AT&T Launches Lower-Cost Mobile Share Value Plans for Families

[backontwo]

I do apologize, I was thinking today was the 3rd. It is any 2yr customer prior to 2/2. Take my word for it, that statement is correct, you will not get the discount if you sign a 2yr contract starting today. Just like the 2yr customers didn't get the previous $15 discount, they don't qualify for the new $25 discount. The existing 2yr customers are grandfathered for this discount because had they known about the discount prior, they may have chosen to go with Next instead of a 2yr contract. If/when they upgrade and go with another 2yr contract, they will no longer be grandfathered and will lose the discount.

I'm not sure you can even do the $200 subsidized price if you wanted to on this plan (going forward, say for an iPhone 6). The way it reads to me, two-year contract pricing is DEAD if you switch to this plan.



Not entirely true--the date seems to be 2/2/14, not 2/3/14. It seems minor, but that question is the whole debate--can we upgrade today AND switch to the $15/month plan, essentially getting an iPhone 5s for $236 instead of $649.

From their site:
"All existing customers, including those on a 2-year agreements before Feb. 2, 2014, are able to move to these plans."

So, the question is, are existing customers, including those on agreements AFTER Feb 2, 2014, able to move? I just can't imagine they would be willing to lose $400 on a new iPhone today, after announcing the plan.

 

[StangGT909]

I simply called in, the retention department is for those who threaten, that's not my style. I get much more accomplished by courteous assertive negotiation... when needed.

----------



Yes

If you read my math a few posts above, I think the conclusion here is pretty obvious.

If you keep your current phone, you save money.

If you get a subsidized phone vs. a Next phone, after 2 years it's a push.

You go the subsidized route, you're stuck with the phone for 2 years.
You get Next, you get 2 phones over 2 years for about the same price.

I don't know why all the hate for Next, if the 2 year price comes out to about the same, why wouldn't you pick 2 phones over 1 over two years?

 

[scapegoat81]

According to the AT&T reps I spoke to you still have the same option to upgrade to a subsidized priced phone with a new two year commitment as you have on your old plan.

Isn't the Next plan's benefit you get to upgrade to new every year?

So even if u switch to this new shared plan (which I've done already), you'll still have the option to upgrade with a two year agreement w/o joining next Next or any other additional fees ?
I'm not saying you are lying but it seems like them customer service reps were uninformed. THAT would seem to good to be true.
& yes. Next is there so you cannot only upgrade every year but is there to also rape you.

 

[StangGT909]

So even if u switch to this new shared plan (which I've done already), you'll still have the option to upgrade with a two year agreement w/o joining next Next or any other additional fees ?
I'm not saying you are lying but it seems like them customer service reps were uninformed. THAT would seem to good to be true.
& yes. Next is there so you cannot only upgrade every year but is there to also rape you.

I don't think it's rape. Did you read my post?

$15 non-subsidized - > $40 subsidized = $25

$200 iphone / 24 = $8.33

$25 + $8.33 = $33.33

It's pretty much the exact same thing. Am I wrong?

 

[rickdollar]

I'm struggling here.

two reps have told me that my 9 phones will be $40/mo because they're all in a 2-year service agreement.

two reps have told me that my 9 phones will be $15/mo.

I would believe the $40/mo.
I doubt they will just forgive the amount of subsidy remaining to be paid back to them.

 

[sixrom]

If you read my math a few posts above, I think the conclusion here is pretty obvious.

If you keep your current phone, you save money.

If you get a subsidized phone vs. a Next phone, after 2 years it's a push.

You go the subsidized route, you're stuck with the phone for 2 years.
You get Next, you get 2 phones over 2 years for about the same price.

I don't know why all the hate for Next, if the 2 year price comes out to about the same, why wouldn't you pick 2 phones over 1 over two years?

I only speak from my years of experience with AT&T, Verizon & T-Mobile.

AT&T always responds to my annual inquiries regarding my out of pocket costs and I benefit from their willingness to give me their very best deal. I upgrade at least twice a year, one Android, one iPhone.

