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AT&T Next (new plans)

R

rstark18

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 18, 2009
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AT&T just announce they will have two NEXT plans instead of 4 starting in June.
Currently I'm using up the last of my old school two year contract with my iPhone 6. In the past I would alternate buying a new phone every year between my wife's 2yr contract and mine. I would get the new one and she would get last years model (she doesn't really care). Last year we didn't upgrade because I didn't think the 6s was worth it.

Going forward my plan was to either buy the iPhone 7 outright unlocked or use NEXT EVERY YEAR. I don't see a reason not to use NEXT because they are exactly the same price in the end. I don't plan on trading in the old phone to upgrade. Instead I would just pay it off and purchase a new phone when the next iPhone comes out. That way I can give the last years model to my wife.
Anything I'm missing?
 
stay away from AT&T next plan they are nothing but a scam i find 2 year contrack a march better plan
 
maflynn said:
But correct me if I'm wrong, but ATT is no longer offering contracts. You can buy a phone outright, or finance by way of NEXT. They simplified the plans, so you can upgrade annually or every other year.
Click to expand...

The question then becomes this: what happens to those who are still on Next 18 by the time their upgrade eligibility comes up? Are they simply transitioned to Next Each Year, or stuck on Next, waiting out the 24/30 months?

BL.
 
maflynn said:
But correct me if I'm wrong, but ATT is no longer offering contracts. You can buy a phone outright, or finance by way of NEXT. They simplified the plans, so you can upgrade annually or every other year.
Click to expand...

No they don't.
I don't see any disadvantages for me with NEXT Every Year as opposed to buying one outright except for the phone being locked/unlocked which I don't care about. My plan is to use NEXT as an interest free payment plan. Why not use their money instead of mine. Financially there is no difference that I can tell.
 
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maflynn said:
But correct me if I'm wrong, but ATT is no longer offering contracts. You can buy a phone outright, or finance by way of NEXT. They simplified the plans, so you can upgrade annually or every other year.
Click to expand...

thats why i went with verizon has they are still sell phones with 2 year contracks AT&T next is nothing but a scam so dont went AT&T talk you in too getting a phone on next
 
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snow755 said:
thats why i went with verizon has they are still sell phones with 2 year contracks AT&T next is nothing but a scam so dont went AT&T talk you in too getting a phone on next
Click to expand...
On current plans contracts wouldn't really be cheaper than financing (NEXT or Edge).
 
C DM said:
On current plans contracts wouldn't really be cheaper than financing (NEXT or Edge).
Click to expand...

This is true. I still have the paperwork drawn up from the ATT rep at the store when I initially asked about Next vs. Contract. My wife and I would be saving a good $700 - $800 over the cost of 2 years on Next 18 vs. a 2-year contract. The only time it would have evened out would have been if we went with Next 12 vs. 2 year contract.

At that point, I couldn't justify that much of a price difference to keep the UDP w/throttling on my plan, so we went Next. Plus the fact that combined this month we've barely exceeded 12GB on a 20GB data plan (both phones included with that) and have 17GB rollover data, that made it a no-brainer.

BL.
 
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snow755 said:
thats why i went with verizon has they are still sell phones with 2 year contracks AT&T next is nothing but a scam so dont went AT&T talk you in too getting a phone on next
Click to expand...

The installment plan is not a scam. Depending on the plan that YOU have and how much you're paying for your phone upfront the installment maybe good or bad for you! It's just about doing some research before upgrading. Some people pay more with a 2 year contract compared to the installment plan, like I said it just depends on what you have right now. I know all this by heart because I work with all three carriers (Verizon, At&t, and sprint).
 
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rstark18 said:
AT&T just announce they will have two NEXT plans instead of 4 starting in June.
Currently I'm using up the last of my old school two year contract with my iPhone 6. In the past I would alternate buying a new phone every year between my wife's 2yr contract and mine. I would get the new one and she would get last years model (she doesn't really care). Last year we didn't upgrade because I didn't think the 6s was worth it.

