AT&T will increase monthly bill for standard upgrades vs Next

[e²Studios]

But this thread is about the value plan which you aren't on. The value plan was definitely a factor for people who had 3 or 4 lines and wanted to save money $80-$100 monthly. You have a good grandfathered plan, but it isn't a fair comparison to the people who can't get a plan like that anymore. Obviously subsidizing for you is a better deal than the rest.

I have 5 lines, 4 of them are iPhones with unlimited data. I have a older 2 year contract account with a FAN discount. I'm glad I didn't get tempted to move to the mobile share plans. Yes my bill is $270 a month but at least there's none of this nonsense that's going on in this thread, and we still have unlimited data. I don't mind paying for more flexibility, and that seems to be what it is with the older contract accounts.

 

[Bells33]

I know everyone is reiterating the same thing over and over. So I'll do it too!! :roll eyes:

Apparently we were all (most of us) getting a $25 per month "family share" discount. I didn't know that... and from speaking to others, most didn't know. Anyway... that "discount" is now bye-bye. So if you get a new phone the traditional way, you will pay an upfront cost ($199-$499) and the gain a $25 monthly cost. And you will also be locked in for two years... as usual.

If you choose the NEXT program, there is NO upfront cost (actually you will pay the tax on the phone)!! But the monthly fee will be slightly higher depending on the phone and plan you choose. In my case I ordered the iPhone 6/64gb. I chose NEXT 18 which will cost me $31.21 per month. Here is what I didn't know.. YOU CAN OWN THE PHONE and YOU DONT HAVE TO TRADE IT IN!! Just continue to make the payments for the full 24 months... not 12 or 18.... 24 months. Do the math: $31.21 x 24 = $749 which is exactly full retail price of the phone. ALSO... you can decide in the middle of the program to payoff the phone in FULL (only in full, not partial) and lose the monthly payment. At the 12 or 18 mark you can decide to trade your phone in and start the cycle over again like a car lease.

In the end... WE DONT GET DISCOUNTS ANYMORE!! In the past we got a discount and the providers reward was locking in our business for 2 years. They don't want to subsidize that cost anymore!! You will pay full retail price no matter what you do.

Whats mostly annoying is the ATT reps getting all defensive about taking away or monthly savings.. like as if we are suppose to be ok with it. So you gave me a discount... and now I lose it because I decided to continue to give you my business... hmmm... whatever..

My advice... do the NEXT program.. now that I understand how it works, thats what I went with. If I had the cash i would just buy the phone in full. For now I'll make payments and maybe pay it off in a year.

Good luck everyone!

 

[rui no onna]

In the end... WE DONT GET DISCOUNTS ANYMORE!! In the past we got a discount and the providers reward was locking in our business for 2 years. They don't want to subsidize that cost anymore!! You will pay full retail price no matter what you do.

Oh please, we never really got discounts. When you got a smartphone on subsidy, they required you to add a $15+ data plan on your account. That's what paid the subsidy and as long as you kept a smartphone on that line, that's what you promised to pay AT&T. There were ways to game the system, sure, but don't think you weren't paying back your subsidy if you had a smartphone with data package.

 

[spacemnspiff]

Here is my cost comparison. See image below. I have one iPhone on unlimited plan and a second iPhone on 200MB plan. Its better for me to stay with the contractual agreement. This is assuming that I get corporate discount for second line on Mobile share plans, which I don't for my current plan.

 

[nikhsub1]

Here is my cost comparison. See image below. I have one iPhone on unlimited plan and a second iPhone on 200MB plan. Its better for me to stay with the contractual agreement.

It has been established multiple times in multiple threads that anyone on an individual plan is better off with the subsidy... especially on unlimited data plans.

 

[rui no onna]

Here is my cost comparison. See image below. I have one iPhone on unlimited plan and a second iPhone on 200MB plan. Its better for me to stay with the contractual agreement. This is assuming that I get corporate discount for second line on Mobile share plans, which I don't for my current plan.

The $15/200MB and $25/2GB are actually pretty decent deals. The 2-year cost for the $15/200MB plan paired with the upfront cost of $199/299/399 is actually less than iPhone MSRP. Unfortunately, AT&T increased the minimum data plans to $20/300MB and $30/3GB. I think I might not have switched to Mobile Share if they still had the cheaper data plans.

 

[pdxmatts]

You can use this calculator from ATT to compare http://attcalc.com/next/#calculate Or this one http://www.myattrpc.com/

 

[Sodner]

Not really. You're paying only paying $899 for a $749 phone. The $250 goes towards paying off the subsidy for the older phone whose contract you haven't finished.

I don't think so. I am on the family share 10 GB Plan and all three lines show a $25 discount. If I purchased the 6 64GB at $549 they would have removed my discount adding $600 to my bill over two years.