 

[applerocks]

I would believe the $40/mo.
I doubt they will just forgive the amount of subsidy remaining to be paid back to them.

Nope--if you were under contract before 2/2, they'll forgive it. $15/month. Just did this with three lines.

 

[scapegoat81]

The best way to figure it out is if you go online and try the change yourself. That will show you the pricing.

According to the website at least, if you signed a 2-year agreement BEFORE Feb 2 (today), they will let you go to the cheaper option for $15/month. If you were using Next or something else already, the savings would be different.

Going forward, you would NOT have the option for two-year commitment pricing. You would need to either buy outright or use Next. So, they'll take the "loss" now on your contract to get you away from subsidies.

The other question is about keeping existing upgrades. If reps are saying you can keep the upgrade AND the $15/month pricing, that's crazy! Do it!

We had three iPhones (all 5s bought this past October), and we are now saving $50/month. Of course, as soon as it's time to upgrade, the prices are the same again when you factor in the price of Next. Really, AT&T is just taking a minor hit to get us all to Next. Deal!

Now this sounds about right. Thanks for your insight & comprehension.
Reading all this on their website w/ my 1 1/2 yr old son running around is a little difficult lol

----------

Exactly! AT&T is taking a hit to get everyone on next or to buy the phone outright. You will have the option to do a 2 year down the road but you will pay 200 for the phone then 40 instead of 15 to get the subsidy back. AT&T does not want to subsidize your phone.....

They'll really be taking a hit when I refuse to join Next & keep buying phones outright. Lol

 

[GadgetGeek407]

I have full upgrades available now, and I am sure those will not go away but if I do use them after switching to this plan than it will be $40 per line vs the 15 on the new plan or the 30 i am paying now, BUT the question is will they have something in place in retention or whatever to keep it at $15.

 

[scapegoat81]

Edit: Deleted

 

[techiegirl]

After a 2 hour call that escalates to retention, we finally switched to the new plan. We save $45 a month and we were still in contract.

 

[StangGT909]

I have full upgrades available now, and I am sure those will not go away but if I do use them after switching to this plan than it will be $40 per line vs the 15 on the new plan or the 30 i am paying now, BUT the question is will they have something in place in retention or whatever to keep it at $15.

I don't think you get it.
I think if you take any subsidized phone today forward, it's $40 / line.
If you don't take a subsidized phone it's $15

I think they'll let you go $15 now, existing phone, but if you take a subsidized phone it's $40 / month. You can't have both.

 

[scapegoat81]

All smartphone lines from AT&T are $40, regardless of plan, end of story. If you BYOD, pay full retail, have retired a 2-year service agreement, or finance a device via the Next program, you get a $15/month discount. You're still being billed $40/month per line, but there's a discount applied which brings it down to $25. If you sign up for a 10GB or higher data plan, you now get an additional $10 discount which brings it down to $15. Still a $40/month/smartphone line plan. AT&T's language is rather confusing in regards to the 2-year service agreement situation, however, I'm pretty sure they're eligible for the $25 discount, as soon as you've finished paying 24 monthly installments at $40/line.

Really ? Cuz my wife & I just came from a regular Family Plan only w/ shared minutes. She had her own 2gb of data, I had my own 3gb. 550 shared minutes & no texts (opted out).
Both lines are still under contract & we still got the $15/line deal. Check my screenshot a page or 2 back....

 

[Justaguy81]

Now this sounds about right. Thanks for your insight & comprehension.
Reading all this on their website w/ my 1 1/2 yr old son running around is a little difficult lol[COLOR="
----------

[/COLOR]

They'll really be taking a hit when I refuse to join Next & keep buying phones outright. Lol

AT&T won't care. They don't make money off the phones. Next or no next. If you go to this new plan you realize the full outright price is 650 not 200, right? Next is just no interest financing on the full price of the device. AT&T does not make interest off of next they just avoid having to subsidize the price of the phone.
AT&T does not want you to take the 200 option that's why they have next and thats why they have these plans. These plans just make next a much better option than a 2 year when the cost is the same on a monthly basis and you avoid the 200 upfront cost plus the upgrade fee.

