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AT&T iPhone Trade-in announced

From ATT Customer Care Tweets a short while ago:

Question: "I want to preorder tonight for iPhone 6 from AT&T, but I also want to trade-in my old iPhone 4 for $200 toward phone. How do I do that?"

Answer: "You can get trade-in credit but the exact buy flow/page indicators for http://att.com still being determined. ^JasonS"

Seems they still have not quite figured out how they are going to do this.
 
dubels said:
Be very careful with what you hear from a sales rep at an AT&T store. I worked at AT&T and it is very competitive for commission. The sales rep most likely wants you to go in just to have the commission. Having worked at AT&T during the iPhone 3s launch as an iPhone Product Pro (non-commission) I saw how many sales reps got mad at me for telling people to wait for future iPhone shipments instead of being forced into a phone they didn't want just because the sales rep wanted the commission right then and there. "Why did you send money away? We could have gotten them a blackberry!" Me: "Because they wanted an iPhone not a crap storm."

It was the main reason I left AT&T to worked for Apple. Apple is non-commission based and if the workers don't know they will go and honestly find you an answer instead of giving you some BS to get the commission. You are going to get better information if you call corporate hotlines than commission based sales reps at a local AT&T store.
Click to expand...

Thanks and I agree. I did a chat with corporate business (FAN acct.) and they said the same thing. I will inquire tomorrow before I place the pre-order.
 
I've decided to go ahead and get the 6 4.7". I have an iPhone 4 that I got free two years ago so I look at this as AT&T paying me to upgrade. My contract expires on 9/13/14. Hopefully i'll have the 6 in hand by Wednesday at the latest.
 
whsbuss said:
Thanks and I agree. I did a chat with corporate business (FAN acct.) and they said the same thing. I will inquire tomorrow before I place the pre-order.
Click to expand...

You might be right that they have an in-store trade in program that allows you to credit the value of the phone. But I prefer to avoid the hassle of the store. After doing four product launches for Apple, I prefer to avoid any stores with the launching product. I much rather get the trade in credit from online and just credit it to my bill. Also with the online program as it stands now, you have 30 days to send in your phone so its not a rush to get my current phone ready to trade-in the day I pick up the iPhone 6. It also allows me to see test the non-trade in resell waters. In the end you still save the same amount of money. It is not like by doing it in store you don't have to pay you service bill. It just determines when the money comes out of your pocket.

Best of luck. I am glad they are no longer telling people with FAN accounts that they had to do the upgrades at AT&T to keep their discounts. That was a real mess before.
 
Did another online chat to see if there was more "official" info on the trade-in program and some other questions I had. Here are the key points you may find helpful:

--------------
This chat states there is still no official word on the trade-in program yet:

Me: There technically is no official $200 trade-in for an iPhone 4 from AT&T announced yet, correct? Other carriers / stores have officially announced what they are offering. Will AT&T have something official for this tonight before pre-orders or do I need to consider going somewhere else?
Kimberly S.: Correct. No official word at this time. You can check back at midnight when the phone sale starts we may have more information. However, now I can't confirm the trade in promotion.

------------
This chat states promotion card will be good for 150 days and can be used for your entire bill, including the Next installment for a phone:

ME: If I understand the trade-in program correctly, they will give me an AT&T Promotion card for the trade-in value of the phone. Is that correct?
Kimberly S.: Yes, correct. A promotion card.
ME: I understand the AT&T promotion card can be used to pay your monthly bill. But is it only applied to certain portions of the bill? Can it be applied to the installment fee for a phone on Next plan?
Kimberly S.: Let me check for you one moment.
Randy: And I also read where the card expires in 90 days. Is that correct?
Kimberly S.: You will have 150 days to use the card.
Kimberly S.: Yes, and it would cover the full bill. Next installments as well.

-----------
I asked about ordering tonight and then applying for the trade-in later on this chat:

ME: Since the iPhone 6 pre-orders go "live" late tonight, should I not order the phone since there are no details about how the trade-in promotion works? I would hate to find out tomorrow you had to initiate the trade-in at the same time you pre-order the new phone... after I already did the pre-order.
Kimberly S.: No, you can order the phone then and trade in later you would still qualify for the credit no problem at all.

-----------
Here I asked about pre-ordering online and then doing the trade-in at a local store.

