Add new line and cancel line - 599 upgrade vs 199

[FreeLunch1]

My wife's line isn't eligible for an early upgrade. AT&T wants 599 for an iPhone 4. Has anyone thought about. Doing this if you're in my shoes? Add a new family line and get an iPhone 4 for 199 and port out your old line and get an early termination fee of around $100 since she has had the phone for a year. Therefore the cost of a new phone is $299. AT&T said that I would have to wait 60 days to port the line back in otherwise it would be considered a win back.

Just trying to think of if it's worth it.

 

[Geckotek]

My wife's line isn't eligible for an early upgrade. AT&T wants 599 for an iPhone 4. Has anyone thought about. Doing this if you're in my shoes? Add a new family line and get an iPhone 4 for 199 and port out your old line and get an early termination fee of around $100 since she has had the phone for a year. Therefore the cost of a new phone is $299. AT&T said that I would have to wait 60 days to port the line back in otherwise it would be considered a win back.

Just trying to think of if it's worth it.

Yup, but instead of porting the line out, I just kept the extra line around.

 

[FreeLunch1]

Yup, but instead of porting the line out, I just kept the extra line around.

However - I don't want to pay the extra $40 per month for an extra line. It would negate the cost savings. Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[twitchtwice]

i dont think there is much you can do man. your probably better off just buying the phone out right.

 

[Sunday Shadows]

you can cancel the current line and come back for a new contract as long as you get a new number. i left att last month, and wanted to come back for the new iphone. they told me if i decided to keep my old number i wouldn't get the new customer pricing, so i changed to a new number and got the new customer price.

 

[klitorisaurus]

However - I don't want to pay the extra $40 per month for an extra line. It would negate the cost savings. Anyone else have any ideas?

I was talking to a rep about this, and she's actually the one who suggested it to me. And as far as she explained it, it's only $10 a month for the extra line, as the data plan isn't a requirement. Think of it as a $10 home phone that allows you to have faster access to subsidized prices.

 

[Geckotek]

I was talking to a rep about this, and she's actually the one who suggested it to me. And as far as she explained it, it's only $10 a month for the extra line, as the data plan isn't a requirement. Think of it as a $10 home phone that allows you to have faster access to subsidized prices.

^THIS^

But you also have to get a family plan which I think added another $5/month for 550 minutes instead of 450. I haven't checked lately so my pricing may be off.

 

[FreeLunch1]

I was talking to a rep about this, and she's actually the one who suggested it to me. And as far as she explained it, it's only $10 a month for the extra line, as the data plan isn't a requirement. Think of it as a $10 home phone that allows you to have faster access to subsidized prices.

So have you done this already done this. I thought the data plan was mandatory when signing up for an iPhone.

 

[Revelation78]

So have you done this already done this. I thought the data plan was mandatory when signing up for an iPhone.

The plan is mandatory when having an iPhone on the line. What you'll do is activate a new line with the new iPhone. You then have two choices;

1) Get a micro sim card for her original line and re-activate the iPhone 4 on her original line and cancel the data plan on the third line. Your bill would only be $10 per month higher.

2) Activate the iPhone 4 on the new line and cancel the data plan on her original line. Your bill would only be $10 higher per month.

When you call AT&T to cancel the data plan, simply tell them the phone on that line is lost and you plan to buy a cheap flip phone off of eBay or Craigslist to use on the line.

If you go into an AT&T store, they can do the swap for you if she wants to keep her original number.

 

[FreeLunch1]

1) Get a micro sim card for her original line and re-activate the iPhone 4 on her original line and cancel the data plan on the third line. Your bill would only be $10 per month higher.

Will AT&T give you a microSIM and allow you to swap phone numbers from one line to the next? Also, have you dropped the data line from a prior iPhone plan? I don't have an issue with paying an extra $10 a month for essentially a phone line that I won't use. Paying $40 wouldn't be worth it.

thanks for the tips..

 

[aneftp]

Will AT&T give you a microSIM and allow you to swap phone numbers from one line to the next? Also, have you dropped the data line from a prior iPhone plan? I don't have an issue with paying an extra $10 a month for essentially a phone line that I won't use. Paying $40 wouldn't be worth it.

thanks for the tips..

AT&T will normally give you mini sims for free. But they may charge you $15 for the new microSims the iPhone 4 and iPad uses.

 

[hushmartin]

Aha! I've been thinking about a way to get the 4 without having to spend 500 bucks. This might be the ticket, AND I'd still get to keep unlimited data. Although, I don't think I would want to keep the extra line forever, that would eventually negate the savings, say over the life of the contract. Poo. Still think it might be easier to just pay the money. :/

 

[oneals2focus]

However - I don't want to pay the extra $40 per month for an extra line. It would negate the cost savings. Anyone else have any ideas?

I know now you can Transfer financial responsibility of a line to another person. Use this option to let someone else assume responsibility for payment for service for one or more of your wireless devices. Call AT&T and ask them about it. Just an idea.

 

[FreeLunch1]

The plan is mandatory when having an iPhone on the line. What you'll do is activate a new line with the new iPhone. You then have two choices;

1) Get a micro sim card for her original line and re-activate the iPhone 4 on her original line and cancel the data plan on the third line. Your bill would only be $10 per month higher.

2) Activate the iPhone 4 on the new line and cancel the data plan on her original line. Your bill would only be $10 higher per month.

When you call AT&T to cancel the data plan, simply tell them the phone on that line is lost and you plan to buy a cheap flip phone off of eBay or Craigslist to use on the line.

If you go into an AT&T store, they can do the swap for you if she wants to keep her original number.

When the iphone 4 came out, I added a new line to my family plan to get the iPhone 4 at 199. I then got a cheap phone and got the line transferred to that flip phone and dropped by data plan. Therefore, I paid an extra $10 per month for what will be 2 years for the upgrade.

Does anyone know if AT&T still allow you to do this?

 

[brapmac740]

Either wait for an upgrade, wait for the iphone that follows the 4s....or Eat the cost and pay the 750 bones, get your woman to pay half and you pay half and it won't feel so bad. (Unless your checking account is a joint account)

When you sign a contract agreement, you pretty much save 400 dollars but you bind yourself in for 24 months. Buying them out is the way to go so you're not nailed witht he 385 early term fee down the line. Either way you're gonna pay 750 for the phone, however you look at it.

 

[dccorona]

at $10 a month (you can cancel the data plan once the SIM is no longer in a smartphone) it is worth keeping an extra line around for emergencies, to lend to friends in need, etc. Plus, this will enable you to always have an upgrade when a new iPhone comes around