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Thanks. Did some more reading and found that info too. Also decided to bite the bullet and just go through with it. I mean, hell, it's a free 13 Pro, why not, lol. I figure even if I want out of it in 2 years, my normal upgrade timeframe, I'll just give it to my wife or kids and swap sims.

Guessing they are not selling out that quickly as I was able to order a graphite Pro\128GB just a few minutes ago. Set to arrive on the 24th.
My thoughts exactly. I'm not getting $1,000 for my iPhone 11 anywhere else, so it seems like a no brainer. I already have an unlimited plan and have been with AT&T for 11 years. And if the next few iPhones are that compelling, you can buy it out and trade it in or sell it.

Was also surprised at the ease of the pre-order -- I did the Sierra Blue Pro, 256GB.
 
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People taking advantage of the carrier 'deals' please note: Both AT&T and Verizon require you keep service with them for well over 2 years to get the full amount. AT&T is 36 months, Verizon is 30 I believe. Only T-Mobile offers 24 months, but of course you get less for your trade in. If you are someone who only upgrades your phone every 3 years, it's not a bad deal I guess. You're just locked into that carrier for 3 years.

Long story short, you're still better off (assuming you have credit to do this) buying the phone outright or at least without a trade in, then selling your old phone yourself. You often get double.
Verizon is however long you spread the payments. 24 or 30. But at least in my case, why would I switch? They are 100% the best service in my area, and I’ve always had good experiences with them. They are probably 10-15$ more per line per month than other carriers, but the quality of service has been well worth the money.
 
This is actually making me hesitate on buying. Trading in my 11 Pro this deal basically gives me a free 13 Pro. Not sure if I want to be locked into it for 3 years though. Never did it this way, usually trade and pay in full. Anyone know if you DO want out early can you just pay the balance of the phone?
You typically miss out on the monthly bill credits that offset the cost of the device if you pay it off early.

For instance if you signed up and got a “free” phone, stuck around for a year and a half and then wanted to leave, you would need to pay the remaining half of the price of the phone off as well.
 
Att is showing $800 trade in for my XR. I ordered the Sierra Blue Pro Max 256gb. Keeping my old unlimited plan that has ATT Watch Tv app and a premium channel. I want to know am I able to bring the phone to the ATT for the trade in or do i have to mail it in? I got a feeling if i mail they are not going to give the full credit.
 
Btw, macrumors you should note that if buy directly from att their trade in values are $100 higher (800 not 700), at least for phones that are worth more than $95. Xs, xr etc.
How exactly do you see an ATT upgrade offer like that? All I see is the installment plans. I wanted to buy the device outright but with a discount from a trade in, not a 36 month deal....
 
Thats how they get you
Ya... which is why I bought directly from Apple paying full price and trading in an old phone with them, but if I could have got an extra $100 or so via ATT for a direct trade in I would do it. Honestly I've been with ATT since the first iPhone and always pay full price... I probably should just start doing some of the upgrade games, but I don't want to be locked into every 36 months.

I wish I could join Apple's upgrade plan without having a credit check done, I wish they just made you link a credit card to the account or something that they could charge if you defaulted or whatever.
 
People taking advantage of the carrier 'deals' please note: Both AT&T and Verizon require you keep service with them for well over 2 years to get the full amount. AT&T is 36 months, Verizon is 30 I believe. Only T-Mobile offers 24 months, but of course you get less for your trade in. If you are someone who only upgrades your phone every 3 years, it's not a bad deal I guess. You're just locked into that carrier for 3 years.

Long story short, you're still better off (assuming you have credit to do this) buying the phone outright or at least without a trade in, then selling your old phone yourself. You often get double.
The $1,000 AT&T offer is a account credit that is divided over 36-months. If you decide you want to pay off the balance to own the 'phone, you forfeit the rest of the monthly credits.
I presume that the same applies to other carrier deals.
 
I hate all this bill credit crap. Just give me a decent discount up front. They're just turning around and selling the traded in devices for more than they give you anyway. I don't want to finance the phone. I want to pay for it and be done.
I think a lot of you are failing to understand the bill credit process and how it works. You are going to pay for your carrier anyway. Why not let your carrier subsidize your iPhone and get the iPhone for free while you are paying your carrier? You are crazy to pay for your iPhone up front. You can always pay it off early if you need to, like if you switch carriers or just want a different phone. But while using your carrier, let them buy your phone for you. It's a 0% interest loan if you pay it off early for the part they subsidized. At best it is a free latest iPhone Pro model that only cost you sales tax and a $30 upgrade fee.

I've done it this way for years, usually paying a couple hundred dollars or so to go up one model and get more memory, etc. I am very happy with my iPhone 11 Pro 256GB, but considering today it cost me a $30 upgrade fee, and only $100 divided over 36 months ($2.78/mo.) to go with the 256GB model, I went ahead and upgraded since the trade in deal is so good to get better battery life, 5G, better screen, better cameras, and slightly larger screen (going from 5.8" to 6.1").

Also, the bill credit process works best if you have multiple lines and can hand down older phones to children as that way you can still get a new iPhone every 1-2 years. You can "buy" a new iPhone for your son or daughter's line, but you can use the new phone on your number (just put your sim in) and give them an older phone, switching phones and SIM cards as you need. You don't cancel any phone contract early but let it go to maturity if you want to get the most out of the deal.
 
I think a lot of you are failing to understand the bill credit process and how it works. You are going to pay for your carrier anyway. Why not let your carrier subsidize your iPhone and get the iPhone for free while you are paying your carrier? You are crazy to pay for your iPhone up front. You can always pay it off early if you need to, like if you switch carriers or just want a different phone. But while using your carrier, let them buy your phone for you. It's a 0% interest loan if you pay it off early for the part they subsidized. At best it is a free latest iPhone Pro model that only cost you sales tax and a $30 upgrade fee.

