Verizon Announces Yearly Upgrade Program for iPhone Users

[acctman]

"Extra dollars" is an understatement.

I'm a family of five, and Verizon currently has a shared 18GB family plan promotion for $100, plus $20 per month per smartphone. That's basically comes out to $200 per month for wireless service alone, not including any data overages. Everyone would share a data allotment of 18GB per month.

T-Mobile has a "10GB for all" family plan, with $100 for the first two lines, and $20 per additional smartphone. For the same family of five, that comes out to $160 per month for wireless service. Each smartphone would get their own allotment of 10GB per month, and any unused data gets rolled over, not to mention each smartphone starts out with 10GB of Data Stash. That's a cumulative 50GB per month, versus a paltry 18GB on Verizon, and it's $40 per month cheaper (and that doesn't include the discounts people are getting on their device leases with JUMP! on Demand).

If the 700MHz Band 12 proves to be nearly as strong as Verizon's building penetration, Verizon has a lot less to defend their overpriced services.

that's definitely understandable... they do have promotions that you have to watch out for. I started the year with only 2gb of data for $70 but now i'm at 10gb for $100. They recently had a commercial for $80 for 12gb of data I called up and was told it was for new customers only. I basically said well I'd like more data but want to stay under $100... they ended up giving me a $20 monthly credit and bumped me to and 10gb for $80 plan ... and I got a 19% employers discount (from one of my contracted clients). Most companies have employee discounts with cell providers.

Verizon definitely does not have good everyday pricing plans but, if you watch for the promotions you can get more data at cheaper rates. I'm a self employed developer, so I need consistent fast data connection. Even with all the free hot spots I prefer jumping on LTE for the speed and reliability.

 

[Rocketman]

As a Verizon customer who will not change, I am insulted by the Verizon marketing meme, which openly ignores competition. It occurs to me it is my fault as their loyal customer.

Yes, it's me.

 

[julienpdx]

Just buy your phone outright every year. Stick with buying whatever the "contract free" option is (as its always unlocked) and sell your previous model for 200 off the original price. This has worked every year for me in some way or another since the 5. This is the same thing as getting a new phone every year but skips the contract part. The carriers than compete based on service like they should.

 

[A.Goldberg]

Quite frankly this new system of cell phone pricing has me completely confused.

I'm on my parent's family plan. As far as I know the plan is not any cheaper (though I could be wrong) and yet now instead of paying $200 (2 year service contract) you're paying the retail price of the phone. I guess I'm more confused because I did the 2-yr contract and my sister did the monthly installments and we're on the same plan.

I guess the question is, is this new way of paying for the phone actually saving money on an annual basis?

This just becomes very convoluted. I think sticking to the flat out purchase seems like the most straightforward plan. I'm not a big fan of being locked into a seemingly perpetual cycle of debt.

 

[Amadeo]

I'm confused. How is this different from T-Mobile's basic/original Jump program, which a has been around for quite a long time now?

 

[spazzcat]

Sprints surprise balloon is $7 after 22 months, now that I am leasing, I see no reason not up replace my phone every year...

 

[spazzcat]

How is this much different than Next? You make 12-18-24 payments and trade it in (on the 12 or 18) or buy the phone off (or paid off by 24). The buyoff issue is made very clear.

What the difference?

It only make sense to buy your phone if plan on keeping more then 24 months.

 

[acctman]

"Extra dollars" is an understatement.

I'm a family of five, and Verizon currently has a shared 18GB family plan promotion for $100, plus $20 per month per smartphone. That's basically comes out to $200 per month for wireless service alone, not including any data overages. Everyone would share a data allotment of 18GB per month.

T-Mobile has a "10GB for all" family plan, with $100 for the first two lines, and $20 per additional smartphone. For the same family of five, that comes out to $160 per month for wireless service. Each smartphone would get their own allotment of 10GB per month, and any unused data gets rolled over, not to mention each smartphone starts out with 10GB of Data Stash. That's a cumulative 50GB per month, versus a paltry 18GB on Verizon, and it's $40 per month cheaper (and that doesn't include the discounts people are getting on their device leases with JUMP! on Demand).

If the 700MHz Band 12 proves to be nearly as strong as Verizon's building penetration, Verizon has a lot less to defend their overpriced services.

heads up verizon is running another promo... 18gb for $100

 

[rdlink]

You're gonna be paying a monthly bill for service for the rest of your life... so why not a device payment too and get a new phone each year?

