iPhone 13 Pro Max Anyone else really confused on these special carrier deals for iPhone 13 Pro Max?

[ideal.dreams]

My wife and I both have iPhones. Being a tech guy I always like to have the latest and greatest and my wife doesn't care if she's a year behind in tech so I will always upgrade one of our lines each year on a new AT&T installment plan and then she'll get my old phone and then we cycle through that way every year. I usually sell her old phone on eBay for around $500-$600, so the net cost to have the newest iPhone for me is like $200 a year which is great with the way we do things.

So every year, I pay off the phone with the smallest installment balance due (which usually works out to $200-$300) and then I sign on for a new 30 month installment plan which usually runs $36.64 a month.

The special AT&T deal this year is that if you trade in an iPhone 11 Pro Max (which is my wife's current phone), you'll get an iPhone 13 Pro Max for $2.75 a month for 36 months. This is awesome, except we're not going to have the phone for 36 months, only for around 24 months or so (12 months with me, then 12 months with my wife). At the end of 24ish months, I'll be wanting to pay the device off.

This is where I'm getting confused. At 24 months, will I owe $2.75 times the remaining 12 months = $33? Or will I owe way more than that since I'm ending the promotion 12 months early? I called Apple and they think it'll be the former but it sounds way too good to be true...does anyone know this for certain?

 

[ideal.dreams]

After playing with the numbers in Excel I think I've rationalized how this works. So AT&T will pay you in "bill credits" which are worth approximately $916.74 over the 36 month term (they don't kick in until after the third billing cycle from what I'm reading).

So if you chose to upgrade at 24 months in, AT&T will have given you $583.38 worth of bill credits and you would owe the remaining $366.36 due on the phone to pay it off (since there wouldn't be any more bill credits due to you).

Column 1 is the month, column 2 is the amount you pay on your bill, column 3 is the amount AT&T subsidizes in the form of bill credits (which would stop if you end the promotion early) and column 4 is what you would pay if you didn't trade your phone into AT&T.

So essentially, if you go this route, you're robbing yourself of an additional $333.36.

 

[BrettDS]

So what will happen is ATT will charge you $30.53 per month for the phone, but they will also give you credits of $27.78 per month, so you effectively pay $2.75 per month. The amount you owe on the phone will go down by $30.53 per month. If you cancel early then you will owe whatever remains on the phone ($30.53 times however many months are left) and you will forfeit however many months of credit are left. So to pay off the phone after 24 months then you will forfeit $333.36 in credit and have to pay off the balance of $366.36

 

[BrettDS]

After playing with the numbers in Excel I think I've rationalized how this works. So AT&T will pay you in "bill credits" which are worth approximately $916.74 over the 36 month term (they don't kick in until after the third billing cycle from what I'm reading).

So if you chose to upgrade at 24 months in, AT&T will have given you $583.38 worth of bill credits and you would owe the remaining $366.36 due on the phone to pay it off (since there wouldn't be any more bill credits due to you).

Column 1 is the month, column 2 is the amount you pay on your bill, column 3 is the amount AT&T subsidizes in the form of bill credits (which would stop if you end the promotion early) and column 4 is what you would pay if you didn't trade your phone into AT&T.

So essentially, if you go this route, you're robbing yourself of an additional $333.36.

This is essentially right, except for the start of the credits. They say that they can take up to 3 billing cycles to kick in, but I’ve always had them kick in after one or two. And if they do kick in late you will get multiple credits on the first bill where they are effective. So if they kick in on the second billing cycle you’ll get two credits on that cycle to make up for the missed one, then going forward it will be one per billing cycle.

 

[BrettDS]

It’s also worth noting that the phone doesn’t have to still be associated with your account for you to keep paying it off and keep getting the credits. It is questionably ethical to sell the phone after 24 months when you still owe money on it, but if you can give it to another family member or something then there is nothing to stop you from getting a new phone and continuing to pay off (and receive the credits for) this phone for the last 12 months.

You just won’t be able to finance another device with ATT on that line when you still have an active installment plan, so you will need to pay outright for another phone in 24 months or finance it with iup or on an Apple Card.

 

[ideal.dreams]

Cheers, thanks. I think I have sense made of it now. So of the two options (i.e. trading the phone in and doing the $2.75/month ordeal vs. starting a clean installment of $30.53/month for 36 months), this is probably the more appealing offer for me. Yes, I'm going to lose some $330 in bill credits by stopping at 24 months, but it's no more than I'd lose if I'd tried to sell the phone outright on eBay anyways, and this saves me the hassle of dealing with eBay buyers and potential scammers.