 

[rui no onna]

Not really. You're paying only paying $899 for a $749 phone. The $250 goes towards paying off the subsidy for the older phone whose contract you haven't finished.

I don't think so. I am on the family share 10 GB Plan and all three lines show a $25 discount. If I purchased the 6 64GB at $549 they would have removed my discount adding $600 to my bill over two years.

That was a special deal from AT&T to get subscribers to switch to MSVP. They basically waived your remaining "subsidy repayment" to get you to switch so in this case, going contract does cost $1149 for the phone. It won't be like that in future but NEXT is still a better deal. Just not $400 better.

 

[Sodner]

That was a special deal from AT&T to get subscribers to switch to MSVP. They basically waived your remaining "subsidy repayment" to get you to switch so in this case, going contract does cost $1149 for the phone. It won't be like that in future but NEXT is still a better deal. Just not $400 better.

Cool, so we are in agreement.

Yes I was shocked when they waived the fact that all three iPhone I transferred over were still on contract. They are REALLY pushing these new plans. And I didn't even have unlimited data.

 

[Duxa]

I have 5 lines, 4 of them are iPhones with unlimited data. I have a older 2 year contract account with a FAN discount. I'm glad I didn't get tempted to move to the mobile share plans. Yes my bill is $270 a month but at least there's none of this nonsense that's going on in this thread, and we still have unlimited data. I don't mind paying for more flexibility, and that seems to be what it is with the older contract accounts.

Dude, the same number of lines would cost you 100+(15*5) = $175 a month on ATT next plan. thats 95$ savings, which is $2280 per 2 years. Thats more than 1 iPhone a year in savings! you are a fool for paying that much!

 

[rui no onna]

Dude, the same number of lines would cost you 100+(15*5) = $175 a month on ATT next plan. thats 95$ savings, which is $2280 per 2 years. Thats more than 1 iPhone a year in savings! you are a fool for paying that much!

Keep in mind, that's only if he doesn't use more than 10GB a month. If he has to bump up to 15-20GB or more, the math changes drastically in favor of unlimited.

Also, he might be paying $2,280 more but if he uses each one of his upgrades when available, then he's also getting $2,250 worth in subsidies so it balances out more or less (assuming he can get upgrade fees waived).

 

[spacemnspiff]

It has been established multiple times in multiple threads that anyone on an individual plan is better off with the subsidy... especially on unlimited data plans.

I dont have individual plans, I was confused reading multiple threads, so I have to do the calculation myself. I just presented what I calculated and for my situation staying with contract makes sense.

The $15/200MB and $25/2GB are actually pretty decent deals. The 2-year cost for the $15/200MB plan paired with the upfront cost of $199/299/399 is actually less than iPhone MSRP. Unfortunately, AT&T increased the minimum data plans to $20/300MB and $30/3GB. I think I might not have switched to Mobile Share if they still had the cheaper data plans.

Yes the $15/200MB plan is cheaper than the phone itself. 15*24+200+40= $600. And I have always managed to get the $40 waived, so its cheaper.

 

[e²Studios]

Keep in mind, that's only if he doesn't use more than 10GB a month. If he has to bump up to 15-20GB or more, the math changes drastically in favor of unlimited.

Also, he might be paying $2,280 more but if he uses each one of his upgrades when available, then he's also getting $2,250 worth in subsidies so it balances out more or less (assuming he can get upgrade fees waived).

I've never paid a upgrade fee yet, sometimes it takes a few calls but they usually will waive the fee. Yes, when our phones are up for a upgrade we upgrade them.

The last time I looked at data usage it was around 12-18GB for the 4 iPhones in the group, but they're all unlimited data so it doesn't matter. There was a time when I looked at a family shared plan, I'm not sure next was around when I was looking over data use but I decided to stick with our legacy family plan and keep unlimited.

 

[iMas70]

I'm sitting here running all of the options for my upgrade. They cover the cost of a 64GB iPhone along with my service -

Unlimited data with 2 year contract - $120.61 x 24 + $299.99 = $3194.64
Unlimited data with NEXT - $120.61 x 24 + $799.99 = $3644.63

10GB Shared with 2 year contract - $109.50 x 24 + $299.99 = $2927.99
10GB Shared with NEXT - $109.50 x 24 + $749.99 = $3377.99

The total cost is less by switching over to the 10GB plan but... I don't think that saving $11.11 per month is worth giving up my Unlimited data plan. I'd give it much more thought if there was much more of a savings but it's only about 37 cents per day.

