Apple $269 replacement vs. ATT Next Upgrade

[Applejuiced]

Yeah yeah, lol. I'm not trying to say that you can retire off of it, just mentioning a way you can earn a few bucks along the way. And hopefully folks have something that earns them more than the 1% you used. lol


Definitely personal choice.

I don't get the "rent to own" comment, though.

You never hear people call it that when they buy something from another store using 0% APR (like a TV from Best Buy, appliances from Lowes/Home Depot/Sears, etc).

Part of it is rent to own but you can trade it in half way and start a new next payment plan.
I'm not a big fan of it

 

[rui no onna]

It's a mind game that I wouldn't want to get into, and don't plan on doing so. T-Mobile's Jump on Demand program that lets you upgrade 3 times every 12 months is even more brilliant.

If you're the kind of person that doesn't care about actually owning the phones, and wants a new one every 12, 18, or 24 months then it's brilliant. Or, if you're like my wife and you keep the phone until it dies, then it is also a brilliant idea as you can pay it off slowly with no interest. But, I just don't want to get involved with the mind games and like the feeling of paying for my stuff in full when I can. Certain items (like a house) are difficult to pay for up front, but I aim to make my phone purchase a "one and done" affair.

It's only a mind game if you think of it that way. Even back when 2-year contracts were de rigueur, there was always the option of paying the early termination fee if you wanted out. Besides, it's only recently that we have "universal" phone models. Even if you got your AT&T iPhone unlocked, you still couldn't use it with Verizon or Sprint.

That said, I would like the option of buying SIM-free, factory unlocked iPhones full price upon initial release in the US. I don't fancy having to wait months before it's available. Yes, the T-Mobile (if bought full-price at Apple) and Verizon are unlocked but thus far, the SIM-free version is far more flexible (whitelisted on both Sprint and Verizon, 20 LTE bands).

As for the 5c, it's not really worth the $269 OOW replacement fee. If you only need it for next couple of months, just buy a used one on Swappa for $200 or less.

 

[jbachandouris]

Never quite understood why some start threads like these and just vanish...

I would probably recommend using Next as opposed to the $269 repair option.

I would also recommend trying to sell the 5c. You may not get much for it, but something is better than nothing.

 

[karmatourer]

I think you're getting confused about the OPTION that Next plans have where if you want to upgrade your phone before you've finished paying for it, you have the option to give your phone back to AT&T, and then AT&T will pay off whatever you still owed on it.

T-Mobile and Sprint (IIRC) both have leasing options, but like others have said, Next is simply a 0% financing option. You take the price of the phone, divide it by the number of months you want, and that's what you pay monthly.

Yes at the full not subsidized price.

 

[hawon]

I think you're getting confused about the OPTION that Next plans have where if you want to upgrade your phone before you've finished paying for it, you have the option to give your phone back to AT&T, and then AT&T will pay off whatever you still owed on it.

T-Mobile and Sprint (IIRC) both have leasing options, but like others have said, Next is simply a 0% financing option. You take the price of the phone, divide it by the number of months you want, and that's what you pay monthly.

T-Mobile or sprints offers discounted rate fur not signing up for a traditional contract. AT&T's next plan is not so worth it IMO. It looks like 24 month 0% financing but your monthly service fee doesn't go down much at all for you to pay the phone fully when you subsidize your phone AT&T pays a huge chunk of a phone price.

 

[aristobrat]

T-Mobile or sprints offers discounted rate fur not signing up for a traditional contract. AT&T's next plan is not so worth it IMO. It looks like 24 month 0% financing but your monthly service fee doesn't go down much at all for you to pay the phone fully when you subsidize your phone AT&T pays a huge chunk of a phone price.

So this has been hashed out like a gazillion times, and it comes down to "it all depends".

On a 10GB data plan, if you use Next, the monthly service fee is more than half off the price of the subsidized service fee.

Here's what it costs (after two years) to buy a 16GB iPhone via Next vs. via subsidy.

Next:
$650 = total cost of monthly Next phone payments for the iPhone
$360 = 24 months x $15/month service fee
-------
$1,010

Subsidized 2-year contract:
$199 = what you pay up front for the iPhone
$960 = 24 months x $40/month service fee
--------
$1,159

So if the subsidized 2-year contract ends up costing $149 more than the Next plan, where exactly is that huge chunk of the phone price that you say AT&T is paying?

 

[aristobrat]

T-Mobile or sprints offers discounted rate fur not signing up for a traditional contract.

Looks like Sprint's monthly service fees (for a 10GB+ plan) are normally the same as AT&T's:
$15/month if you don't use the subsidy
$40/month if you do use the subsidy

... although looks like they're having a special at the moment where they'll waive the monthly service fee only if you use their 24-month "Easy Pay" financing deal.

Weird they'd still charge the $15/month service fee if you buy the phone out-right.