Correct. I was contenplating going to next and the mobile share because i would then get the $25 discount making it $100 10gb plan + $15 line access.
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NEXT vs 2yr contract - make sense?
- Thread starter Udh20skier
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Correct. I was contenplating going to next and the mobile share because i would then get the $25 discount making it $100 10gb plan + $15 line access.
Sorry, I should have been more clear. It would ONLY be cheaper provided that you are comparing 2-year contract prices versus ATT Next prices, and it would only be cheaper if you were getting a 10gb plan (which a lot of people do).
Edit: Also, it becomes exponentially cheaper if you have other users on your account (25$ discount per line)
Edit 2: They let you keep the unlimited line with a 2-year contract? That's awesome. Everyone I know is forced to switch over or buy the phone outright. Which many of them do.
Yeah if minutes don't matter it sounds like you are better off on the sub. I need a ton of minutes, some months I may use 2000 to 3000 minutes so the unlimited works nicely.
While it may not work out for you, I will tell you in your case it is actually cheaper to go with the shared 10 GB of data for the two phones. Comes out to 130$ per month. + your discount of 20$ (20% off 100$). SO 110$/m before taxes.
Another big draw of the Mobile Share plan is that it tended to drop bills for a lot of people with 2+ lines because it allowed you to buy a bucket of data at a certain price and then "share" that data relatively cheaply for each new line instead of paying for data on each.
For example, your one line would go from $100ish (with your current unlimited plan) to $130ish (with $100 of data and $15 to connect a line to that data and some extra for tax). Not great, considering you also give up your subsidized pricing.
For someone with four lines, they could have gone from $280ish (on an older plan...$70 for voice, $10/additional line to join the plan, $30 for unlimited text for all, $30/line for unlimited data, and some for tax) to $180ish ($100 of data, $15 per line, and tax).
The unlimited plan would have offered $450 worth of subsidy per phone every two years, so $1800 worth of "free" money to put towards phones... however, saving $100/mo ends up being $2400 over two years, so they would actually come out $600 ahead even though they are now paying full price for their phones on AT&T Next.
except. I still have to shell out $70 per month for the phones. Phones I cannot sell myself - so I can't recover that $840 out of pocket.
Thanks for the feedback. I honestly am just torn between switching over to the NEXT and mobile share plan. (Tethering & no throttling when i need it would be nice. I also know i will be adding my gf to my plan eventually, so then it would only cost another $15).
At&t confirmed that i could bring my iphone 6+ 64gb in this weekend and be refunded my $427 and sign up for NEXT so then would be my opp to switch to mobile share plan.
At&t confirmed that i could bring my iphone 6+ 64gb in this weekend and be refunded my $427 and sign up for NEXT so then would be my opp to switch to mobile share plan.
Once the phones are paid off, you can do whatever you want with them. You have the "option" of trading them in after 12/18 months (depending on which AT&T Next plan you go with), but you are not obligated to.
I did not realize that. So if I hang onto them for 20 months, I can upgrade again and sell the phones. That's not bad.
Problem is, I'd want to upgrade after 12 months...
edit - the other problem is, the out of pocket has then almost doubled. Now $1,400 instead of only $840.
I did not realize that. So if I hang onto them for 20 months, I can upgrade again and sell the phones. That's not bad.
Problem is, I'd want to upgrade after 12 months...
edit - the other problem is, the out of pocket has then almost doubled. Now $1,400 instead of only $840.
You can pay off the balance whenever, so you could still upgrade at 12 months. Really, you're just buying the phone at full price, but AT&T allows you to finance it for 0% for 18-24 months if you want.
And while the out of pocket for the devices might have almost doubled, ideally your plan cost went down, too.
I understand that, but the plan is only going down by $20 per month. So it's $55 out of pocket over 20 months, or $1,100 more than what I am doing now. For me, because I sell my own phones for what I paid for them (subsidized) it just does not make sense.
the cost of the phone isnt the intial subsidized cost though. this is what people dont seem to get.
199 plus 40 out of pocket initially. then 40 per month for the next 24 months (actually forever, but....). that is the cost of the phone you are paying.
It does not matter how you slice it out, I am still paying less now.
119.99 month for service, $0 out of pocket (after sale of phone)
Now - $100 month for service, $75 out of pocket for phones.
It still comes out to be more.
