Got iPhone 6 on Next instead of 2 year, starting to regret it

[Princess C.]

Me and my sister are still confused about Next vs 2 year. We ended up letting the sales person talk is into getting Next, but now aren't sure if this is best. She still has 14 days to return phone and go to 2 year contract.

My sister purchased the iPhone 6 under the next 18 month ATT plan which costs $22.92 a month. I plan on upgrading to the iPhone 6S 64GB under Next 18 for $31.25 a month. We had 6GB Mobile Share plan under 2 year contract for $70 but now we have 15GB for $100.

I'm not sure if I'm doing the math right, but it seems like we are now going to be paying more a month. Instead of paying $170 we will now pay around $211 a month (including taxes and student FAN discount). The ATT rep said that the bill on contract will go up $20 and the 6GB is only 9 dollars less than the 15, but it still seems like I'm paying more, $170-190 vs $202-211. Am I right or am I missing something?

 

[mrwilly25]

You also need to factor in the cost per line for data access. With 2 year contract, its $40 per line, but with the Next contract, its $15 per line.

 

[benzkid89]

Correct me if I am wrong but 2 years are really only good for UDP now. I have two UDP's on my account and I still do 2 year upgrades.

 

[Princess C.]

You also need to factor in the cost per line for data access. With 2 year contract, its $40 per line, but with the Next contract, its $15 per line.

I already factored the cost of the lines, that's where I got the $170 from. $70 6GB Mobile Share + $40 + $40 + the usual $17 and change tax = $167 and change. And if the bill goes up $20 like the rep said that's still $187.

Meanwhile with Next, $202 for 6GB or $211 for 15GB Mobile Share.

 

[jtrue28]

You're paying the full cost of the phone now, as opposed to being locked into a 2yr agreement where they subsidize part of it for you. So yeah, it's going to cost you more.

 

[mhunter6378]

$100 (15gb data) + $15 (line 1) + $15 (line 2) + $22.92 (line 1 Next) + $31.25 (line 2 Next) = $184.17 plus taxes and minus any discounts. Seems to be only slightly more than what you paid before but now you have more than double the data available. You should verify your costs with AT&T of course. You may be able to do that online in your account or through the my att app if your account has updated since the recent changes.

 

[KillaMac]

Seems many here forgot one main thing. If you do a 2 year contract, you have to fork out $199, $299, $399 depending on the model iPhone at the beginning of the contract, plus the extra fee's that go with a contract plan which include a higher monthly, and $45 activation fee's. Compare to NEXT where you just pay the monthly and TAXES at the beginning but your monthly is around $21-25 a month.

So in reality, would you rather pay the chunk up front or monthly? Both equal out the same at the end.

 

[Zwhaler]

40$ access to Mobile Share was reduced to $15 = $25 savings per month per line
$70/mo to $100/mo data = $30 increase per line
Without taxes:
$299 phone over 24mo is about $12.45/mo
$99 phone over 24mo is $4.17/mo
Next 18 is $31.25/mo and $22.92/mo

Mobile Share access before and after $80/mo --> $30/mo = $50/mo savings
Data plan $30/mo increase
Devices (2 year contract vs Next 18) $16.62/mo --> $54.17/mo = $37.55/mo increase (not a fair comparison since one is 18 month financing and one is subsidized 2 year contract)

Therefore,
(-50)+30+37.55 = $17.55/mo increase IN ORDER TO 1) Pay for the phones monthly, 2) Have an increase in data from 6GB to 15GB, 3) Trade in your phones before they are fully paid off (you can pay the difference to the upgrade threshold early to upgrade whenever you want). IF we used Next 24 the monthly increase would be even less. So the difference isn't as big as you think. People forget to factor in the cost of the phones on 2 year contracts when comparing their bills with Next.

WORD OF ADVICE: If you plan on upgrading your phones, Do Next 12 because the upgrade threshold amount is lower than Next 18 and Next 24. Basically, the only "benefit" with 18 and 24 is a lower monthly fee, but while the cost of paying off the phone is the same, the upgrade threshold is higher for 18 and 24 than it is for Next 12. Have a nice day