So.... I can wait until my current 2 year contract is up on October 18th then try walking into a store to buy a phone. It would be a month after the release so I might have a good chance or, I'd have to order one and wait a few weeks. I just talked to someone that should see his the beginning of November. Forgot to ask which version he's getting. Or, I can upgrade on NEXT Friday morning. That will cost me an extra $450.00 over 24 months. Comes out to 61 cents per day. And no, I'm not a car salesman

 

[ron7624]

Actually, Next 12 payoff is 20 months so your bill goes down after 20 months (or, you know, whenever you pay off your phone).

Yea, I've been having a hell of a time figuring out these plans. So if you do upgrade after 12 months on NEXT, you will still be paying for 8 more months while taking on the next NEXT? Or they want your phone back... I bet that's it. Pretty crafty.
I have the cash to buy all three ought right, bit I can't because Apple isn't selling unlocked phones yet. And the above plot/plan/situation is why. They want you in a plan or no phone for Junior!!
Yup, pretty crafty.

 

[rui no onna]

Yea, I've been having a hell of a time figuring out these plans. So if you do upgrade after 12 months on NEXT, you will still be paying for 8 more months while taking on the next NEXT? Or they want your phone back... I bet that's it. Pretty crafty.
I have the cash to buy all three ought right, bit I can't because Apple isn't selling unlocked phones yet. And the above plot/plan/situation is why. They want you in a plan or no phone for Junior!!

If you upgrade after 12 months (Next 12), you have 2 options:

1. trade-in your phone and AT&T will waive your remaining payments
2. pay off the remaining 8 months (lump sum) and keep the phone

 

[ron7624]

If you upgrade after 12 months (Next 12), you have 2 options:

1. trade-in your phone and AT&T will waive your remaining payments
2. pay off the remaining 8 months (lump sum) and keep the phone

Yup, I got it. I'm paying it off in 11 months so I'll be able to order thru Apple next time. Or maybe 10 months to be sure.

 

[rui no onna]

Yup, I got it. I'm paying it off in 11 months so I'll be able to order thru Apple next time. Or maybe 10 months to be sure.

That's what I'm planning on doing, too.

Granted, I don't really need to since we have four lines on our account and I can alternate lines for NEXT. Just don't fancy a $330 monthly cellphone bill, though. I know, opportunity cost, time-value of money, yadda, yadda but a cellphone bill costing >$300 just looks wrong to me, somehow.

 

[bigchief]

I haven't seen anyone mention you also get hotspot with your iPhone for no extra charge with with Family Share Plan. Not so with Unlimited Plan. I like using this with my iPad.

 

[pdxmatts]

I have 5 lines, 4 of them are iPhones with unlimited data. I have a older 2 year contract account with a FAN discount. I'm glad I didn't get tempted to move to the mobile share plans. Yes my bill is $270 a month but at least there's none of this nonsense that's going on in this thread, and we still have unlimited data. I don't mind paying for more flexibility, and that seems to be what it is with the older contract accounts.

I agree that you should keep your unlimited data and FAN discount!!

 

[pdxmatts]

That's what I'm planning on doing, too.

Granted, I don't really need to since we have four lines on our account and I can alternate lines for NEXT. Just don't fancy a $330 monthly cellphone bill, though. I know, opportunity cost, time-value of money, yadda, yadda but a cellphone bill costing >$300 just looks wrong to me, somehow.

I am in the same boat

 

[GonzagaDynasty]

I noticed this, too.

I have 5 lines on an old plan. I have unlimited data, and combined, we all used about 5 total gigs MAX. I was going to drop my 5th line (I just used it for an upgrade years ago) and do the Mobile family share plan and save about 35 bucks a month, but I noticed after I used my upgrade for the iPhone 6, the price difference w my current plan, and the new mobile share plan was about the same, and I'd lose my unlimited data.. So I'm not changing now, obviously.

 

[e²Studios]

I noticed this, too.

I have 5 lines on an old plan. I have unlimited data, and combined, we all used about 5 total gigs MAX. I was going to drop my 5th line (I just used it for an upgrade years ago) and do the Mobile family share plan and save about 35 bucks a month, but I noticed after I used my upgrade for the iPhone 6, the price difference w my current plan, and the new mobile share plan was about the same, and I'd lose my unlimited data.. So I'm not changing now, obviously.

If you have unlimited data Next makes no sense, however if you don't then it seems like its a good deal.

 

[nostresshere]

I noticed this, too.

I have 5 lines on an old plan. I have unlimited data, and combined, we all used about 5 total gigs MAX. I was going to drop my 5th line (I just used it for an upgrade years ago) and do the Mobile family share plan and save about 35 bucks a month, but I noticed after I used my upgrade for the iPhone 6, the price difference w my current plan, and the new mobile share plan was about the same, and I'd lose my unlimited data.. So I'm not changing now, obviously.

Not obvious to me.

If you are only using 5gb, you can switch to the 10gb share plan for $160 per month. ($100 + 4 lines at $15 each), plus tethering. You should be saving more than $35.