Sure... you can pay off your phone and not have that $27 portion of your bill anymore... but you're still paying the $60+ or whatever for service. So you're not really gonna notice much difference.

I guess it depends on how long you plan to keep your phone. By the time you finish paying it off... it's now a 2 year old phone. I think most people would be ready for an upgrade anyway... and would just roll into a new device payment.

US carriers are (finally) making a clear separation between the service payment and the device payment.

You're gonna have a service payment for the rest of your life regardless. If you're the type of person who wants a new phone often... you'll have that payment too.

It comes down to the same argument that can be made for a car. In fact, this new trend of unsubsidized phones is making the "real" cost of buying a new phone come into focus.

Think of it this way. Your shiny new phone hardware is much like your shiny new car. It's fun and great to have the latest and greatest. But at the end of the day both are just an expense. Not an investment, but an expense. So, the question to ask yourself is what's more important to you. If it's important to drive a new car every couple of years, and always have the greatest, knowing that means you're going to pay more for it you should lease. But if you're someone who wants to minimize your overall costs of driving you should buy a good, solid car and drive it until it is no longer reliable, and/or cost effective to maintain it, or until the technology no longer supports your needs. The old, "drive it until the wheels fall off" strategy.

The same is true for phones. If you always want the latest and greatest, paying cash, or these interest free financing plans are the way to go. I maintain the interest free payments are, financially speaking the best of the two options, because you're using OPM. But if you want to minimize your total cost of ownership for a phone you should either buy a phone via an interest free payment plan, or pay cash for one. And maybe even buy last year's model. Either from Apple or from a third party.

It's not much different than the "good old days." Except for one, important thing that people are not talking about, but they used to complain about a lot: Back in the days of the forced subsidized plans you were always paying for the phone, whether it was under contract or not. Because the carrier built the subsidy into the price of the plan, and would not lower the plan once you reached the end of your two year contract. So you were, in essence being forced into upgrading every two years, or paying for a new phone even though you didn't have one. At least with these new plans you get the option of lowering your monthly payment when you're not carrying a new phone.

 

[Mdbon]

This is a GREAT announcement and do not understand why no one else is as psyched as me about this. The large majority of people are bashing the Verizon device payment program but I think that it is the best thing for many people, like me.

I have a family plan with over 6 gig of data. I just pre-ordered 3 iPhone 6s phones (all 64gig). I am using the device payment program. Each phone cost me $31.24 per month. However, I get a $25 line discount for each of these phones since I am on a More Everything plan with more then 6 gig of data (actually much more). So, the effective monthly price that I am paying (above what I would pay if I kept my old smart phones) for each shiny new 64gig iPhone 6s is $6.24 per month. That's less than $75 per year!

Now, Verizon tells me that they have changed their plan so that one year from now, which is exactly when I have paid off 1/2 of my 24 month plan and the iPhone 7 will very likely be released, I can trade in each of my iPhone 6s devices and they will send me an iPhone 7 and still continue to pay the effective $6.24 per month per iPhone!

How is this not a great deal for someone like me? No need to go out of pocket $750 (or, for me, $750 x 3). Better than the subsidy plans bc no need to pay $299 up front (or, for me, $299 x 3). No need to have to sell my iPhone(s) at the end of the year when I want to upgrade to the newest iPhone. No hassle at all.

So, bash Verizon all you want, I think that this is great. This is similar to the Edge program when it was first announced. Love it. Thank you Verizon!

 

[jntdroid]

Atleast w/ Edge they gave u a discount per line on your plan, now they just give you half price. This is no deal. With my Edge, I owed 320 on my 6 and sold it for 420. So I made $100 from what VZ would give me plus I got a discount per line with Edge.

Where does it say they drop the per line discount? They included the per line discount even if you weren't making Edge payments before, as long as you were using one of their newer plans.

 

[aajeevlin]

But I hate the audacity of anyone telling such bald-faced lies.

This is what gets me the most with just about everything. Companies, salesman tells bald-faced lies. I sometime go to Apple store just to hear that kind of crap they are feeding their customer these days. Try it, you won't be disappointed, I have gotten a lot of good jokes out of what Apple sales tells their customer.

