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Carrier Nearly 3 year contracts!?!?
- Thread starter Drag'nGT
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I was looking at apples program it says payments for 24 months, so they will let you upgrade at each year? which program do you need to get to qualify for the yearly upgrade? I feel Verizon is VERY sneaky!That's why I stick with Apple's IUP. I can upgrade every year or wait the full 24 months.
Of course I upgrade every year.....
They’re talking about iPhone upgrade program. You can keep upgrading your phone every year after making 12 payments only caveat is you are required to have AppleCare+ as well.
The penalty is that the credits stop. That means you get $666 in credits for the 2 yrs, you owe them $333 for the last year plus the remaining cost of the phone… and you’re out your original phone.
The best deal without a long contract is to port in your number to Verizon and bring your own phone. They will give you a $500 gift card after 30 days. You just have to stay with them for a year. Sell your current phone and combine it with the gift card to buy a new phone outright. No bill credits, and a 1 year commitment
I don't get all the angst about the promos.
I could be mistaken, but none of the major carriers require you to take the additional promo credits that are provided over a period of time.
If you want to avoid all of that, you can buy the new phone outright without a promo, either one-time or in installments. If you trade-in without a promo, they give you the credit for the trade-in upfront (at least VZ does), so you can leave fair-and-square any time as long as the phone is paid off. Or you can sell your phone on eBay or Craigslist (more effort, (potentially) more return).
If you want the extra promo credits, there's a trade-off -- committing to stay with the carrier to receive the extra promo credits. You have the choice and the power to decide which one is right for you.
I could be mistaken, but none of the major carriers require you to take the additional promo credits that are provided over a period of time.
If you want to avoid all of that, you can buy the new phone outright without a promo, either one-time or in installments. If you trade-in without a promo, they give you the credit for the trade-in upfront (at least VZ does), so you can leave fair-and-square any time as long as the phone is paid off. Or you can sell your phone on eBay or Craigslist (more effort, (potentially) more return).
If you want the extra promo credits, there's a trade-off -- committing to stay with the carrier to receive the extra promo credits. You have the choice and the power to decide which one is right for you.
I have an 8+ and if I get $800 credit for that over the next 3 years that would be $22.22 credit a month. Right now my monthly bill is just under $70 and I would have to upgrade to an unlimited plan which will cost closer to $100 so it doesn’t seem worth it for me as I work from home and barely use any data.
That is exactly the conclusion I came to! I’ve always upgraded my iPhones through AT&T but I don’t like that they would use that $1000 over a 3 year period. I’d prefer to get Apple’s trade in offer up front so this year my new phone is going on my Apple Card!
Best deal right now is Verizon is offering $799 trade in credit on the XR, same as for the 12 Pro, unreal. Standard iPhone 13 is only 24 months of payments vs the Pro‘s 30 months. Getting the 13 for free over 24 months is a no brainer, especially considering you are trading in a 3 year old phone…
The carrier deals are essentially just an incentive to keep people on their networks. Which makes sense from a business standpoint for them. If you value the freedom to move around then you can happily only get Apple's device trade in without carrier incentives.
OR take the carrier incentive anyway and if you should find that before the 24-30 months are up you want to leave the carrier you still can you just 'lose' a little bit of a promotion that you would have gotten for staying. You still got SOME money back for your trade in, just not the full amount because you didn't fulfill the agreement. This isn't a contract that locks you in or charges you extra for breaching contract.
think of it like a job contract. Say you get paid 10 dollars a month for a job, or 120 dollars a year. If you left after month one you can't ask for the remainder 110 dollars of the year for not staying with that job
OR take the carrier incentive anyway and if you should find that before the 24-30 months are up you want to leave the carrier you still can you just 'lose' a little bit of a promotion that you would have gotten for staying. You still got SOME money back for your trade in, just not the full amount because you didn't fulfill the agreement. This isn't a contract that locks you in or charges you extra for breaching contract.
think of it like a job contract. Say you get paid 10 dollars a month for a job, or 120 dollars a year. If you left after month one you can't ask for the remainder 110 dollars of the year for not staying with that job
Everyone keeps referring to these promos as contracts except they aren’t, you are free to leave anytime. These promos are like a retention bonus. For example let’s say you’re considering a new job and they say “we pay a $1000 signing bonus and if you stay for 2 years we will pay an extra $5000 after 24 months of employment.” You are totally free to leave after 1 day on the job and pocket the $1000, but you can’t scream and complain that the company has cheated you by not paying the extra $5000 upfront. It’s the same with these bill credits, they’re a retention bonus. If you don’t want the retention bonus trade in to Apple and get a lower value.