ME: How will I do the trade-in? At the same time (online) I order the iPhone 6 later tonight. Can I do the trade-in later at a local ATT store?
Kimberly S.: You can pre-order the phone once you receive it then trade the phone inside a local store and you can use the credit towards your bill.


That is all the pertinent info from my chat. Wish AT&T had something "official" but at least I have saved this chat in case I need it later if there are any problems.
 
I locked in a trade in of 375 for my 32gb 5s, does this seem like a reasonable offer for it? Would cost 175 to upgrade to the iphone 6 (64gb) since my account is only partially subsidized.
 
"Beginning Sept. 12, when online preorders begin, you can upgrade to one of these new devices and get:

-Up to $300 in trade-in value for iPhone 5S
-Up to $200 in trade-in value for iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C

The offer is available through Sept. 30.

Trade-in Offer: ends 9/30/14, subject to change. Select locations. Req’s trade-in of eligible iPhone in
good and working condition and purchase of new smartphone on AT&T NextSM or 2-year wireless
agreement w/ qualified wireless service activation. Value provided via credit or promo card. Eligible
devices include iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5c, and 5s, and values vary. Other charges and restrictions apply. Visit a
participating store for details."

Doesn't seem be consistent with those getting trade in values over $300 for the 5s. Also sounds like you need to do it in store from this email. If that is so, their current program seems to be easier to do without going to the store. But if you go to the store it sounds like you may be able to credit the trade-in towards the purchase of the phone.
 
Last edited:
dubels said:
"Beginning Sept. 12, when online preorders begin, you can upgrade to one of these new devices and get:

-Up to $300 in trade-in value for iPhone 5S
-Up to $200 in trade-in value for iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C

The offer is available through Sept. 30."

Doesn't seem be consistent with those getting trade in values over $300 for the 5s, but this is from AT&T Insider.
Click to expand...

The "up to" probably kills the values for the iPhone 4 and 4S
 
and all i see on twitter is a "MINIMUM" of $200 credit towards your iPhone. i have an old iPhone 4 8GB and can get $200 for it, at the MINIMUM? that's a deal i'll take.
 
I thought the Trade-In promotion was good until Sept 30??
I checked yesterday and an iPhone 5 was going for $200. Today it is down to $150. :(
The page never even working properly. There is an error in the amount field after you checked yes to the four questions.
 
I pre-ordered through apple with next plan and now I would like to trade in the phones for AT&T credit. Has anyone seen if this is possible? I was looking at trading in for amazon credit but the problem is you have to ship to amazon and they determine the value. I would rather know up front what I am getting and be able to say yes or no. Otherwise I will go the craigslist route.

Problem is one of the 5S I want to trade in has some pretty serious scratches from a crappy case I don't see Amazon accepting that. Not sure how AT&T or Apple handle this either.
 
TigerStephie said:
I pre-ordered through apple with next plan and now I would like to trade in the phones for AT&T credit. Has anyone seen if this is possible? I was looking at trading in for amazon credit but the problem is you have to ship to amazon and they determine the value. I would rather know up front what I am getting and be able to say yes or no. Otherwise I will go the craigslist route.

Problem is one of the 5S I want to trade in has some pretty serious scratches from a crappy case I don't see Amazon accepting that. Not sure how AT&T or Apple handle this either.
Click to expand...

I was told and hour ago at my local AT&T store by the manager, that I would get $400 (two iPhone 5's 32 gig) off my purchase of two +64 space gray iPhones. I am doing my usual 2 year contract. That is 400 off 855. I'll take it. No hassle or selling online or sending in.

He said it could be used on any purchase in the store.
 
Success!!! Went to the local AT&T store this morning and order my two 64GB iPhone 6 phones. Traded in 2 iPhone 4 's (not being used) and received the AT&T Promotion card for $400. I can use this in store, online, and as a payment source for my monthly AT&T bill. It is good until Jan 2015.

Only downside is the delivery date for the new phones now shows Oct 13 - 31. Hoping they come in before that.
 
Thrifty1 said:
Success!!! Went to the local AT&T store this morning and order my two 64GB iPhone 6 phones. Traded in 2 iPhone 4 's (not being used) and received the AT&T Promotion card for $400. I can use this in store, online, and as a payment source for my monthly AT&T bill. It is good until Jan 2015.

