Looks like you are buying from Dubai for the first time. Keep this in mind -
1. Apple stores will have inflated prices, avoid them.
2. Shops in Meena bazaar in bur dubai (where the action is) will not let you buy anything via card, can be few exceptions but you will get a great deal if you give them cash.
3. Always collect a proper invoice and ask them to give tax certificate, collect the tax refund from DXB while flying back and no, you will not get a full 5% refund, more like 3.5-4%.
4. RR on DCB is around 3.3%, if you factor in forex charges and tax, still you end up earning points. Hard to find any shop that will let you swipe though.
Thank you for such a detailed answer. I think this will help others traveling to Dubai as well.
1 follow up question. So when you mean 5% refund. How do they give it? I mean in cash or cheque?
While yes DCB has 3.3% RR and 2.36% Forex charge incl GST. The actual conversion rate of Discover network is much worse than what Visa or Mastercard provide. So you would be better off paying with a 0 Forex card than with spending on DCB.
The shops at Meena Bazaar and Bur Dubai will charge 5% minimum for use of cards. Cash is your best bet. Most of the shops take Indian currency too. Try finding some shops on google and whatsapp them and ask if they take Indian currency
I also bought my iPhone from Dubai. Apart from 2% forex, they charge extra if you pay online. If you pay cash it will be cheaper. Card security is no issue. Try to buy from local shops not the Apple store, there is one shop named Seven Wonders, me and my friends bought from there and its working fine for all of us
I went in 2021 just after iPhone 13 was launched. Price difference in decreasing order Pro Max > Pro > iPhone 13 > Mini. For pro max it was around 40-45k, pro 30-35k. The youtube videos wasn't reliable because at the shop the will give excuses abhi badh gaya price, out of stock ho gaya wo colour etc
Yeah very true. Few of my friends were also saying same thing. They come to know we are Indians and they purposely do that. You will see mostly Pakistani and Bangladeshis try to pull these types of scams on Indians.
You can go to dubai and buy iPhone pro max and come back to India and still save 20k
https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/features/story/iphone-12-pro-so-expensive-in-india-that-you-can-fly-to-dubai-to-buy-it-come-back-and-still-save-money-1733722-2020-10-21
So bro I was thinking of getting some reward points on my DCB. If not points at least would have helped me in getting the spends higher so that I can later push the bank for Infinia.
What do you suggest?
If I load the money into a forex card will there be any benefits? Or better question if I want to give cash how can I use my card to get the cash?
If you want the iPhone for minimum cash is the only way, I don't think there is any way to get cash from DCB. I would advise if you are closer to the spend then use DCB otherwise don't since iPhone Pro will be around 80k using cash and 85k using DCB (will get reward points around 2.5k).
The cash thing is valid for shopping in Dubai in general, so carry decent cash
Idk how are people calculating but as per my old Calc dcb will charge you 4 percent extra for transaction. 1. Forex markup, 2. Dcc diners rates are high. The others are gsts on both these charges. It was about 5 percent on my rewardz card. Dcb I think is a little less.
Use niyo global and withdraw cash from atm or swipe it directly. My Malaysia trip was excellent with it.
If you're travelling in Sep-Oct, good luck trying to get it at a half decent price. Most stores will be selling it at a premium of around 500-1000 AED. You won't find any stock at official Apple Stores. The resellers will be selling it at a premium + mandatory Apple Care+
Best bet would be to keep trying out amazon.ae and the moment stock is available, order it. You can do this before you travel and get it delivered to a friend's, colleague's or relative's address, if possible.
Macbook pro will work without any issues. Just take care on the chargers because the UAE laptop chargers need adaptors in India to connect to our electric sockets. Other than that everything remains the same in a laptop.
I was planning to get a DJI drone from UAE though a friend. I was told by the seller that if I pay in cash, they could avoid the tax. Will this become a problem at the airport customs ?
The drone will be unpacked and brought without any box
For 15 there is calculation on points dojo. Not sure about 14 pro. I was thinking of buying from korea but the apple store there doesn’t list the 14 pros
Looks like you are buying from Dubai for the first time. Keep this in mind - 1. Apple stores will have inflated prices, avoid them. 2. Shops in Meena bazaar in bur dubai (where the action is) will not let you buy anything via card, can be few exceptions but you will get a great deal if you give them cash. 3. Always collect a proper invoice and ask them to give tax certificate, collect the tax refund from DXB while flying back and no, you will not get a full 5% refund, more like 3.5-4%. 4. RR on DCB is around 3.3%, if you factor in forex charges and tax, still you end up earning points. Hard to find any shop that will let you swipe though.
Thank you for such a detailed answer. I think this will help others traveling to Dubai as well. 1 follow up question. So when you mean 5% refund. How do they give it? I mean in cash or cheque?
> Shops in Meena bazaar in bur dubai will they have latest iphone in stocks. i hear they get sold quickly
Nope... The only place you're gonna find iphone pros in near future is the official apple stores and that too if you pre order rn.