It looks like a used iPhone 11 Pro Max in my wife's configuration is going for around $500 anyways, so AT&T will have essentially paid that out to me for her phone if I trade it in by the 24th month.

 

[BrettDS]

Cheers, thanks. I think I have sense made of it now. So of the two options (i.e. trading the phone in and doing the $2.75/month ordeal vs. starting a clean installment of $30.53/month for 36 months), this is probably the more appealing offer for me. Yes, I'm going to lose some $330 in bill credits by stopping at 24 months, but it's no more than I'd lose if I'd tried to sell the phone outright on eBay anyways, and this saves me the hassle of dealing with eBay buyers and potential scammers.

It looks like a used iPhone 11 Pro Max in my wife's configuration is going for around $500 anyways, so AT&T will have essentially paid that out to me for her phone if I trade it in by the 24th month.

Yeah, if you plan to trade it in after 24 months, then you can look it as getting $666.64 in credit for your iPhone 11 Pro Max, which still isn’t a bad deal. $1000 is better, but 36 months is a long time to be committed to something.

 

[aneftp]

This is essentially right, except for the start of the credits. They say that they can take up to 3 billing cycles to kick in, but I’ve always had them kick in after one or two. And if they do kick in late you will get multiple credits on the first bill where they are effective. So if they kick in on the second billing cycle you’ll get two credits on that cycle to make up for the missed one, then going forward it will be one per billing cycle.

My advice is to trade in your iPhone directly to att corp store. That way it’s done correctly.

I traded in iPhone 8 Plus for $700 Bill credits for iPhone 12 Pro Max (Walmart installment. Deal $150 off $1100 equals $950).

the bill credits came next billing cycle. It didn’t take 3 billing cycles.
I’ve done 2 other bill credits as well. Both no longer than 2nd month to get credits.

personally 3 years of monthly credits is too long for my taste. I’ve never own a phone more than 24 months.

if your goal is to trade in phone in 24 months. Just treat it like a $666 monthly credit divided by 24 months (iPhone 11 pro max trade in value is $500 at Apple offices store?)

in my opinion. Just pay full price for iPhone 13 pro max. Trade it to Apple store. And have unlocked phone and way more flexibility than being locked into 36 months of credits. There are other deals that can come in the future and you have that flexibility if you go my suggestion (trade in to Apple retail store)

 

[Fred Zed]

My wife and I both have iPhones. Being a tech guy I always like to have the latest and greatest and my wife doesn't care if she's a year behind in tech so I will always upgrade one of our lines each year on a new AT&T installment plan and then she'll get my old phone and then we cycle through that way every year. I usually sell her old phone on eBay for around $500-$600, so the net cost to have the newest iPhone for me is like $200 a year which is great with the way we do things.

So every year, I pay off the phone with the smallest installment balance due (which usually works out to $200-$300) and then I sign on for a new 30 month installment plan which usually runs $36.64 a month.

The special AT&T deal this year is that if you trade in an iPhone 11 Pro Max (which is my wife's current phone), you'll get an iPhone 13 Pro Max for $2.75 a month for 36 months. This is awesome, except we're not going to have the phone for 36 months, only for around 24 months or so (12 months with me, then 12 months with my wife). At the end of 24ish months, I'll be wanting to pay the device off.

This is where I'm getting confused. At 24 months, will I owe $2.75 times the remaining 12 months = $33? Or will I owe way more than that since I'm ending the promotion 12 months early? I called Apple and they think it'll be the former but it sounds way too good to be true...does anyone know this for certain?

Yeah, they're all rubbish.

 

[- rob -]

These bill credits are so strange. Verizon has a $500 Verizon credit BYOD promotion rn, but you must stay with them at least a year or pay it back.

The $500 can be spent on Verizon bills or on anything in a Verizon store.

They don’t tell you this but they still charge $35 activation fee.

The only reason they do this is that the Verizon services and their retail stores are so hopelessly overpriced the company isn’t giving much away so long as you stick around for even a few months of service past the minimum.

The carriers are the worst.

I get why apple still works with them, but I also can’t wait to give them up completely. Part of the reason I use Apple’s iPhone upgrade plan is specifically to deprive Verizon of another hook into me.

 

[citivolus]

These bill credits are so strange. Verizon has a $500 Verizon credit BYOD promotion rn, but you must stay with them at least a year or pay it back.

The $500 can be spent on Verizon bills or on anything in a Verizon store.

They don’t tell you this but they still charge $35 activation fee.