Only downside is the delivery date for the new phones now shows Oct 13 - 31. Hoping they come in before that.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update. I have a variant of your situation: my wife and I have 4S and 5 that we are both using, and want to know if we can go into a nearby ATT store (after launch date) and come out with two new iPhone 6 devices immediately (assuming stock availability) paying the subsidized rate minus the trade-in amount ($400)?

TIA,

EVP
 
evillageprowler said:
Thanks for the update. I have a variant of your situation: my wife and I have 4S and 5 that we are both using, and want to know if we can go into a nearby ATT store (after launch date) and come out with two new iPhone 6 devices immediately (assuming stock availability) paying the subsidized rate minus the trade-in amount ($400)?



TIA,



EVP
Click to expand...


Wouldn't that depend on the inventory at the store?
 
Thrifty1 said:
Success!!! Went to the local AT&T store this morning and order my two 64GB iPhone 6 phones. Traded in 2 iPhone 4 's (not being used) and received the AT&T Promotion card for $400. I can use this in store, online, and as a payment source for my monthly AT&T bill. It is good until Jan 2015.

Only downside is the delivery date for the new phones now shows Oct 13 - 31. Hoping they come in before that.
Click to expand...

Hey Thrifty1, had a question for you.
How closely did they inspect your old phones when you turned it in? I'm guessing it probably varies by store/manager but was still curious of your experience. I have a perfectly functioning iphone 4 with no history of water damage, but when I look at the bottom dock connector, I do see some red in that little square, which is supposedly the water damage indicator. All the buttons, screen, sound are all perfectly working. I wanted to know if that red would be a dealbreaker. Did they look at the dock connector with a flashlight?
Thank you for your help.
 
My experience was good with this program. Had an iPhone 4 16GB that I used as an MP3 player in my car, will now use my 5 for that purpose. My screen was cracked so they offered me $11.40 for it. I checked Swappa and saw the average price for a 4 was about $130. I took the phone over to Smartphone MD, had them replace the screen for $65, then took the phone back to AT&T. The receipt showed $50 for phone plus $150 promotional credit and they applied the $200 to my account. Net to me was $135 and minimal hassle.

edit : they did not inspect the phone very closely, they looked at the screen to see if it was cracked, played around with it for a few seconds to make sure it was working and find my iPhone was disabled. Also, I had preordered through Apple and that did not present a problem in terms of eligibility for the program and promo credit.
 
bigdaddyjo said:
My experience was good with this program. Had an iPhone 4 16GB that I used as an MP3 player in my car, will now use my 5 for that purpose. My screen was cracked so they offered me $11.40 for it. I checked Swappa and saw the average price for a 4 was about $130. I took the phone over to Smartphone MD, had them replace the screen for $65, then took the phone back to AT&T. The receipt showed $50 for phone plus $150 promotional credit and they applied the $200 to my account. Net to me was $135 and minimal hassle.

edit : they did not inspect the phone very closely, they looked at the screen to see if it was cracked, played around with it for a few seconds to make sure it was working and find my iPhone was disabled. Also, I had preordered through Apple and that did not present a problem in terms of eligibility for the program and promo credit.
Click to expand...

That's good news then... Thanks.

I locked in $211 for trade from amazon, but if I can go to AT&T and get $200 credit there instead, I may just do that for less hassle.
 
I've been wanting a Bose soundlink mini for the house but att doesn't sell them. I may just sell my iPhone 5 or iPhone 4s outright.
 
Got back from AT&T store with two 64 gig slate gray iPhone 6's. Traded 2 iPhone 5's. Total $643-400 = $243. Just showed up as pending on my Chase acct.

Beats mailing in, selling outright,etc. The no hassle was worth it.
 
i have a question about this program. its kind of confusing. If you have to buy the new iphone 6 first, then send in your phone and get the promo card... then you can't use the promo card towards your iphone 6 purchase since you already paid for it right? How does that work? I'm talking about if you chose to buy the new iphone6 online and then mail in your old one instead of doing it in person. From looking at this page it looks like you can do it online http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/iphone-trade-in.html#fbid=6lOwCkcZNvF

Also, would they accept an iphone 5 with a tiny crack on the screen?
 
It would be sweet if they gave me $200 for my daughters shattered 5. I guess I'll just sell it to gazelle or something. She got my wife's 5 now. Wife has my 5s and I have the 6.
 
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