Purchase new iphone 5s question

[DaveMike11]

Hello,

I'm planning to get a new connection iphone for my wife as a gift along with a new connection. She needs the iPhone 5s Gold version.
I'm currently with AT&T without contract. I need to add a new line as a family plan. I went to AT&T store last weekend and checked out options to get the phone. They explained 4 options to buy the iphone.
1. 2 yrs contract
2. AT&T Next Plan
3. Pay Full price and buy the phone
4. Bring your own device & get a connection

My questions:
1. Which option most people buy? 2 yrs contract or AT&T next plan?
2. Is there a catch in AT&T next plan? Assuming I use the phone for 18 months ~ 2yrs. will I end up in paying more in the next plan vs 2 years contract?
3. Should i buy the new iphone at Apple store at full retail price and just get a connection? which of the 3 options would i save money?

Appreciate your time and suggestions.

Thanks in advance

 

[blevins321]

AT&T Next is nice because when you finance it, you can get a new one after a year and they'll waive the rest of the payments (and start you on a new plan).

My 64GB 5S was $37/mo for 24 months ($888). About the same as a with-tax outright price.

 

[0007776]

AT&T Next is nice because when you finance it, you can get a new one after a year and they'll waive the rest of the payments (and start you on a new plan).

I'm pretty sure to take advantage of that you have to return the phone to AT&T. Unless you really want to avoid the hassle you are better off buying full price and if you want to upgrade in a year sell your phone and buy the new one with the money you got from selling your old one.

Probably your best bet is looking to see if there is a difference in the monthly price between getting it subsidized with a 2 year contract or buying it at full cost and bringing your own phone. I'm not sure what AT&T is doing with that, but if there isn't a price difference in your service charge with the contract and you don't plan on leaving AT&T that is the way to go. If there is a price difference see how much it is, but most likely your best deal is buying at full price.

 

[lordofthereef]

There are some promotions that you could take advantage of currently.

First of all, do you care about your phone number and/or have a grandfathered plan? If not, you can cancel your line of service completely and open two new lines (one for you one for wife). They will give you a $100 credit on your account for EACH line after 45 days has passed.

Each NEXT phone you get also allows a waived $36 activation fee. You need to do that on the same day you activate your line. otherwise they may not be able to do it in store (we ran into this problem wanting to go with next about 3 days later... they were able to do it but they had to make some calls and it was just a PITA).

All that said I have always had great luck with AT&T crediting me activation fees over the phone or through online chat. If your entire account looks brand new to then, they may be less likely. I had no issues getting rid of my old number because it was a midwest phone number that I picked up while in school. I wanted a 617 anyway.

As far as Next, it is the same as buying outright. The difference is that you are paying an interest free monthly rate. There is an 18 and a 26 month plan, the latter of which is the lowest rate as you are breaking the retail price up into more payment. With the 18 month plan you can upgrade at 12 months (you hand AT&T the handset you had been paying on and pick a new one). With the 26 month plan you can upgrade in 20 months (same rules apply). At any times you can pay the ENTIRE remainder (what is left to pay off of the retail value of the phone) and then the phone is yours. You can also do this at the end of your 12 month (say at 12 months you have $190 to pay off and you can get $300 for the used phone. You can opt to pay it off, get another next phone and SELL or keep your previous handset or you can trade it right in and they wipe the money owed). I really feel that the best deal for a NEXT user who DOESN'T insist on a new device yearly is the 26 month plan. The 5S 16GB is $25 a month and you get an entirely new phone at the end. Yes, you still trade your phone in, but for those who don't care about the handset they had before it's a no brainer. And if you pay it off, your bill is $25/mo cheaper from there on out.

The two year contract option has pretty much been left for legacy plans, but will likely not be what most people go for. I expect them to go completely contract free within the next couple of years. Most, if not all, previous plans (excluding maybe data unlimited) are MORE expensive than the near 10+GB share plans with next.

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I'm pretty sure to take advantage of that you have to return the phone to AT&T. Unless you really want to avoid the hassle you are better off buying full price and if you want to upgrade in a year sell your phone and buy the new one with the money you got from selling your old one.

You can always opt to hop on next on day one and pay the remainder of what is left on the phone at the end of your 12 months. On a 16GB 5S the difference comes out to $190 (this does't include taxes but I purchased in a tax free state).

Selling it locally ends up being a difference of about $100, give or take, depending on where you are located and ohos saturated the market is. If we are talking close to launch day, the old handsets are always going for dirt cheap.

 

[T5BRICK]

Buying your phone outright or using Next end up costing the same.

With the new shared plans on AT&T, you save $15 per line that is off contract on the plans less than 10GB, and it saves you $25 per line off contract on the 10GB and larger plans.

OP, you're gonna have to do the math yourself to see which plan is the best deal.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

Hello,

I'm planning to get a new connection iphone for my wife as a gift along with a new connection. She needs the iPhone 5s Gold version.
I'm currently with AT&T without contract. I need to add a new line as a family plan. I went to AT&T store last weekend and checked out options to get the phone. They explained 4 options to buy the iphone.
1. 2 yrs contract
2. AT&T Next Plan
3. Pay Full price and buy the phone
4. Bring your own device & get a connection

My questions:
1. Which option most people buy? 2 yrs contract or AT&T next plan?
2. Is there a catch in AT&T next plan? Assuming I use the phone for 18 months ~ 2yrs. will I end up in paying more in the next plan vs 2 years contract?
3. Should i buy the new iphone at Apple store at full retail price and just get a connection? which of the 3 options would i save money?

Appreciate your time and suggestions.

Thanks in advance

Is data important? If so, then you may want to go by way of contract. If not, then, buying the phone outright and just getting a talk and text plan is the cheapest route. You can always connect to data via wifi. This is the rout I took with the 5S unlocked I purchased directly from Apple.

 

[T5BRICK]

Is data important? If so, then you may want to go by way of contract. If not, then, buying the phone outright and just getting a talk and text plan is the cheapest route. You can always connect to data via wifi. This is the rout I took with the 5S unlocked I purchased directly from Apple.

I don't believe AT&T will allow you to have an iPhone on their network without a data plan. I've never tried it though, so I guess I could be wrong.

Also, saving money is nice and all, but I just don't think that an iPhone without a data plan would be all that useful. Personally, I'm in an area without WiFi too often.

 

[0007776]

I don't believe AT&T will allow you to have an iPhone on their network without a data plan. I've never tried it though, so I guess I could be wrong.

I've done it on prepaid, but I'm not sure if they will let you do it on a post paid plan, or if all the reps will be willing to sign you up for a plan without data.

 

[T5BRICK]

I've done it on prepaid, but I'm not sure if they will let you do it on a post paid plan, or if all the reps will be willing to sign you up for a plan without data.

Ah, if we're talking about pre-paid, that makes sense.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

I don't believe AT&T will allow you to have an iPhone on their network without a data plan. I've never tried it though, so I guess I could be wrong.

Also, saving money is nice and all, but I just don't think that an iPhone without a data plan would be all that useful. Personally, I'm in an area without WiFi too often.

Okay got it. Then, compare the contract plans to the pay as you go plans (month to month/no contract plans) that include a variety of data choices. For ATT, it's called "Go Phone Plans", this is where you can bring your own device (which you thought about maybe purchasing the 5S through Apple at full price). These plans are similar to T-Mobile's non-contract plans.