 

[aajeevlin]

Now, Verizon tells me that they have changed their plan so that one year from now, which is exactly when I have paid off 1/2 of my 24 month plan and the iPhone 7 will very likely be released, I can trade in each of my iPhone 6s devices and they will send me an iPhone 7 and still continue to pay the effective $6.24 per month per iPhone!

Your math was good until you got to the $6.24 per month per iPhone. Where did that number come from? You still have to continue to pay the $31+ per month per month. Am I missing something?

 

[aajeevlin]

that's definitely understandable... they do have promotions that you have to watch out for. I started the year with only 2gb of data for $70 but now i'm at 10gb for $100. They recently had a commercial for $80 for 12gb of data I called up and was told it was for new customers only. I basically said well I'd like more data but want to stay under $100... they ended up giving me a $20 monthly credit and bumped me to and 10gb for $80 plan ... and I got a 19% employers discount (from one of my contracted clients). Most companies have employee discounts with cell providers.

Verizon definitely does not have good everyday pricing plans but, if you watch for the promotions you can get more data at cheaper rates. I'm a self employed developer, so I need consistent fast data connection. Even with all the free hot spots I prefer jumping on LTE for the speed and reliability.

That's pretty much the ONLY reason that I'm with them, I was lucky to get the double data deal about a year ago. Basically you pick the data plan that you want, and they double it by keeping the same price. So I have 40GB for about $150 (before 25% company discount). Plus I'm done with the whole new phone thing, I'll upgrade when my phone craps out on me.

 

[Mdbon]

Your math was good until you got to the $6.24 per month per iPhone. Where did that number come from? You still have to continue to pay the $31+ per month per month. Am I missing something?

Let's assume that I have an iPhone 5 on my More Everything Plan with more than 6gig of data a month. In addition to my data, I am paying $40 per month for that line (line access fee). Now, I take that same line and get a 6s on a device payment plan. Verizon charges me $31.24 per month. But, Verizon gives me a $25 break on the line access fee for that line, dropping the monthly line access fee from $40 to $15/month. So, I pay an additional $31.24 on my monthly bill, but I get a $25 savings on that same bill. I am effectively paying an additional $6.24 more per month for an iPhone 6s compared to if I keep my iPhone 5. No additional out of pocket upfront for the 6s (although I do pay the sales tax upfront). I then I continue paying the same amount and trade-in my iPhone each year for the newest model.

 

[aajeevlin]

Let's assume that I have an iPhone 5 on my More Everything Plan with more than 6gig of data a month. In addition to my data, I am paying $40 per month for that line (line access fee). Now, I take that same line and get a 6s on a device payment plan. Verizon charges me $31.24 per month. But, Verizon gives me a $25 break on the line access fee for that line, dropping the monthly line access fee from $40 to $15/month. So, I pay an additional $31.24 on my monthly bill, but I get a $25 savings on that same bill. I am effectively paying an additional $6.24 more per month for an iPhone 6s compared to if I keep my iPhone 5. No additional out of pocket upfront for the 6s (although I do pay the sales tax upfront). I then I continue paying the same amount and trade-in my iPhone each year for the newest model.

I see, this gets the price very similar to getting on with the Verizon's new no-contract plan. You pay the same $31.24 + $20 (per month line access fee). However your still comes up about $5 cheaper each month.

 

[Mdbon]

I see, this gets the price very similar to getting on with the Verizon's new no-contract plan. You pay the same $31.24 + $20 (per month line access fee). However your still comes up about $5 cheaper each month.

Yes, but I took advantage of a promo they ran a while back where they gave me double the data for the same price. I pay $130 for 30 gig of data (plus the monthly line access charge(s)) . On the new plans, 30 gig of data would cost me $225 month (plus the monthly line access charge(s)). I don't want to switch and lose that promo. And my family actually uses close to all of that data per month

 

[aajeevlin]

Yes, but I took advantage of a promo they ran a while back where they gave me double the data for the same price. I pay $130 for 30 gig of data (plus the monthly line access charge(s)) . On the new plans, 30 gig of data would cost me $225 month (plus the monthly line access charge(s)). I don't want to switch and lose that promo. And my family actually uses close to all of that data per month

Haha, same here I just wrote about it a few posts above. We have 40GB for $112 (with discount), plus additional 6GB of promotional data. I'll stay with Verizon as long as I have this plan.