The only reason they do this is that the Verizon services and their retail stores are so hopelessly overpriced the company isn’t giving much away so long as you stick around for even a few months of service past the minimum.

The carriers are the worst.

I get why apple still works with them, but I also can’t wait to give them up completely. Part of the reason I use Apple’s iPhone upgrade plan is specifically to deprive Verizon of another hook into me.

Can anyone confirm if Verizon will give you $500 per line if you port in four lines together on one account?

 

[- rob -]

Can anyone confirm if Verizon will give you $500 per line if you port in four lines together on one account?

if they come from separate carriers, each is entitled. They gotta stick around for the specified term or the the account owner is stuck paying it back.
Call the carrier. They’ll tell you if it won’t work.

 

[Jumpie]

I've never done a carrier upgrade or IUP because they're either 24 or 30 month "deals." I did Apple Card trade-in at $17.04/month for 24 months at 0%. Yes, I know I said I won't do 24 weight a carrier. But I decided I'll pay $100/month or less instead.

One thing I hate either way is that Apple charges a premium for memory but when you trade-in, you don't get premium for memory. It's just flat value. That's annoying. Last time I got 512GB but barely used it so I went back to 256GB this time. According to Settings, I've only used 22GB on my phone.

 

[citivolus]

if they come from separate carriers, each is entitled. They gotta stick around for the specified term or the the account owner is stuck paying it back.
Call the carrier. They’ll tell you if it won’t work.

All are coming from the same carrier. I did online chat with Verizon and the agent said each line would be eligible for a separate rebate. Has anyone here actually done this?

 

[BeatCrazy]

After playing with the numbers in Excel I think I've rationalized how this works. So AT&T will pay you in "bill credits" which are worth approximately $916.74 over the 36 month term (they don't kick in until after the third billing cycle from what I'm reading).

So if you chose to upgrade at 24 months in, AT&T will have given you $583.38 worth of bill credits and you would owe the remaining $366.36 due on the phone to pay it off (since there wouldn't be any more bill credits due to you).

Column 1 is the month, column 2 is the amount you pay on your bill, column 3 is the amount AT&T subsidizes in the form of bill credits (which would stop if you end the promotion early) and column 4 is what you would pay if you didn't trade your phone into AT&T.

So essentially, if you go this route, you're robbing yourself of an additional $333.36.

Even if it takes 3 months for the bill credits to start, you’ll get “catch up” credits for that first billing cycle. In other words, you’ll get the full $1000 over the 36 months.

 

[yukari]

Usually, I don't like to deal with any carrier for an upgrade. I would either buy out right from Apple or trade in through Apple. But when I checked to overall price, I have to pay about $500 to trade in my XR to 13 mini, whereas if I go through AT&T, it's basically free, but tied to 36 month contract.

When I trade in 12 mini for 13 Pro, I have to pay about $600 through Apple trade in. But through AT&T, this is also free trade.

I have been with AT&T for the last 12 years so I don't see changing unless there is something that really changes things.

So 36 month is no big deal.

I decided to upgrade XR and 12 Mini for 13 Mini (for free) and 13 Pro (for free), respectively, through AT&T.

 

[pcd213]

My advice is to trade in your iPhone directly to att corp store. That way it’s done correctly.

I traded in iPhone 8 Plus for $700 Bill credits for iPhone 12 Pro Max (Walmart installment. Deal $150 off $1100 equals $950).

the bill credits came next billing cycle. It didn’t take 3 billing cycles.
I’ve done 2 other bill credits as well. Both no longer than 2nd month to get credits.

personally 3 years of monthly credits is too long for my taste. I’ve never own a phone more than 24 months.

if your goal is to trade in phone in 24 months. Just treat it like a $666 monthly credit divided by 24 months (iPhone 11 pro max trade in value is $500 at Apple offices store?)

in my opinion. Just pay full price for iPhone 13 pro max. Trade it to Apple store. And have unlocked phone and way more flexibility than being locked into 36 months of credits. There are other deals that can come in the future and you have that flexibility if you go my suggestion (trade in to Apple retail store)

I took the exact same Walmart deal but for a 12 Pro. I feel like we’re in the minority. Haven’t heard a lot of members talk about it. Getting an iPhone 12 Pro for $150 ($850 minus the $700 AT&T credit deal) at that time sounded like a steal. Now that I see this free iPhone 13 deal, though, I wish I had waited.

 

[anshuvorty]

In other words, if you can afford it, just buy the phone outright, is that the correct conclusion?

