Carrier Is there a reason to not pay off last 8 installments for AT&T?

[Steviejobz]

I'm on a 30-month AT&T plan for my XS and have 8 more payments left. If AT&T is offering $800, doesn't it make sense to pay off the balance (around $240) so that I can own the phone outright and get $800 in statement credits? I think the chart said this is about $8/mo for an iPhone 12 Pro.

The other option is to pay 2 more months ($60) but then trade in the phone for nothing and pay roundly $40/mo.

Am I missing something here?

 

[CandyCane23049]

I think it makes sense to pay it off if you can.

 

[BrettDS]

If you didn’t buy the XS under a promotion that gives you credits each month, then there’s no downside to paying it off early. You’ll pay $240 now or you’ll pay $240 over 8 months. Probably worth paying it off early and trading it in to get the $800 in credits for the new phone.

If you do have a promotion on the XS that is giving you monthly credits, then paying it off early will stop the credits and you will lose any credit that you would have gotten over the next 8 months, so you will need to decide if paying it off, losing the credits, and trading it in is worth the $800 in credits that you could get with a new phone.