includes the 1GB data plan. That’s a saving of AED 700. Offers available now include the Easy Payment Offer from du, which allows credit card holders from ADCB, Emirates NBD, NBAD or Mashreq Bank to buy the iPhone 5 with a 1GB data plan at a discounted rate payable over 12 or 24 months when they use their credit card to make the purchase.
“When a new phone model is launched, the price range is the same whether you buy it from a retail outlet, du or Etisalat. But by bundling the phone with the data plan and a flexible payment plan with a bank, you give consumers more value for their money and increased flexibility,” said Paula Wehbeh, Co-Founder & COO of Souqalmal.
If it is the BlackBerry Z10 you are after, then again du has tied up with ADCB, Emirates NBD, NBAD and Mashreq to offer a similar package.
So before you rush out and snap up the first mobile phone you can get your hands on, why not check out the offers available first?