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For me, I travel a lot to different countries. If I am in contract, my phone will be totally useless when I am out of the US. And if you add up how much you have paid in total at the end of the term, you would find you paid more than what you would have paid off contract.

Even under contract you can pop out the sim and buy pay as you go sim overseas. It's typically cheaper to buy local as your not paying your carriers international fees and then the locals fees.
 
I simply posted that to show that your statement that next is a joke because of some external deal that you have is really lacking in credibility. The next plan is financially equivalent to purchasing outright and whether it is better or worse for you depends on what you do with your money. Hardly making it a joke.

I stated it is a joke because AT&T advertised it as if it is a brand new thing that you would pay less if getting into the Next plan. You would actually save more in the 1st year compared to the old 2-year contract mode but then pay more back in the 2nd year but they only showed how much you would save in the 1st year on their website, not telling the 2nd part of the story. That , for me, is a joke. Of course, smart people like you and me would easily figure out the whole story and choose whatever best suit for us.;)

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Even under contract you can pop out the sim and buy pay as you go sim overseas. It's typically cheaper to buy local as your not paying your carriers international fees and then the locals fees.

In contract means your phone is locked until the 30-month period. You will not be able to use the SIM from another provider oversea.
 
Even under contract you can pop out the sim and buy pay as you go sim overseas. It's typically cheaper to buy local as your not paying your carriers international fees and then the locals fees.

No, you can't. A contract phone is locked to AT&T.
 
But I can get 10% cashback using my Discover card if I purchase the phone directly from Apple. If I get into the Next plan, I lose the 10% cashback. For a iPhone 6 64gb, it would be $75 in cashback.

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Discover currently has 10% cashback if you purchase iPhone directly from Apple OFF CONTRACT.
Your saving $75.00, which is great if you pay off in 3 weeks, but if you end up carrying over a balance I'm sure you start losing that $75.00 back in a short time frame.
 
Great! More ways to keep us locked in a contract.

it's not a contract. If you go this route and leave AT&T, you just own them what you have left on the phone. No one is forcing you to do this either, they have other Next plans (shorter payments, but you pay a higher payment) or just buy the phone out right... or better go someplace else.
 
Americans sure love their credits! I am not hating but visiting my aunt in Vermont and seeing those commercials on TV is always fun to see for me. A new Audi for only 120$ a month!

Either you can afford something right away or it's just not meant to be. But that just might be my German side talking
 
Americans sure love their credits! I am not hating but visiting my aunt in Vermont and seeing those commercials on TV is always fun to see for me. A new Audi for only 120$ a month!

Either you can afford something right away or it's just not meant to be. But that just might be my German side talking

Who really cares how someone else spends their own money?
 
Yes. Anything. I need to know if I'm switching carriers or not.

Why? You may find that the grass isn't greener on the other side. Why hold onto a plan that is practically worthless. For one your over paying AT&T. Second, 5GB of high-speed data in 2014 isn't really enough. They throttle down to EDGE speeds, which makes your phone nearly useless. I do not get why people are hanging on to this plan with the new promo plans. Unless, they just want it to say that have it. Big deal. I had it for years and was one of those people until the new promo plans came out. Now I pay $100 for 20GB of data.
 
The "next plan" is a joke. Anyone with elementary mathematics skill would find out after the 30-month period, it costs as much as if you purchase the phone directly off contract. Plus if you purchase the phone off contract, 1. you can get cash-back from major credit card companies so it is actually cheaper; 2. it is off contract which means you can switch to different wireless providers whenever you want, particularly useful if you travel a lot across continents.

While I will start by saying I am mostly commenting from me using a Verizon EDGE plan, I hope the concepts are similar. For me, it was yes the same price as off contract, except I am paying it off in 20 months versus one lump sum. Do I have the $750 to pay it off now, yes, why would I though when I can save that money in case something comes up where I really need it. The cash back is nice, however, not entirely significant (what, $15 dollars tops?). I don't travel, at all. There isn't enough variety or incentive to continually switch carriers here in the US so being locked in a contract vs not isn't really a big deal breaker with most.
 
Why? You may find that the grass isn't greener on the other side. Why hold onto a plan that is practically worthless. For one your over paying AT&T. Second, 5GB of high-speed data in 2014 isn't really enough. They throttle down to EDGE speeds, which makes your phone nearly useless. I do not get why people are hanging on to this plan with the new promo plans. Unless, they just want it to say that have it. Big deal. I had it for years and was one of those people until the new promo plans came out. Now I pay $100 for 20GB of data.


You're probably right but if they gave us 10GB then throttle I'd be fine with that. I'm just waiting to see what happens. I don't like the idea of being limited to a set amount of gigs which is why I stay with the unlimited.
 
The "next plan" is a joke. Anyone with elementary mathematics skill would find out after the 30-month period, it costs as much as if you purchase the phone directly off contract. Plus if you purchase the phone off contract, 1. you can get cash-back from major credit card companies so it is actually cheaper; 2. it is off contract which means you can switch to different wireless providers whenever you want, particularly useful if you travel a lot across continents.

Nobody ever suggested the phone would be cheaper. The idea is that you're paying for the phone, instead of all at once.