Maybe I need to take another look, but I'm not understanding your numbers. One post says the 4GB Mobile Share Value Plan would be $145/mo for your 2 lines (which isn't right) and that the phones would be $70/mo on Next... Then this post says $100/mo and $75/mo for phones?
I'm also not understanding why you are taking the phone sales into consideration for your contract calculations but not the Mobile Share calculations. You have the same ability to resell with either plan.
EDIT: I'm not saying that your conclusion is wrong, just that the numbers seem off. There's a very good chance that your existing contract ends up being cheaper than switching.
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I changed numbers because someone threw me a curveball with the 10GB share plan. Those numbers were correct.
I also incorrectly listed the monthly price of the phones because the ones I would want both cost $37.50 per month, not $32.50 and $37.50.
I am not taking into account the phone sales on Next, because I know myself - I will trade in after 12 months, not hold for 20 months and sell and start over. It just will not happen.
The $145 for the 4GB share plan came right from ATTs website in a side by side comparison of my bill now and what it could be. I only get a $14 discount through my company, instead of $20. However, I think this price was showing because I had already ordered my iPhone 6, so it wasn't giving me the $15 discount on the second line's access charge.
So here's what I guess it could be (as simple as I can get)
Now:
Only 4GB Data (2GB each), 550 minutes (w/ rollover, 2500 in the bank), unlimited text
$119 per month service
$340 out of pocket for phone (our phones are on alternating schedule - only one eligible for upgrade each year)
-$40 activation credit
$340 out of pocket for phone
-$40 activation credit
-$600 sales of phones
Total 20 Month cost - $2399.80
Next:
10 GB shared data, unlimited calling, tethering, unlimited text
$100 per month service
$37.50 per month phone
$37.50 per month phone
Sell phones after 20 months - $600
Total 20 month cost - $2,900
Still works out in my favor to stay as is.
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Oh, that the subsidized cost of the phone isn't hidden in my bill? That's well known by everyone.
That's why it is dumb NOT to upgrade your phone as soon as you can - because otherwise you continue to pay for your phone. Phone companies love that.
However, that wasn't what this discussion is about, so your post adds no value. Sorry.
Later.
I have a question that may or may not have been answered (I haven't seen it answered yet).
My wife and I are typically pretty clumsy with our phones, and within our 2 year contract, one phone always gets smashed, broken, dropped in a pool, etc. In the past, we would sell the damaged phone (if it wasn't covered under Applecare) for what we could get for it, and then just buy another iPhone on eBay or Craigslist (surprising that the difference isn't always that drastic).
How would that work if it were to happen on the NEXT plan? Obviously we would have to keep paying the monthly fee on the device that we may have just sold for the 20 or 24 months, but could I activate a different phone on my plan, other than the one I bought in it's place? Would I have to pay off the other device in full before I could activate the new phone in its place? Could I trade in the newly purchased phone at the 12 or 18 month mark (if it's the same make/model)? This is the biggest confusion for me.
My wife and I are typically pretty clumsy with our phones, and within our 2 year contract, one phone always gets smashed, broken, dropped in a pool, etc. In the past, we would sell the damaged phone (if it wasn't covered under Applecare) for what we could get for it, and then just buy another iPhone on eBay or Craigslist (surprising that the difference isn't always that drastic).
How would that work if it were to happen on the NEXT plan? Obviously we would have to keep paying the monthly fee on the device that we may have just sold for the 20 or 24 months, but could I activate a different phone on my plan, other than the one I bought in it's place? Would I have to pay off the other device in full before I could activate the new phone in its place? Could I trade in the newly purchased phone at the 12 or 18 month mark (if it's the same make/model)? This is the biggest confusion for me.
Here's a spreadsheet for me
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B28Pd7Hz6vT_YTgxVVlITmxJZG8/edit?usp=sharing
Obviously, there are pros and cons to both, but since I am totally budget conscious, I have to stick with 2 yr contracts.
The bonus for me is, my wife and I are exactly 1 year off, so she let's me use her upgrade on my off year - we essentially both get new phones every 12 months...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B28Pd7Hz6vT_YTgxVVlITmxJZG8/edit?usp=sharing
Obviously, there are pros and cons to both, but since I am totally budget conscious, I have to stick with 2 yr contracts.
The bonus for me is, my wife and I are exactly 1 year off, so she let's me use her upgrade on my off year - we essentially both get new phones every 12 months...