For Most People, Contract Upgrade is Bad, Next is good, Buy it: Why? (AT&T)

[AZhappyjack]

The big question is "Does ATT require you to turn in the present phone when you upgrade with the Next plan"?

Yes and no.

You can purchase the phone using Next on one of two plans:

There’s 20 month payment plan and a 24 month payment plan. If you choose either and pay it out for the full term (or pay it off early), you keep the phone.

If you choose the early upgrade (12 months on the 20 payment plan; 18 months on the 24 payment plan), you must turn the phone in when you upgrade. This is required because you have not finished paying for the phone that you upgraded to on the earlier upgrade cycle.

 

[rui no onna]

The big question is "Does ATT require you to turn in the present phone when you upgrade with the Next plan"?

Only if you haven't paid for the phone in full yet. That said, you can always sell the NEXT phone on CL, ebay, swappa and use that money to pay off your balance (~$260 for 16GB after 12 months) and just keep the extra funds from selling.

 

[StarShot]

I get a 24% discount. I have two lines (a ghost line so I can flip-flop upgrade every year) and am on the mobile share 2GB plan. My bill is $85.

My ghost line's contract expires this week. Should I use it to upgrade, keep the two lines, therefore my current line will be upgradeable next year... or terminate the off contract line and go with Next?

I just want whatever is cheaper MONTHLY and obviously will allow me to upgrade every year. I also don't want to purchase the phone outright up front.

To paraphase AA, "I too am a Ghoster". I've been "flipping" for about 3 years now. I started out down this dark path by getting a $9.99 monthly flip phone to use in wet environments (boating mostly) to protect my iPhone.

Then, one year I upgraded the ghoster for the new iPhone, swapped out the sim cards and kept the ghoster for down the road. Yes, there is a price to pay and it's $120 yearly for the extra phone. Since I'm mostly out of boating now, I'm thinking of giving up ghosting.

Then, one year my wife FINALLY said she would like an iPhone, so I upgraded her flipper for the same $9.99 monthly plus the initial charge ($199) plus $15 for her 300mb data plan. So, 2nd, 3rd etc iPhones don't cost anything like the additional cost that a single phone does.

My last upgrade was my "ghoster" so this one will be for the real primary number. What is the 24% discount deal. I don't think I've heard about that deal.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

I'd also like some advice.

I get a 24% discount. I have two lines (a ghost line so I can flip-flop upgrade every year) and am on the mobile share 2GB plan. My bill is $85.

My ghost line's contract expires this week. Should I use it to upgrade, keep the two lines, therefore my current line will be upgradeable next year... or terminate the off contract line and go with Next?

I just want whatever is cheaper MONTHLY and obviously will allow me to upgrade every year. I also don't want to purchase the phone outright up front.

Thanks to anyone who can offer some advice!

The ghost line is probably cheaper.

If you go on next, then you will pay 27.08 x 12 months ($325) and then need to either return it or pay another 325 to keep the device. You could sell the phone and pay off NEXT but you will still have paid 325 during the year. So total cost over 1 yr is 325.

If you do 2 yr contract, you will pay about 200 for device, 40 for upgrade fee and 50 in tax (assuming you are in CA, tax might be less where you live) so $290 upfront and 10 x 12 months for the second line. total will be $410. BUT you can keep the phone and sell it yourself; around ~$300 value atleast. Net cost over the year on contract will be about 110.

Conclusion. NEXT will cost you more money.

There is one exception tho. If you change your plan to something that saves you over 200 a year, then NEXT could work for you.

What is the 24% discount deal. I don't think I've heard about that deal.

AT&T has a lot of corporate discount. I think you get like 15% off just for being a student.

https://www.wireless.att.com/business/authenticate/ext.jsp?bref=EBSAt50000015Apr

 

[grockk]

Until you get into at least 10GB with maybe 4 lines, you're not gonna find a break even point with the old plans. Also, corporate discount has never been applied to the whole bill. It's usually applied to the primary line and on select features. Granted, I think tiered data over 2GB is covered by the discount. Back when I still had unlimited, it was never applied to the $30 unlimited data I had on the iPhone line.