Going forward my plan was to either buy the iPhone 7 outright unlocked or use NEXT EVERY YEAR. I don't see a reason not to use NEXT because they are exactly the same price in the end. I don't plan on trading in the old phone to upgrade. Instead I would just pay it off and purchase a new phone when the next iPhone comes out. That way I can give the last years model to my wife.
Anything I'm missing?
Click to expand...

Makes no sense what you are saying.

So u buy phone with att next. After 12 months. U pay it off completely (give it to spouse/kid) and get on another att next plan.

That's no difference than any of the att next 12/18/24 (pay it off anytime and get right back on att next).

Anytime u pay it off. U are automatically eligible for att next again
 
The only time any of this "better or worse" comes into play is if you have some legacy plans; these plans may turn out being cheaper in terms of overall bill with a contracted device. The point is a bit moot because there are no contracts available.

It's also worth noting that ATT has done promotions where you buy one phone get one free through bill credits via next. So long as you keep the original and second device and lines for a two year period it's effectively free.

Still, using the word scam is simply a misnomer. Nobody is being scammed here.
 
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lordofthereef said:
The only time any of this "better or worse" comes into play is if you have some legacy plans; these plans may turn out being cheaper in terms of overall bill with a contracted device. The point is a bit moot because there are no contracts available.

It's also worth noting that ATT has done promotions where you buy one phone get one free through bill credits via next. So long as you keep the original and second device and lines for a two year period it's effectively free.

Still, using the word scam is simply a misnomer. Nobody is being scammed here.
Click to expand...

The bogo deal is really only good for those wanting to add another line. Cause the bogo deal doesn't give u the full deal until a whopping 30 months of payments have been made on that additional line of service.

30 months of payments is more than 2 years of service fees. It ain't free.
 
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aneftp said:
The bogo deal is really only good for those wanting to add another line. Cause the bogo deal doesn't give u the full deal until a whopping 30 months of payments have been made on that additional line of service.

30 months of payments is more than 2 years of service fees. It ain't free.
Click to expand...
Device is still free for folks starting another line. Very easy to dump a line you already have and start a new line of service if you don't care about the number.

Regardless we can okay the semantics game. But if you're going the route of buying two new phones (and are willing to get a new line), you get an *almost* free second phone.
 
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rstark18 said:
No they don't.
I don't see any disadvantages for me with NEXT Every Year as opposed to buying one outright except for the phone being locked/unlocked which I don't care about. My plan is to use NEXT as an interest free payment plan. Why not use their money instead of mine. Financially there is no difference that I can tell.
Click to expand...

One problem of going with NEXT is that you pretty much forfeit any benefits you get from your credit card company that you would get by purchasing it outright, such as free extended warranty. One of my friends has an iPhone 6 Plus that's out of warranty and is now having some touchscreen issues. Apple wants $349 plus tax to replace it. If she had purchased it outright on her credit card, she would have been able to file a claim with the credit card company. Since she purchased it using Verizon EDGE, she doesn't get any of those credit card benefits. It's not that she couldn't afford buying the phone outright, she just figured why not take the zero interest financing.
 
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I thought credit card protection was only good for the first 90 days. I have Discover and American Express and they both offer purchase protection, but only for the first 90 days of owning the device.

PLin said:
One problem of going with NEXT is that you pretty much forfeit any benefits you get from your credit card company that you would get by purchasing it outright, such as free extended warranty. One of my friends has an iPhone 6 Plus that's out of warranty and is now having some touchscreen issues. Apple wants $349 plus tax to replace it. If she had purchased it outright on her credit card, she would have been able to file a claim with the credit card company. Since she purchased it using Verizon EDGE, she doesn't get any of those credit card benefits. It's not that she couldn't afford buying the phone outright, she just figured why not take the zero interest financing.
Click to expand...
 
gabo864 said:
I thought credit card protection was only good for the first 90 days. I have Discover and American Express and they both offer purchase protection, but only for the first 90 days of owning the device.
Click to expand...
There's purchase protection and there's extended warranty.
 