 

[applerocks]

Now this sounds about right. Thanks for your insight & comprehension.
Reading all this on their website w/ my 1 1/2 yr old son running around is a little difficult lol

----------



They'll really be taking a hit when I refuse to join Next & keep buying phones outright. Lol

Only problem with what I said was that you can STILL choose to do the 2-year upgrade, it's just silly to do it. Next/outright are much more affordable.

Next and outright, however, are the same exact price! You might actually prefer Next, depending on how much you sell your phone for and all that.

 

[StangGT909]

Only problem with what I said was that you can STILL choose to do the 2-year upgrade, it's just silly to do it. Next/outright are much more affordable.

Next and outright, however, are the same exact price! You might actually prefer Next, depending on how much you sell your phone for and all that.

Thank you, someone finally gets it.

 

[WaxedJacket]

AT&T has only sweetened deals with family plans over the years. They've never helped out the individual plan users. This alone is why I'm jumping ship for t-mobile or straight talk.

 

[Scuba629]

deleted

 

[theonekcrow]

I have 6 iPhones on my plan. $310 a month for unlimited talk/text and 2GB of data. Now I pay $190 a month with 10GB. Thats a nice improvement! I have two phones still under 2 year upgrade contract and it had no impact on switch to new plan.

I had this same success, and all of my lines are under contract.

 

[Rigby]

I would believe the $40/mo.
I doubt they will just forgive the amount of subsidy remaining to be paid back to them.

They do, but only if you take one of the "big" data packages (>10GB). It probably ammortizes itself because many customers don't use that much in practice, i.e. they entice those people to buy more data than they really need.

 

[yg17]

I have full upgrades available now, and I am sure those will not go away but if I do use them after switching to this plan than it will be $40 per line vs the 15 on the new plan or the 30 i am paying now, BUT the question is will they have something in place in retention or whatever to keep it at $15.

Why would there be a retention deal to keep it at $15 when you just signed a contract to use that upgrade? Retention deals are designed to keep a customer who is free to switch to another carrier from actually doing so. But if you've got a brand new 2 year contract, AT&T's not going to give you any deals knowing full well you can't leave without forking over a massive ETF. You have no leverage against AT&T to get a sweet deal.

 

[john123]

That's not true.

I'm about to find out since I switched over to the 10 GB plan with three phones (2 iPhones and one old non data phone) and am going to upgrade the old phone to an iPhone. ATT assured me I can do this after signing up for the plan anytime in the future and that line does not increase in cost when I add a subsidized price iPhone and make another two year commitment.

This stuff is brand new. I think your odds of having been misinformed are extremely high. I myself was flat-out misinformed on this by an AT&T rep earlier today. What you're suggesting doesn't pass the common sense test. If you were on AT&T Next, that would be different.

 

[GadgetGeek407]

Why would there be a retention deal to keep it at $15 when you just signed a contract to use that upgrade? Retention deals are designed to keep a customer who is free to switch to another carrier from actually doing so. But if you've got a brand new 2 year contract, AT&T's not going to give you any deals knowing full well you can't leave without forking over a massive ETF. You have no leverage against AT&T to get a sweet deal.

I think you misunderstood.

 

[yg17]

They do, but only if you take one of the "big" data packages (>10GB). It probably ammortizes itself because many customers don't use that much in practice, i.e. they entice those people to buy more data than they really need.

The weird thing is though, in many cases it's probably cheaper to get more data than you need because it's still $40/phone ($25 with Next) for <10GB plans.

If anyone's on a <10GB share plan, you might want to whip out a calculator and start doing some math, you might be able to switch to the 10GB plan and save some serious coin.

 

[GadgetGeek407]

The weird thing is though, in many cases it's probably cheaper to get more data than you need because it's still $40/phone ($25 with Next) for <10GB plans.



If anyone's on a <10GB share plan, you might want to whip out a calculator and start doing some math, you might be able to switch to the 10GB plan and save some serious coin.

True.