AT&T Early iPhone Upgrade vs. Buying Outright

[radioman10]

I'm going to do my best to explain my situation, but please forgive me in advance if this seems a bit confusing.

I am eligible for "early iPhone upgrade" now on AT&T, meaning I could get a 64GB iPhone 5 for $649 with a new two-year contract.

Instead, what I want to do is buy the phone outright for $849 and NOT sign a new two-year contract.

So my question is, has anyone ever done this in past years on the pre-order thing? I guess essentially I'm asking if AT&T is going to try to "force" me to do the early iPhone upgrade on the pre-order thing at midnight when I try to order and if so, is there a way around this?

Thanks in advance.

 

[feldhaus]

How did this work out for you? I am looking at the same situation.

 

[OneMike]

I did this last year without issue. You are presented all pricing options and just choose no commitment / full price to save the upgrade for when the full one is available.