Early upgrade fee

[GaresTaylan]

I wish Verizon offered an early upgrade fee like AT&T did when I was with them. Im a few months away from that early upgrade mark on our account.

 

[thekev]

They released from our contracts in case we chose to leave bc of issues with customer service but kept our upgrade date bc they didn't want to give us a discount early... Which I totally understand.

Okay that makes sense now. It's unfortunate that no one at AT&T has the complete record of plan changes and payments.

It's funny bc apparently no one knows how it works. I will qualify for the early upgrade shortly... Just not as soon as I would like. Also, you all give lots of advice for questions not asked.

I just wanted to know who get the extra $250 bc AT&T says they don't and I don't believe that.

I get that. Thinking back to AT&T, they are a pain in the ass. I prioritize not having an irritating carrier over phone selection. If it checks email, makes calls, and can provide directions, it works. I'm not one of those people who constantly looks down at their phone.

This time I don't want to buy it outright. That's a lot of money to spend when I want at least a 32 gb phone. I have lots of things to save for.. And I choose not to spend my money that way.

Sometimes unsubsidized plans can be much cheaper overall. Overall it makes little sense to me when people must have the latest version. I don't see anything truly wrong with the 4s, and if it's a stretched design, it may be some time before apps are truly updated to take advantage of it.

 

[tl01]

I explained it to you above.
Your extra $250 goes towards the phone but AT&T pays less for your early subsidy than they would if you had a full upgrade. You pay $450 for the base model for example and AT&T pays the rest $200 to Apple for your phone. If you had a full upgrade you would pay $200 and AT&T would put in the rest $450.
Is it really that hard to understand?

This makes sense and thank you for your explanation. It is what I figured happened but can't figure out what AT&T says they don't benefit from the $250. Very strange! I figured they pay less and hence their overall cost is decreased.

 

[IXDoubleDXI]

I called Sprint to see how much my ETF fee would be if I cancelled, so they tried to talk me out of it, even though i just wanted to see how much it would be ($80). They proceeded to tell me about a "Buy My Upgrade" feature, where I could get my upgrade now for $100 extra (Early upgrade isn't available until March 1, 2013). They also told me my account was marked for a $100 Renewal Credit, ultimately leaving no fee to upgrade now. Going to see what the 5 has to offer on Wed. Not feeling like getting rid of 4s, but got a quote from Gazelle (box is here, should i decide to get rid of it), so I wouldn't be paying much to go from 32gb 4s to 32gb 5. We'll see on Wed...

 

[Applejuiced]

This makes sense and thank you for your explanation. It is what I figured happened but can't figure out what AT&T says they don't benefit from the $250. Very strange! I figured they pay less and hence their overall cost is decreased.

Exactly.
They pay less to subsidize the phone and lock you into another 2 year contract.