Well AT&T does 18% off the whole service fee. So minutes, texting, data all get the 18% discount. Its just 911 and taxes that don't. It works out to ~$19 currently and drops to only ~$13 on the mobile share and next plans. Just one more way it doesn't make sense to do MobileShare or Next.

 

[StarShot]

NEXT would be dog**** for me

CURRENRT PLAN
$50/month 550 min (15% emp discount)
$10/month extra line
$30/month unlim data for line #1 (15% emp discount)
$30/month unlim data for line #2 (15% emp discount)

$120/month before discount ($103.50 after discount)

$103.50/mo X 24 months = $2,484

$200/2-years for upgrade on phone #1
$200/2-years for upgrade on phone #2

$2,848 = total cost for 2-years on current plan.

NEXT
$100/mo 10gb (15% emp discount)
$15/mo service charge for phone #1
$15/mo service charge for phone #2
$27/mo NEXT payment for phone #1
$27/mo NEXT payment for phone #2

$184/mo before discount ($169 after discount)

$169/mo X 24 months = $4,056

$4,056 = total cost for 2-years on NEXT plan.

Is unlimited talk/text + being allowed to tethering worth an extra $1,200 over two years? It's not for me.

I feel like I'm in the room where I've agreed to buy the car and now they're trying to sell me undercoats, insurance, maintenance, etc, etc.

I have 3 phones...

1 IP5 S $50
2 IP5 S $10
3 cell $10
1 data $30/3gb
2 data $15/300mb
3 zero
1 Txt $5
Total $120 + $20 taxes or $140

Next, 3 phones with 10GB, $140 + taxes (probably $160)

I think I'll stick with my regular plan, especially because I'm under the impression that the NEXT deal also requires $27 per month per phone. Is that right or is the $27 per month buried in the $140 Next deal?

 

[nnacrumors]

I think I'll stick with my regular plan, especially because I'm under the impression that the NEXT deal also requires $27 per month per phone. Is that right or is the $27 per month buried in the $140 Next deal?

Yeah, with NEXT if you get a new phone you are paying it off yourself in 24-months of payments. So if two of your lines upgraded to the iPhone 6 ($650) then you would be paying and additional $54/mo ($27 x 2) on top of the $140/mo for service!

 

[AZhappyjack]

The ghost line is probably cheaper.

If you go on next, then you will pay 27.08 x 12 months ($325) and then need to either return it or pay another 325 to keep the device. You could sell the phone and pay off NEXT but you will still have paid 325 during the year. So total cost over 1 yr is 325.

If you do 2 yr contract, you will pay about 200 for device, 40 for upgrade fee and 50 in tax (assuming you are in CA, tax might be less where you live) so $290 upfront and 10 x 12 months for the second line. total will be $410. BUT you can keep the phone and sell it yourself; around ~$300 value atleast. Net cost over the year on contract will be about 110.

Conclusion. NEXT will cost you more money.

There is one exception tho. If you change your plan to something that saves you over 200 a year, then NEXT could work for you.


AT&T has a lot of corporate discount. I think you get like 15% off just for being a student.

https://www.wireless.att.com/business/authenticate/ext.jsp?bref=EBSAt50000015Apr

My corp FAN account nets me 23%, plus I have never paid an upgrade fee.

----------

I feel like I'm in the room where I've agreed to buy the car and now they're trying to sell me undercoats, insurance, maintenance, etc, etc.

I have 3 phones...

1 IP5 S $50
2 IP5 S $10
3 cell $10
1 data $30/3gb
2 data $15/300mb
3 zero
1 Txt $5
Total $120 + $20 taxes or $140

Next, 3 phones with 10GB, $140 + taxes (probably $160)

I think I'll stick with my regular plan, especially because I'm under the impression that the NEXT deal also requires $27 per month per phone. Is that right or is the $27 per month buried in the $140 Next deal?