Extended warranty actually is a good reason to purchase outright. My friend has used it on two iPhones that had bad home buttons.
So it looks like buying outright has an advantage over NEXT for me.
 
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What a joke - AT&T just seems bent on keeping us confused and assure that we pay more, one way or another.

What's the best option for someone like me who wants to be sure that I can upgrade whenever the new iPhone "S" models launch--which can either be every 24 months OR perhaps it may be a bit earlier at 23 (or even 22) months?

I don't like the thought of the AT&T NEXT 2/30 plan, which seems inflexible if the new S model comes out at 22 months into my contract.
 
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phillytim said:
What a joke - AT&T just seems bent on keeping us confused and assure that we pay more, one way or another.

What's the best option for someone like me who wants to be sure that I can upgrade whenever the new iPhone "S" models launch--which can either be every 24 months OR perhaps it may be a bit earlier at 23 (or even 22) months?

I don't like the thought of the AT&T NEXT 2/30 plan, which seems inflexible if the new S model comes out at 22 months into my contract.
Click to expand...
It's hard to time iPhone or any flagship phone release.

Yes. It's been Sept since 2011. But apple can always change things up. Samsung and Lg have fluctuated their flagship phones by 1-2 months as well.

Me personally. I always buy new iPhones at launch (resell my other iPhones)

But this year. I am just gonna to wait for promos from Costco or SAMs club like they had last year for att next $300 gift cards

I do att next but just pay off the phones and resell it myself.

Just don't pay full price for att next. That's my advice. I am willing to wait an extra 1-2 months these days for better promos
 
phillytim said:
What a joke - AT&T just seems bent on keeping us confused and assure that we pay more, one way or another.
Click to expand...
Negative.

If you upgrade yearly, this Next 12 plan saves you money. The payments are now spread over 24 months (vs. 18 months), so when you upgrade after month 12, you've only paid for 50% of the cost of the phone (vs 60%). So it's 10% cheaper. The Next 24 plan cost remains the same.

If you're not upgrading yearly (and are using Next as a 0% APR financing plan), you pay the same. You take the price of the phone and divide it by the number of months in the plan you picked. So at the end, you've paid the price of the phone, and nothing more. No interest charges. No fees. No hidden costs.

What's the best option for someone like me who wants to be sure that I can upgrade whenever the new iPhone "S" models launch--which can either be every 24 months OR perhaps it may be a bit earlier at 23 (or even 22) months?

I don't like the thought of the AT&T NEXT 2/30 plan, which seems inflexible if the new S model comes out at 22 months into my contract.
Click to expand...
The plans aren't inflexible.

You are free to make additional payments to upgrade (or pay off the contract) at any time.

If you're on the Next 24 and a new phone comes out on month 20, you simply pay for months 20-24 and then you're free to upgrade (if you trade your phone in).

Or you can pay for months 24-30 and then you're free to upgrade and you get to keep your phone (and give it to someone, or resell it).
 
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Debt is debt, call it what you like. If I don't have the money to buy a new phone outright, I don't buy it.

But for me it's less of a quandary to drop $900 on a phone, because I no longer use legacy computers for anything really. My iPhone is my computer, so I'm not also buying a laptop every 3 years.
 
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phillytim said:
What a joke - AT&T just seems bent on keeping us confused and assure that we pay more, one way or another.

What's the best option for someone like me who wants to be sure that I can upgrade whenever the new iPhone "S" models launch--which can either be every 24 months OR perhaps it may be a bit earlier at 23 (or even 22) months?

I don't like the thought of the AT&T NEXT 2/30 plan, which seems inflexible if the new S model comes out at 22 months into my contract.
Click to expand...
You can pay it off whenever you like and be all set to upgrade.
 
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