I agree. Hanging onto "unlimited data" has become a sort of religion for some.
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Trying to decide between Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program vs. AT&T 2yr Subsidy pricing
- Thread starter melman101
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I'm not sure where this cost lies, but I do hope to re-coup it when I get the phone. I have a feeling my bill isn't going to go down.
My wife has been known to use 15 - 20gb. And I can go as high as 5 - 10gb. And we have a third line (which has just 2gb of data).
It'll be a cold day in hell before I relinquish my unlimited plan.
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Again, it's called convenience. No carrier upgrades, every year just go to Apple.
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And listen, this was not an easy decision by any means. The choice between dropping $1100 dollars now (for 2 iPhone 6S Plus 128gb), and keeping the phones for 2 years, or the choice of paying monthly for the rest of my life definitely stewed around in my conscious for a while. I guess the benefit is, if we ever wanted to, we could always go back to subsidized contract pricing, or we could keep the phones if we wanted to be really frugal. But I find that in 2 - 3 years time, the phone battery just isn't the same anymore. And that's not to say the battery went bad, it's just that the software keeps using juice. My 5S, I swear, dies way faster than when I first got it. Yet when I brought it to Apple a month ago, they said my battery was at 90% of it's initial capacity.
I think for some people, this plan is amazing. And I think for other people, they will be happy with buying subsidized or AT&T Next, or T-Mobile Jump on Demand, or Sprint's forever plan.
I do think the Apple Program is way better than AT&T Next that is for sure.
If you don't get a discount by not taking a subsidy, you absolutely should get a subsidized phone every 2 years. If you want to upgrade every year, then simply sell it and buy one off contract every other year. You will be saving $450 every 2 years by doing this.
If you have unlimited data you've likely been with them for a while, and probably aren't going to move on anytime soon.
If you have unlimited data you've likely been with them for a while, and probably aren't going to move on anytime soon.
We aren't moving on anytime soon. But I don't like to sell anything. I'm one of those people. So convenience reigns true again.
Edit: Also, does anyone know if it's completely true if you are out of contract, you get a discount? I don't think that works with the unlimited data family talk plans.
The discount only works on the new plans.
So basically what you're saying is you don't want to buy an iPhone every 2 years for just $199, and would rather spend $650 just because it's easier. If you're worried about selling it yourself (which I've had no problems with), you can always sell it to those phone repair shops or trade it in at the carrier.
I'm not buying the $199.99 ($650). I'm buying the $499.99 ($950) one. The math actually works out better on that phone than any other phone they are offering.
To each his own. Honestly, I may be losing out on some cash, but whatever.
I actually offset the cost of my phone with having my job give me a $50 dollar cell phone stipend every month. So it is actually going to cost me nothing. My wife's phone, yeah I may be out some cash.
You only live once.
You get the discount on Mobile Share data plans over 10GB.
Incidentally, your example above is at or under 30GB/mo. You would find yourself saving quite a bit of money if you ditched your unlimited plan.
I can appreciate the emotional attachment to it though... and, it's only money after all.
It's still a $450 savings you are losing out on, but to each his own!
Agreed!
Agreed!
Geoff - You know how I can somehow rationalize it? Really FUZZY LOGIC LMAO!
The iPhone 6S 128GB + AppleCare+ costs $1078
I pay $538 for the year. I give it back to Apple in 12 months. They essentially give me $540 (because the phone costs $1078) and I start again.
That logic falls apart when you use the AT&T Subsidy pricing, but whatever. I feel good LOL
When your contract is over, and you're using the phone you bought from Apple, AT&T will take $25/mo off your plan.
According to a lot of people, that's only for the newer plans, and not the old ones.
I'll have 2 phones out of contract, and 1 phone still in contract with a 2gb data plan (till December). Do all phones need to be out of contract?
Admittedly didn't read this whole thread but just wanted to make sure you know you're going to pay tax on the full price of the phone whenever you get a new one from Apple. Won't be the case with subsidy... If this has already been said feel free to ignore me.
Yeah, I know that actually. That sucks to be honest. Taxes are due during the first payment which is when you pick up the phone.
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You guys are seriously making me question my decision. LOL.
To put that another way.. due to emotional attachment to an unused unlimited data plan, you're giving up a free Apple Watch.
No, it's per line. But you're right, you never get a discount for being out of contract on those legacy unlimited plans.
It's not the plan itself, as most older plans are actually cheaper, it's just the subsidy.
Yea, my plan is actually pretty good. Was just looking at the prices for the Mobile Share Value. I think I actually am pretty much on par with that 20gb share plan.
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Yeah I'm just losing out on the subsidy discount I guess. Oh well, Verizon has been forcing their customers for years to buy their phones at full retail to keep their unlimited plans. I'll pretend I'm on Verizon LOL.
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Yeah I'm just losing out on the subsidy discount I guess. Oh well, Verizon has been forcing their customers for years to buy their phones at full retail to keep their unlimited plans. I'll pretend I'm on Verizon LOL.
And the $25 discount that you can't get with the unlimited plan.
He's getting rid of the subsidy, but not getting the advantage of getting rid of it because he won't get rid of unlimited data.$25/line/month is a bunch of money to leave on the table. I'm sure AT&T loves it.
Not sure I'm understanding you correctly. I'm on the unlimited plan as well and there is absolutely no way that switching to mobile share would save me money. I pay $71/month including a subsidized phone. There's no way to beat it without going prepaid as far as I can tell. Even then, I"m only saving around $11/month and getting much less data and losing the subsidy.
And the $25 discount that you can't get with the unlimited plan.
$25/line/month is a bunch of money to leave on the table. I'm sure AT&T loves it.
I'm sure it's a completely different program.. That being said AT&T will discount the mobile shad if you say you're cancelling...
There is no such thing as a subsidy. You just got an upfront discount, and larger monthly payments over the life of the contract. It all evens out in the end. I used to have three unlimited plans. Now the three of us share 40GB/mo and we do pay less than we used to.
I'm going with the Apple plan instead of AT&T NEXT for the simple reason that I don't want to be tied to the carrier in any way when my contract runs out in May. I gave up my unlimited plan last year (went to a Family Share 10GB for my three lines - two of which use data and my dad who has a flip phone) and have never regretted it for one second.
I agree, hence why I couldn't believe he's not taking the subsidized phone and saving $450And the $25 discount that you can't get with the unlimited plan.
$25/line/month is a bunch of money to leave on the table. I'm sure AT&T loves it.
3x unlimited = 40GB?
Not even close to the same comparison.
With only 1 line, obviously the mobile share plan is not the right choice. If you're actually paying $71/mo with a subsidized phone and unlimited data, then these plans are obviously not for you.
The OP has three lines and is certainly paying significantly more than $71/mo.