No, the cost of the phone on Next (I was quoted $28, but whatever), is in addition to the plan fees. Multiple phones on Next = multiples of $28 ($27) Next fees.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

My corp FAN account nets me 23%, plus I have never paid an upgrade fee.

I get 25% off voice and data but my upgrade fee is only waived if I order online through premier.

 

[dagored]

Correct dfausty. I talked to a sales person at the store an hour ago and just called AT&T and talked to a very nice lady about next. The 10 gig plan was 130 + the 2 new phones we picked one out, about 32 each. This is actually cheaper than the 4 gig plan on Next.

Both of these said that in my situation, next would cost me more over two years.

I am not talking about the phone, but the plan cost. About 20 more a month for 24 months. You do the math.

 

[rui no onna]

Well AT&T does 18% off the whole service fee. So minutes, texting, data all get the 18% discount. Its just 911 and taxes that don't. It works out to ~$19 currently and drops to only ~$13 on the mobile share and next plans. Just one more way it doesn't make sense to do MobileShare or Next.

Image

If it applied to the whole service fee, your discount should be $25. From my old bills, it only applied to main shared/line 1 ($50 for you), the texting plans and the tiered data plans 2GB or higher. It doesn't apply to the $10 line fee, $15/200MB data or $30/unlimited data.

That said, the Mobile Share Value 10GB plan only breaks even with the old Family Share plans at:
700 minutes Line 1 ($60)
Line 2-4 fee ($10*3=$30)
Unlimited text ($30)
Line 1-4 3GB data ($30*4=$120)
TOTAL: $240/mo

Otherwise, the old plans are cheaper after factoring subsidy.

 

[iBreatheApple]

The ghost line is probably cheaper.

If you go on next, then you will pay 27.08 x 12 months ($325) and then need to either return it or pay another 325 to keep the device. You could sell the phone and pay off NEXT but you will still have paid 325 during the year. So total cost over 1 yr is 325.

If you do 2 yr contract, you will pay about 200 for device, 40 for upgrade fee and 50 in tax (assuming you are in CA, tax might be less where you live) so $290 upfront and 10 x 12 months for the second line. total will be $410. BUT you can keep the phone and sell it yourself; around ~$300 value atleast. Net cost over the year on contract will be about 110.

Conclusion. NEXT will cost you more money.

There is one exception tho. If you change your plan to something that saves you over 200 a year, then NEXT could work for you.


AT&T has a lot of corporate discount. I think you get like 15% off just for being a student.

https://www.wireless.att.com/business/authenticate/ext.jsp?bref=EBSAt50000015Apr

I really appreciate the feedback!

 

[rui no onna]

If you do 2 yr contract, you will pay about 200 for device, 40 for upgrade fee and 50 in tax (assuming you are in CA, tax might be less where you live) so $290 upfront and 10 x 12 months for the second line. total will be $410. BUT you can keep the phone and sell it yourself; around ~$300 value atleast. Net cost over the year on contract will be about 110.

Correction, he needs to keep the ghost line for 24 months or risk ETF so that's $10*24=$240

Still cheaper than Next or buy outright, though.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

Correction, he needs to keep the ghost line for 24 months or risk ETF so that's $10*24=$240

Still cheaper than Next or buy outright, though.

That's if you calculate the cost over 2 years; I calculated it over 1 year because it makes the math easier to follow.

 

[StarShot]

Yeah, with NEXT if you get a new phone you are paying it off yourself in 24-months of payments. So if two of your lines upgraded to the iPhone 6 ($650) then you would be paying and additional $54/mo ($27 x 2) on top of the $140/mo for service!

So, why would ANYONE go with NEXT? Unless ATT makes me pay for the full price of the new phone, I'm sticking where I am.

 

[ToroidalZeus]

So, why would ANYONE go with NEXT? Unless ATT makes me pay for the full price of the new phone, I'm sticking where I am.