 

[Mdbon]

Haha, same here I just wrote about it a few posts above. We have 40GB for $112 (with discount), plus additional 6GB of promotional data. I'll stay with Verizon as long as I have this plan.

You win! I only have 4 gig of promo data (plus my 30gig for $130) and no company discount (but I still think that my deal is good enough to stick with Verizon!)

 

[aajeevlin]

You win! I only have 4 gig of promo data (plus my 30gig for $130) and no company discount (but I still think that my deal is good enough to stick with Verizon!)

The discount doesn't have to be based on the primary user (assuming you), if you wife (brother/sister) works for some company try to use their email address, Verizon only ask for verification using email address.

 

[Cmd-Z]

Seems to be that this is "Edge II" ... as with Mdbon's example, this works for me. Last night I ordered a 64GB 6s Plus through Verizon's new plan which would cost $35.41/month (but in essence $6.41/month with the $25 line discount). Sounded great and pulled the trigger.

This morning I get an email from Verizon's fraud department asking me to call them. I did, and gave them all my pertinent details, and they tell me that my order was cancelled since the ship-to address was not the same as my billing address. I explained that the order form has a check box "Ship to alternate address" (and they sent a confirmation code via text to confirm that it's really me) so why the #!@&!* do they offer that option if it's going to cause my order to be cancelled?! All I got was "Duhhhhh, I don't know ..."

Will order through Apple and not deal with these 'tards ...

 

[aajeevlin]

You win! I only have 4 gig of promo data (plus my 30gig for $130) and no company discount (but I still think that my deal is good enough to stick with Verizon!)

Now that I think about it, this looks great with the $25 discount on the line access fee. However, I'm not able to find from Verizon's website where it states that. Can you maybe show me the link to that? Thanks.

 

[Mdbon]

Now that I think about it, this looks great with the $25 discount on the line access fee. However, I'm not able to find from Verizon's website where it states that. Can you maybe show me the link to that? Thanks.

This works for me bc I am on one of the More Everything Plans. See here https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/device-payment-faqs/ ... specifically, Q&A 3:


What are monthly line access charges on the device payment program?

The monthly line access charges vary depending on your calling plan.
For lines on The MORE Everything PlanSM using the device payment program:

Active smartphone lines on MORE Everything Plans up to 4 GB, your monthly access charge is $25. However, it will show up on your bill as a $40 charge with an offsetting $15 credit.

Active smartphone lines on MORE Everything Plans 6 GB and higher have a $15 monthly access charge. However, it will show up on your bill as a $40 charge with an offsetting $25 credit.

Active basic phone lines on the MORE Everything Plan have a $20 monthly access charge. However, it will show up on your bill as a $30 charge with an offsetting $10 credit.

 

[aajeevlin]

This works for me bc I am on one of the More Everything Plans. See here https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/device-payment-faqs/ ... specifically, Q&A 3:


What are monthly line access charges on the device payment program?

The monthly line access charges vary depending on your calling plan.
For lines on The MORE Everything PlanSM using the device payment program:

Active smartphone lines on MORE Everything Plans up to 4 GB, your monthly access charge is $25. However, it will show up on your bill as a $40 charge with an offsetting $15 credit.

Active smartphone lines on MORE Everything Plans 6 GB and higher have a $15 monthly access charge. However, it will show up on your bill as a $40 charge with an offsetting $25 credit.

Active basic phone lines on the MORE Everything Plan have a $20 monthly access charge. However, it will show up on your bill as a $30 charge with an offsetting $10 credit.

Thanks, I actually know about this, I signed my wife up by mistake back with the iPhone 5S, but that was a good mistake. I guess I'll just to read more to find out if I'm allowed to do this since I'm still under contract. I was merely concerned since I didn't see this mentioned anywhere else with the new yearly upgrade plan.

 

[BrentD]

I couldn't find it in any of the articles out there, you still get the monthly discount of $15/$20 for being on the device payment plan?

Yes. The only time you don't get the discount is if you got the device at a discounted price (2 year contract). This is from Verizon's website.

There is no monthly discount for being on a device payment plan if you use one of these new Verizon Plan options. The only way you get that discount is if you are still on a More Everything plan (where your device access fee is double the Verizon Plan).