AT&T question: Upgrading now, moving to Cambodia soon after

[naked]

Trying to figure out the best way to move forward. I have a 5s, one year left on contract. Wife has 5 with problems, we're wanting to upgrade to the 6+ for her. Right now we're on the 10gb share plan.

She's up for an upgrade, but we're moving to Cambodia in March. We'll have to close our account then, and so I'm not sure the best upgrade path to take.

The Next option seems that we'd pay the month phone cost until canceling. And the contract route seems we'd pay upfront, and then eat the contract cancelation for the 6+ (and the 5s).

Is any option a better one right now that will help us down the line? I noticed some promotional a going on, so im not sure how they might factor in. We'll need to have both unlocked when we get there.

As a side note, I think we're going to do the data deal to get 30gb, as we'll be driving 5000 miles over the next few months before we move and we already cut it close with 10gb.

Any advice here? Thanks!

(We are aware of the risks of having fancy phones in 3rd world countries, especially Cambodia)

 

[Deliro]

Not entirely sure what you are asking here.. If you want a new device, you're going to have to pay.

If you do a contract and get it subsidized, you will pay a 325 dollar fee minus 10 a month for every month you fulfilled your commitment. If you do NEXT, you just cancel the service but you are still on the hook for the monthly payments on the device. It basically almost comes out the same. Do the math to check.

So again, not sure what you are trying to accomplish. The cheapest route?

Also, they will not unlock the phone for you until your obligation is paid. There are other methods to get it unlock other than via the carrier, potentially..

Just use your current phones and pay for the 6 unlocked in full in March. Do not renew, IMO>

EDIT - Also, is it really important to have a 6 for Cambodia? I lived in Thailand, and their mobile service in leaps and bounds better than Cambodia, and still did not have decent LTE coverage at all in BKK. I would constantly be on 3G and even EDGE out in the rural areas. Seems overkill to have a phone with that capacity when you'd be rocking 3G/EDGE the majority of the time.

 

[myscrnnm]

The best option if you want to upgrade now, but are going to close your accounts in March, is to buy the 6 Plus at full price. Therefore, you have no obligations and the phone can be unlocked.