 

[pcd213]

I’ve been trying to confirm whether or not bill credits would end if I swapped my SIM into a new iPhone in the future, say a 14, that I bought outright, and let my prior 12 Pro just sit in a drawer continuing to collect its bill credits. I’m not sure if AT&T would end the credits if it detects a different phone on the line, even if it’s unlocked and/or purchased outright. Anyone know?

 

[BrettDS]

In other words, if you can afford it, just buy the phone outright, is that the correct conclusion?

No, I don’t think that’s the necessarily the takeaway here. Buying the phone outright and selling your old phone on your own is definitely a good option and it saves you from being locked down for 24 (or even 36 months).

However, the carrier deals aren’t really a bad deal if you know what you’re getting into. Often you can get more credit for your trade than you would selling it on your own and if you would normally keep your phone for 24 or 36 months anyway, and you are OK sticking with your carrier for the next 2 or 3 years, then that can be a good option too.

I think the best conclusion is to evaluate your options and figure out how often you want to upgrade to figure out what it the best option for you.

 

[compwiz1202]

No, I don’t think that’s the necessarily the takeaway here. Buying the phone outright and selling your old phone on your own is definitely a good option and it saves you from being locked down for 24 (or even 36 months).

However, the carrier deals aren’t really a bad deal if you know what you’re getting into. Often you can get more credit for your trade than you would selling it on your own and if you would normally keep your phone for 24 or 36 months anyway, and you are OK sticking with your carrier for the next 2 or 3 years, then that can be a good option too.

I think the best conclusion is to evaluate your options and figure out how often you want to upgrade to figure out what it the best option for you.

For VZW, we both got the same deal for trading in our old phones, even though I am trading 12PM, but she is trading regular 12. We both end up paying just under $10 a month. If the deals stay this good every year, we just pay off the phones right before the new one comes out, and get the good deal again.

 

[BrettDS]

If the deals stay this good every year, we just pay off the phones right before the new one comes out, and get the good deal again.

If you’re going to do that, then this is not a good option for you. The credits are great if you stick with the full term to get all of them. But if you pay off the phone after a year then you only get 1/2 or 1/3 of the credits and in that case you would have been better off buying the phone outright and selling your old phone on your own.

For example, with ATT you can get $1000 in credit for a 12 pro max, which is more than you could get selling it on your own, but that $1000 is spread out over three years. If you get the credits for a year and then pay off the phone you’ll have only gotten $333 in credit for your 12 pro max. You could have sold it for much more than that on your own.

The carrier deals only make sense if you’re willing to ride out the 24 or 36 months to get all of the credit.

 

[anshuvorty]

No, I don’t think that’s the necessarily the takeaway here. Buying the phone outright and selling your old phone on your own is definitely a good option and it saves you from being locked down for 24 (or even 36 months).

However, the carrier deals aren’t really a bad deal if you know what you’re getting into. Often you can get more credit for your trade than you would selling it on your own and if you would normally keep your phone for 24 or 36 months anyway, and you are OK sticking with your carrier for the next 2 or 3 years, then that can be a good option too.

I think the best conclusion is to evaluate your options and figure out how often you want to upgrade to figure out what it the best option for you.

I see. Thanks for the calm and well-reasoned explanation.

 

[compwiz1202]

If you’re going to do that, then this is not a good option for you. The credits are great if you stick with the full term to get all of them. But if you pay off the phone after a year then you only get 1/2 or 1/3 of the credits and in that case you would have been better off buying the phone outright and selling your old phone on your own.

For example, with ATT you can get $1000 in credit for a 12 pro max, which is more than you could get selling it on your own, but that $1000 is spread out over three years. If you get the credits for a year and then pay off the phone you’ll have only gotten $333 in credit for your 12 pro max. You could have sold it for much more than that on your own.

The carrier deals only make sense if you’re willing to ride out the 24 or 36 months to get all of the credit.

Yea now I look at it more, it is definitely better for me than my wife. I have 12PM to trade, so $785 of the $800 is for the device straight out, and $15 is from the VZW promo, so I get 50 cents a month credit LOL. But hers is regular 12 so she gets $530/$270. So I will have less to pay off later than she will. The big ? is how much more could a 12 be sold for than what the trade gives. Is it enough more to deal with the hassle of a private sale? If we trade in a year, her trade will be worth $530 + 12 * $270/30 ($108) = $638. I don't really know how much more we could get that just doing Swappa or a similar site. Seems if could definitely be better to sell the PM outright from the prices I saw on Swappa. Just don't like dealing with the private sales with noshows and people trying to haggle after you already agreed.