People with less than stellar credit might not have a higher limit credit card that offers rewards and a low enough interest rate. So while your elementary mathematics skills did a find job determining that AT&T is splitting the cost of the phone over 30 months, anybody with intermediate mathematics skills could determine that they'd be paying the same amount over 30 months, rather than the same amount plus whatever interest they might pay on a credit card.

Anybody with basic empathy can realize how this plan might benefit somebody who isn't well off enough to just buy/charge a $650-$950 phone and think nothing of it.

BTW, people who actually have to use the Next plan to afford their new phone probably aren't going to be traveling "a lot across continents." But I suppose those dregs of society probably don't "deserve" an iPhone 6, do they?

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But I can get 10% cashback using my Discover card if I purchase the phone directly from Apple. If I get into the Next plan, I lose the 10% cashback. For a iPhone 6 64gb, it would be $75 in cashback.

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Discover currently has 10% cashback if you purchase iPhone directly from Apple OFF CONTRACT.

They aren't marketing Next directly and solely to you and you alone. Not everybody has a Discover card, or 10% cash back.
 
ATT is twenty years behind in its plan offerings While financing your phone with their next plan. They offer no real value to their loyal and valued customers
It's time to recognize that their customer base isn't growing it's actually dwindling THANK YOU T mobile for starting the ball rolling. Now let's hope that it picks up speed so that ATT finally comes to life
 
ATT is twenty years behind in its plan offerings While financing your phone with their next plan. They offer no real value to their loyal and valued customers
It's time to recognize that their customer base isn't growing it's actually dwindling THANK YOU T mobile for starting the ball rolling. Now let's hope that it picks up speed so that ATT finally comes to life

Allegedly, Sprint is considering going "uncarrier" next year. Granted, it's lipstick on a pig, but it's a sign that T-Mobile is at least starting to change the market.
 
For me, moving to a plan where I could use next is more expensive then staying with my grandfathered unlimited. So I don't know why I'd pay more per month just so I could also pay more for the phone. But that's just my own situation, others may be different.
 
No, you can't. A contract phone is locked to AT&T.
They can unlock your phone for international travel and if they give any beef just talk about a president escalation and the employee will give the call over to a manager to put it through. Typically, you shouldn't get any beef even while under contract.
 
Sprint needs to worry less about going "uncarrier" and more about becoming "bandwidthier".

Very true. I was watching some of the uncarrier events where John Legere talks (curses) about the competition. He said something along the lines of "when your network blows, all making it cheaper does is show everybody that your network blows." (Paraphrased, slightly. Although he did actually use the word "blows.")

I'm a die-hard T-Mobile guy, but I'd still rather see people go to Verizon or AT&T than Sprint. They may be greedy and corrupt, but at least you're more likely to get the cellular service you're paying for.
 
I would jump on this if I could put money down on the device. I want to pay $300 down and then pay monthly installments until it's paid off.

Why this isn't possible is stupid. I want to pay up front. Not pay 6 months of payments later when I want to sell my phone after 24 months.

Let the customer determine when they want to be done with payments. It shouldn't be any different than a Car loan. I want to pay whatever I want, whenever I want. Just tell me when I need to be done by.

Next has a few more kinks to work out before they can fully ditch two year contracts.

If you read that agreement, you can pay the phone off early.
 
AT&T Announces 'Next 24' Payment Plan, Allowing 30 Months to Pay Off Devices

If you read that agreement, you can pay the phone off early.


But you can't put money down and have lower monthly payments. If you were able to put money down you could just create your own makeshift two year contract. Just put enough money down so that your monthly payments are like 20 bucks a month.
 
They can unlock your phone for international travel and if they give any beef just talk about a president escalation and the employee will give the call over to a manager to put it through. Typically, you shouldn't get any beef even while under contract.

They do give you beef, though.

http://arstechnica.com/staff/2014/11/atts-outdated-unlock-policies-cost-it-a-loyal-customer-me/

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But you can't put money down and have lower monthly payments.

No, but you'll have less monthly payments of the $20-$27 extra you have to pay per month.
 
The "next plan" is a joke. Anyone with elementary mathematics skill would find out after the 30-month period, it costs as much as if you purchase the phone directly off contract. Plus if you purchase the phone off contract, 1. you can get cash-back from major credit card companies so it is actually cheaper; 2. it is off contract which means you can switch to different wireless providers whenever you want, particularly useful if you travel a lot across continents.

That is the point...you pay for the phone over time. And it is part of your cell phone bill so you get the same cash back from your credit card, just spread over 30 months. The difference is that you keep the cash in the meantime. Given you can pay the whole thing off at any point and they give you a discount on your plan if you use Next...there really isn't a downside.
 
But you can't put money down and have lower monthly payments. If you were able to put money down you could just create your own makeshift two year contract. Just put enough money down so that your monthly payments are like 20 bucks a month.

But, again, you can. It doesn't adjust your payments, but you can put money down to lower the length of the makeshift contract.
 
But you can't put money down and have lower monthly payments. If you were able to put money down you could just create your own makeshift two year contract. Just put enough money down so that your monthly payments are like 20 bucks a month.

Most consumer electronics are way two low value of an item for the type of payment structure you are talking about.

Cars are tens of thousands of dollars while an iPhone is less than most car options. The lower price the item, the less the payment options. Be happy there is a payment plan.

What you want next, shopping around for equity sales options on your iPhone as you would a mortgage? How about financing a large pizza with peperoni?
 
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