Well it's 100% not good with the old plans, if you convert to the shared data plans NEXT might make sense.

 

[inthecup]

Ok. I just did the math. I'm on contract still till November. We have 2 iPhone 5, 10gb mobile share. We were given the $25 off each device special back in February. ATT says we lose that discount if we get new phones. That raises my bill to $180 plus tax. I pay currently $132 plus tax. Even Next is an increase to $180. I don't want to lose my discount so I see me having to buy phones outright or not upgrading. And this is provided the iphone costs the same. I mean really $180 a month for 2 phones? What a ripoff.

You are me my Friend .... I'v decided to buy the new iPhone 6 outright and my wife is keeping her soon to be out of contract iPhone 5 and our bill will stay the same ($140 including tax). All things taken into consideration it's a $600 savings in the next 2 year period without another 2 year contract or going to Next.

 

[uvmskier]

One thing I don't see discussed in this thread is the fact that AT&T is now doing 24 month upgrade cycles on standard contracts unless I'm mistaken. This means you will no longer be able to get phones on launch day every two years. You will slowly fall behind by a few days or a week at a time depending on when Apple releases the iPhone each year. For me, I could keep my monthly costs roughly the same and switch to NEXT just to have the flexibility to upgrade on launch day every other year and pay off the remainder of my unsubsidized device. I currently pay $130 a month for two lines, both with iPhones, one with an unlimited plan and one with 2gb of data. I'd pay about the same using NEXT. The downside that I see is that I'll lose the AMEX extended warranty I receive by paying up front.

 

[shox2k2]

We switched to mobile share in feb. Added a 4th line with next and it dropped our monthly bill. We will add 3 iPhone 6 this week. It's about 50$ per phone cheaper over 2 yrs than paying the $200 up front for each phone. I'm not a fan of the monthly fee for the phones but subsidies for phones are being phased out.

 

[uvmskier]

One thing I don't see discussed in this thread is the fact that AT&T is now doing 24 month upgrade cycles on standard contracts unless I'm mistaken. This means you will no longer be able to get phones on launch day every two years. You will slowly fall behind by a few days or a week at a time depending on when Apple releases the iPhone each year. For me, I could keep my monthly costs roughly the same and switch to NEXT just to have the flexibility to upgrade on launch day every other year and pay off the remainder of my unsubsidized device. I currently pay $130 a month for two lines, both with iPhones, one with an unlimited plan and one with 2gb of data. I'd pay about the same using NEXT. The downside that I see is that I'll lose the AMEX extended warranty I receive by paying up front.

The more I think about it, I think I'll take the 2 year contracts and just kick the can two years down the road. Who knows what they'll be offering at that point in time or if I'll even still be with AT&T.

 

[AZhappyjack]

One thing I don't see discussed in this thread is the fact that AT&T is now doing 24 month upgrade cycles on standard contracts unless I'm mistaken. This means you will no longer be able to get phones on launch day every two years. You will slowly fall behind by a few days or a week at a time depending on when Apple releases the iPhone each year. For me, I could keep my monthly costs roughly the same and switch to NEXT just to have the flexibility to upgrade on launch day every other year and pay off the remainder of my unsubsidized device. I currently pay $130 a month for two lines, both with iPhones, one with an unlimited plan and one with 2gb of data. I'd pay about the same using NEXT. The downside that I see is that I'll lose the AMEX extended warranty I receive by paying up front.

The "wild card" in this scenario that will help keep people on a 2 year cycle is that AT&T typically resets the upgrade date to the first day of the month that the contract expires. So, even though you may be in contract until 09/30, AT&T will let you upgrade on 09/01.

Still, it eventually may catch up with you, but it should work as it previously did for a while for most people.

 

[robertpetry]

Mobile share and Next definitely look cheaper for me. I'm on the previous Family Share with 4 iPhones and 2 iPads. If we upgrade all 4 on next our payments definitely go up, but not as much as our out of pocket price for the phones. I ran it first with 2 upgrades,then with 4.