While yes DCB has 3.3% RR and 2.36% Forex charge incl GST. The actual conversion rate of Discover network is much worse than what Visa or Mastercard provide. So you would be better off paying with a 0 Forex card than with spending on DCB.
What about axis magnus card? Worth using it to buy in vietnam?
The shops at Meena Bazaar and Bur Dubai will charge 5% minimum for use of cards. Cash is your best bet. Most of the shops take Indian currency too. Try finding some shops on google and whatsapp them and ask if they take Indian currency
I also bought my iPhone from Dubai. Apart from 2% forex, they charge extra if you pay online. If you pay cash it will be cheaper. Card security is no issue. Try to buy from local shops not the Apple store, there is one shop named Seven Wonders, me and my friends bought from there and its working fine for all of us
What was the price difference compared to online prices like Flipkart/Amazon?
I went in 2021 just after iPhone 13 was launched. Price difference in decreasing order Pro Max > Pro > iPhone 13 > Mini. For pro max it was around 40-45k, pro 30-35k. The youtube videos wasn't reliable because at the shop the will give excuses abhi badh gaya price, out of stock ho gaya wo colour etc
Yeah very true. Few of my friends were also saying same thing. They come to know we are Indians and they purposely do that. You will see mostly Pakistani and Bangladeshis try to pull these types of scams on Indians.
https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/features/story/iphone-12-pro-so-expensive-in-india-that-you-can-fly-to-dubai-to-buy-it-come-back-and-still-save-money-1733722-2020-10-21
It's huge. I think for a 256 GB iphone 14 pro max, the difference comes upto 60k. Just search in YouTube you will get good insights.
for the latest 15 pro max dubai prices are 1.15 lakh and indian prices are 1.6 lakh as per apple website
You can get 15 here from smartbuy, its better than dubai prices.
You can go to dubai and buy iPhone pro max and come back to India and still save 20k https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/features/story/iphone-12-pro-so-expensive-in-india-that-you-can-fly-to-dubai-to-buy-it-come-back-and-still-save-money-1733722-2020-10-21
What about the iPhone 13. Would it still have a substantial difference?
So bro I was thinking of getting some reward points on my DCB. If not points at least would have helped me in getting the spends higher so that I can later push the bank for Infinia. What do you suggest? If I load the money into a forex card will there be any benefits? Or better question if I want to give cash how can I use my card to get the cash?
If you want the iPhone for minimum cash is the only way, I don't think there is any way to get cash from DCB. I would advise if you are closer to the spend then use DCB otherwise don't since iPhone Pro will be around 80k using cash and 85k using DCB (will get reward points around 2.5k). The cash thing is valid for shopping in Dubai in general, so carry decent cash
Idk how are people calculating but as per my old Calc dcb will charge you 4 percent extra for transaction. 1. Forex markup, 2. Dcc diners rates are high. The others are gsts on both these charges. It was about 5 percent on my rewardz card. Dcb I think is a little less. Use niyo global and withdraw cash from atm or swipe it directly. My Malaysia trip was excellent with it.
I got Niyo DCB bank Global Forex card. So you mean to say add money into that and withdraw that in an atm?
Yes. That is way cheaper than a credit card.
If you're travelling in Sep-Oct, good luck trying to get it at a half decent price. Most stores will be selling it at a premium of around 500-1000 AED. You won't find any stock at official Apple Stores. The resellers will be selling it at a premium + mandatory Apple Care+ Best bet would be to keep trying out amazon.ae and the moment stock is available, order it. You can do this before you travel and get it delivered to a friend's, colleague's or relative's address, if possible.
Can you confirm from Apple store if Macbook Pro purchased from there works in India without any issues?
Yes it does. Doesn’t matter where you buy it from
Macbook pro will work without any issues. Just take care on the chargers because the UAE laptop chargers need adaptors in India to connect to our electric sockets. Other than that everything remains the same in a laptop.
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Why use Scapia when net return on DCB is postive and he has it?
Please do some research
Make sure to collect VAT refund at the airport.
I was planning to get a DJI drone from UAE though a friend. I was told by the seller that if I pay in cash, they could avoid the tax. Will this become a problem at the airport customs ? The drone will be unpacked and brought without any box
Which iphone are you buying? If it’s the 15 or 15 plus it might be better to buy from India with gyftr vouchers
Iphone 14 pro max 256 GB
why you are buying 14pro max, when 15 plus is same spec minus 3rd camera. Since its EOL it might be cheaper but no sure what's the real price there.
It is not EOL, lol. Still supported fir many more years. It may be out of official Apple stores though.
I mean end of production. It will be supported but the price discovery won’t happen
Can you show the calculations how it would be beneficial to purchase via Gyftr?
For 15 there is calculation on points dojo. Not sure about 14 pro. I was thinking of buying from korea but the apple store there doesn’t list the 14 pros
If you are getting 15pro, get using cash, if you want 15, use smartbuy its better than dubai price.