I’m on the Apple Upgrade plan. Buying your phone through a carrier is seldom as good a deal as it seems.
The old Apple unlimited plan is no longer a good deal. Get off it as soon as you can. I was shocked last year when I started shopping around and realized how much better the new plans are.
I'm still amazed at the people that still do contracts. I quit doing that 15 yrs ago. I've been doing prepaid ever since. My phone bill with 5G and 4GB of data per month is $15 plus tax.
This is why I just paid off my device w/ T-Mobile and decided to go with Apple this year. The IUP is solid enough. I can decide to pay it off and keep it or keeping upgrading every year. Ngl, T-Mobile has something similar with "JUMP" but no thanks.
This isn't a 3 year contract. This is a promo. Read the fine print and do the math to determine if the deal is right for you. Not all customers are the same.
Here I ask. If you are against doing an offer with a monthly credit, how much are you paying for your new phone today? I doubt you are getting it with a $1000 discount. In my case, the best offer I have found is $460 for my 11Pro. That means if I traded it in and paid cash on the difference, the iPhone 13 Pro would cost me $539 today.
But since I accepted the $1000 credit over 3 years, I break even at 20 months when AT&T has given me $555 in credits for that phone.
Once I hit 20 months or more, I come out ahead... even if I choose to forfeit the remaining credits and buy a new phone. Even if that means my iPhone 13 wasn't really "free."
I might choose to splurge when iPhone 15 comes out, or I might choose to stay with my 13pro for all 36 months, ending with a "free" phone. My choice. Either way, I already come out ahead at 20 months compared to what is offered today in any other trade-in scenario. I'll take the bet that I will be satisfied with my new iPhone 13 pro for a minimum of 20 months.
That's how it works for me. I'm a trade-up every 2 years kind of customer. And the unlimited plan iI'm currently on is actually cheaper than the 15GB plan I used to make 5 people share. You and I are different types of customers. It might not be best offer *for you* if you are like my 22 yr old... a single person on a MVNO type plan. But it's the best offer *for me*.
Here I ask. If you are against doing an offer with a monthly credit, how much are you paying for your new phone today? I doubt you are getting it with a $1000 discount. In my case, the best offer I have found is $460 for my 11Pro. That means if I traded it in and paid cash on the difference, the iPhone 13 Pro would cost me $539 today.
But since I accepted the $1000 credit over 3 years, I break even at 20 months when AT&T has given me $555 in credits for that phone.
Once I hit 20 months or more, I come out ahead... even if I choose to forfeit the remaining credits and buy a new phone. Even if that means my iPhone 13 wasn't really "free."
I might choose to splurge when iPhone 15 comes out, or I might choose to stay with my 13pro for all 36 months, ending with a "free" phone. My choice. Either way, I already come out ahead at 20 months compared to what is offered today in any other trade-in scenario. I'll take the bet that I will be satisfied with my new iPhone 13 pro for a minimum of 20 months.
That's how it works for me. I'm a trade-up every 2 years kind of customer. And the unlimited plan iI'm currently on is actually cheaper than the 15GB plan I used to make 5 people share. You and I are different types of customers. It might not be best offer *for you* if you are like my 22 yr old... a single person on a MVNO type plan. But it's the best offer *for me*.
Best thing is just buy your phone outright. The difference between walking into Apple and purchasing the phone versus all the paperwork needed to be signed through a carrier is significant. Those discounts are nice, and you’ve got to be sure you’re fine keeping the phone and remaining with that carrier for that long. I can’t go back to not just purchasing my phone outright from the beginning.
I did 24 months for Iphone pro 13 128gb on Verizon. It defaults to 30months but you can change it. I had to cancel my order when I realized the long 30 months