I've done it this way for years, usually paying a couple hundred dollars or so to go up one model and get more memory, etc. I am very happy with my iPhone 11 Pro 256GB, but considering today it cost me a $30 upgrade fee, and only $100 divided over 36 months ($2.78/mo.) to go with the 256GB model, I went ahead and upgraded since the trade in deal is so good to get better battery life, 5G, better screen, better cameras, and slightly larger screen (going from 5.8" to 6.1").

Also, the bill credit process works best if you have multiple lines and can hand down older phones to children as that way you can still get a new iPhone every 1-2 years. You can "buy" a new iPhone for your son or daughter's line, but you can use the new phone on your number (just put your sim in) and give them an older phone, switching phones and SIM cards as you need. You don't cancel any phone contract early but let it go to maturity if you want to get the most out of the deal.
Wow, iPhone 11 was almost 3 years ago? Man I've been out of this for awhile
 
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I think Verizon just gave me $400 off a 13 Pro for trading in a 6S and spreading payments over 30 months. That seems like a very good deal. Anyone know what the catch is that I'm not seeing?
 
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I think Verizon just gave me $400 off a 13 Pro for trading in a 6S and spreading payments over 30 months. That seems like a very good deal. Anyone know what the catch is that I'm not seeing?
The catch is the payment credits are monthly so if you want out before 30 months and pay it off in full you lose the remaining credits. I did mine for a 13 pro max @ 9.99 a month with an XS Max trade in as I am highly unlikely to change carriers due to service issues in my area with the others.
 
Does anyone know what happens if I trade in my phone that has existing payments on it that I financed from T-mobile last year?

I still owe $406.25 on my 12Pro. I'm currently have 13 payments remaining of $31.25 and 13 bill credits of $17.30. So net, I'm paying 13.95 and would actually pay 181.35 over the next 13 months.

I'm actually considering a 13 mini and T-mobile is offering me $455 instant trade in and bill credits over 30 months to make the phone free except sales tax.

I'm wondering what happens with my current payment plan? Do they:

A) Forgive the balance due as part of the trade in? And then give me the new "free" deal on the new iPhone?
B) Bill me $406.25 when I trade in (and basically offset that with the $455 trade in?) Then do my remaining bill credits go away (to be replaced by the new ones on the new phone)?

Or something different? I'm guessing it's probably B....but the deal is really confusing to figure out how much I'd really be paying. I really kind of want the "mini" iPhone. Really like the smaller size and knowing this is probably the last year, I'd like to get one.

It's hard to figure out the real cost of doing the deal....doesn't seem like a bad deal now, but if I'm giving up 13 credits of $17.30, I'm actually giving up some of the tradein I did on my phone last year. I have a feeling I'd be getting tricked out of something, but can't really tell. I can probably make out an excel spreadsheet and try to figure this out, but am hoping someone here can just let me know where I'm getting hosed! LOL
Pretty sure you'll have to pay off the device first, before it can be traded in. But with T-Mobile, you'll still continue getting the credits from the original phone, along with whatever you're getting with the new one.
 
People taking advantage of the carrier 'deals' please note: Both AT&T and Verizon require you keep service with them for well over 2 years to get the full amount. AT&T is 36 months, Verizon is 30 I believe. Only T-Mobile offers 24 months, but of course you get less for your trade in. If you are someone who only upgrades your phone every 3 years, it's not a bad deal I guess. You're just locked into that carrier for 3 years.

Long story short, you're still better off (assuming you have credit to do this) buying the phone outright or at least without a trade in, then selling your old phone yourself. You often get double.

Yeah, but I've been using Verizon for like 10 years now, maybe more. So 30 more months doesn't seem like anything I wouldn't already be doing. And I got $400 credit for a 6S which seems like about $300 more than if I had sold the 6S on craigslist. These seem like good deals right now.
 
Verizon gave me $1,000 each for iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro, and…… iPhone X! Well, almost. They knocked the iPhone X down to $800 because the back glass is cracked. Yes, it would’ve been $1,000 for a non-broken iPhone X :oops:
 
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T-Mobile plan is a joke if you are not on the new high priced magenta plans.

- T-Mobile offer - trade in my fully paid iPhone 11 Pro and get $500 worth of bill credits over the next 24 months. Locked in and loose the credits if I cancel my plan and switch carriers

- Apple offer - $450 cash credit for same trade in. I’ll gladly take $50 less to not be locked.

yes, I know I can sell private and do better. I just didn’t want to mess with it.

Actually, the upgrade with magenta is pretty funny too. “Up to $…” and can change at anytime with our notice.
 
The catch is the payment credits are monthly so if you want out before 30 months and pay it off in full you lose the remaining credits. I did mine for a 13 pro max @ 9.99 a month with an XS Max trade in as I am highly unlikely to change carriers due to service issues in my area with the others.
If that is the only catch, that ain't much. I've been using iPhones (in some way in my extended family) for about four year life (though I had the 6S, which is six years old). So 2.5 years isn't a big deal. Unless it gets broken, the 13 Pro will still be being used 2.5 years from now. I wouldn't want to pay off before then as there is no interest on this payment plan. I guess I can't change carriers, but I've also been on Verizon for well more than 10 years at this point. It costs a bit more than T-Mobile, but it works very well in my area. 5G will presumably make it work even better (though a strong LTE connection could already do pretty much everything even as a hotspot that I wanted, so I'm not sure I'm sure going to notice 5G).

I still suspect there is some other catch. Getting a no hassle trade in value of $400 for 6S is just too good a deal.
 
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