upgrading with grandfathered plans

[carrieann]

I have AT&T, and when I got the 6s, I was part of the last batches that they allowed to buy a subsidized phone without a "Next" agreement or buying it outright (I paid just the $200). I am also on the grandfathered "unlimited" data plan, and the grandfathered family sharing 550 plan.

Now that the 8 is coming and I'm eligible for an upgrade this year, anyone know what my options are (or based on past upgrades to the 7, what was offered last year)? Do I have to pick a Next plan now, and how does it work with the old unlimited data plan (can I keep it)? The new unlimited plans don't allow for company discounts (no FAN discounts) so I don't want to lose my discount by switching to a new unlimited, yet.

The next plans also still required an initial payment of some sort, yes? So we're still expecting to pay a few hundred plus some per month depending on if we choose 12,24,36 months? If the 8 is going to be more expensive, do you think we'll have the option of using it with Next, and the initial payment will be a lot more?

Just trying to figure out what my options are come launch day

 

[texasaggie13]

You should be able to either pay the full price of the phone via Apple or use Apple's financing option to break out the payments over a couple of years. I am grandfathered into unlimited with AT&T and typically just buy the new phone full price (typically used actually) and just pop my sim card into the new phone.

 

[rui no onna]

The next plans also still required an initial payment of some sort, yes? So we're still expecting to pay a few hundred plus some per month depending on if we choose 12,24,36 months? If the 8 is going to be more expensive, do you think we'll have the option of using it with Next, and the initial payment will be a lot more?

The Next Plans don't require initial/down payment unless you have bad credit. You are required to pay the full sales tax upfront, though, and I think a $20 upgrade fee might be tacked on to your first monthly bill.

AT&T Next Every Year (12 month early upgrade w/trade-in, 24 months installment)
$1000 / 24 months = $41.67/mo

AT&T Next Every 2 Years (24 month early upgrade w/trade-in, 30 months installment) -> pretty bad deal
$1000 / 30 months = $33.33/mo

I'm not sure if AT&T will allow Next on the old plans, though.

Another option is using Apple's financing plan. They have two:

Apple iPhone Upgrade Program (mandatory AppleCare+, 12 months early upgrade w/trade-in, 24 months installment)
($1000 + $130) / 24 months = $47.08/mo

Apple iPhone Payments (no annual upgrade)
$1000 / 24 months = $41.67/mo

 

[jaexprojectxd]

I am on the Grandfathered Unlimited plan as well and I was wondering what my options were last year being that I wanted to purchase the 7+ Jet Black. I spoke to AT&T (in-store and online) and they do not allow Grandfathered plans on the Next plan. I even tried the process of placing the order online, but got stuck at the cart saying I needed to add a data plan, which omitted the Grandfathered plan.

The night that preorders went live, I was looking at the Apple iPhone upgrade program but I was hesitant to place the order fearing that I would lose my data plan. After reading online and speaking to Apple, it was deemed safe so I pulled the trigger and placed my order online.

 

[tivoboy]

I'm still on a grandfathered unlimited plan and still have a subsidy option (based on corporate FAN account policies) but haven't done an upgrade in a couple years. Does anyone know if that will be possible at APPPLE or is it AT&T only for upgrading using a subsidy program?