O2 2G Upgrade dilemma

[GlynJones]

Hi,
My o2 contract expires this month for my 2g iPhone but I’ve hit a dilemma.

I currently pay £34.26 a month but only use it for light calls and messaging.

I will be getting the 3gs when it comes out next week and I'd like the 32gig model as I have a lot of music. The question is what are my best options?

If I take out a 24 month contract at £34.26 a month the phone will cost me £175.19. As I only use a little of the call services then I could get an 18 month contract at £29.38 a month but the phone will cost me £274.23.

Another option is PAYG but the phone would cost me £538.30 up front.

I need some advice, as I can't make my mind up what would be best for me. At the moment I’m leaning towards the 24 month contract.

I will be selling my 2g on eBay so I'll probably recoup £150 - £200. But If I got the PAYG could I put this in the 2g phone and just lower my current contact to £29.38 a month putting the SIM in my new phone. Would the PAYG SIM work in the 2g and if so would I get more money for the phone on eBay.

You can see why I’m getting confused. I just want the best deal I can get for the price and usage.

Thanks in advance.

Glyn.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Hi,
My o2 contract expires this month for my 2g iPhone but I’ve hit a dilemma.

I currently pay £34.26 a month but only use it for light calls and messaging.

I will be getting the 3gs when it comes out next week and I'd like the 32gig model as I have a lot of music. The question is what are my best options?

If I take out a 24 month contract at £34.26 a month the phone will cost me £175.19. As I only use a little of the call services then I could get an 18 month contract at £29.38 a month but the phone will cost me £274.23.

Another option is PAYG but the phone would cost me £538.30 up front.

I need some advice, as I can't make my mind up what would be best for me. At the moment I’m leaning towards the 24 month contract.

I will be selling my 2g on eBay so I'll probably recoup £150 - £200. But If I got the PAYG could I put this in the 2g phone and just lower my current contact to £29.38 a month putting the SIM in my new phone. Would the PAYG SIM work in the 2g and if so would I get more money for the phone on eBay.

You can see why I’m getting confused. I just want the best deal I can get for the price and usage.

Thanks in advance.

Glyn.

If you really don't use your phone very much at all then the Pay&Go only option might be for you. You get 1 year's worth of free internet and can put on money when you need it. I.e. if you hardly ever use it, £10 every few months might be enough for you.

The £30 18 month contract isn't very good value for money.

The 24 month deals aren't necessarily much cheaper even though they tie you in for longer. I.e. if you took the 18 month £34.26 deal and after 18 months switched to the O2 Simplicity £19.58 tariff (virtually identical but many more texts but no Visual Voicemail or Cloud Wifi access) then cost-of-ownership for 24 months would be £1008.39 as opposed to getting the 24 month £34.26 deal where it would be £997.43. An extra £10 for being locked in for six fewer months isn't too bad. Similarly, if you got the £45 18 month deal then switched to the £29.38 Simplicity, it would cost £1144.37 as opposed to the 24 month £44.05 contract where it would be £1154.09.

If you were to get the 18 month contract and then switch to the O2 Simplicity £9.79 deal + £7.50 bolt on (cheapest way to get unlimited internet) then 24 months would cost £906.39. Not too bad that way but you get so few minutes and texts its very limiting.

The best value I think is to consider getting the 18 month £45 contract and then switching down your contract to £35 a month after nine months. Then if you were to go the O2 simplicity £19.58 route at 18 months, 24 months would only cost you £997.46.

Of course, if you got a Pay&Go iPhone and only used £10 credit a month then 24 months would cost you £778.30 (£538.30 + £10*24).

So, like I say, if you really are a light user then Pay&Go would work out cheaper over 24 months than any contract.

 

[Cloudane]

Take a look at my post in the UK thread, about page 24/25. Basically, assuming your credit score and income permit, why not grab a Tesco credit card.. 12 months interest free, divide the payg cost by 12 and pretend it's line rental - but way cheaper TCO than o2's

There's no minimum monthly topup (and you get 12 months unlimited data with it) so as a light user you might find that a £10 topup lasts quite a while.

That's what I'm considering doing anyway.

 

[01jamcon]

If you really don't use your phone very much at all then the Pay&Go only option might be for you. You get 1 year's worth of free internet and can put on money when you need it. I.e. if you hardly ever use it, £10 every few months might be enough for you.

The £30 18 month contract isn't very good value for money.

The 24 month deals aren't necessarily much cheaper even though they tie you in for longer. I.e. if you took the 18 month £34.26 deal and after 18 months switched to the O2 Simplicity £19.58 tariff (virtually identical but many more texts but no Visual Voicemail or Cloud Wifi access) then cost-of-ownership for 24 months would be £1008.39 as opposed to getting the 24 month £34.26 deal where it would be £997.43. An extra £10 for being locked in for six fewer months isn't too bad. Similarly, if you got the £45 18 month deal then switched to the £29.38 Simplicity, it would cost £1144.37 as opposed to the 24 month £44.05 contract where it would be £1154.09.

If you were to get the 18 month contract and then switch to the O2 Simplicity £9.79 deal + £7.50 bolt on (cheapest way to get unlimited internet) then 24 months would cost £906.39. Not too bad that way but you get so few minutes and texts its very limiting.

The best value I think is to consider getting the 18 month £45 contract and then switching down your contract to £35 a month after six months (which I'm pretty sure you can do). Then if you were to go the O2 simplicity £19.58 route at 18 months, 24 months would only cost you £968.09.

Of course, if you got a Pay&Go iPhone and only used £10 credit a month then 24 months would cost you £778.30 (£538.30 + £10*24).

So, like I say, if you really are a light user then Pay&Go would work out cheaper over 24 months than any contract.

Good ideas, just one clarification: You can only switch down the contract after 9 months not 6, which is a bit of a shame.

If the OP really doesn't need that many minutes, then yup I definitely agree on going for PAYG.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Good ideas, just one clarification: You can only switch down the contract after 9 months not 6, which is a bit of a shame.

If the OP really doesn't need that many minutes, then yup I definitely agree on going for PAYG.

Fixed, thanks.

 

[GlynJones]

Wow, thanks for doing all the calculations. It certainly helps with my decision.

I'm leaning towards the PAYG at the moment.

Will o2 be able to transfer my number for Monthly to PAYG?

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Wow, thanks for doing all the calculations. It certainly helps with my decision.

I'm leaning towards the PAYG at the moment.

Will o2 be able to transfer my number for Monthly to PAYG?

I think you can but it'll take a while. You have to cancel your contract with O2, wait to get the PAC number then give O2 Pay & Go your PAC number. I'd contact O2 Pay & Go and ask them direct though.