Warning to those going from Contract to Next on ATT with 1-2 lines

[petefza]

You can sell the phone at the end for the same amount either way, but the trick is, you have to buy a new phone or else you no longer have a phone. Hence, it's not really a wash because that $200 turns around and turns right back into another phone. Whether it pays the $200 up-front cost on a contract, or pre-pays ~8 months on NEXT is immaterial.

I get what you are saying...even if I sell my phones I still have to buy new ones, so while it is a wash now, there was a point where I originally laid out the $200 for each phone. That sounds confusing, but I get where you're coming from.

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Yes, if you buy considerably more data than you need, you will pay for it every month. You're going from effectively 10GB to 30GB data. Compare at 10GB and the costs are much more similar. The most cost-effective way to buy data (or minutes in the old days) is to look at your usage and buy slightly less than you use in your peak months. If you use 9GB most months and go over 3-4 times/year, it's far better to buy 10GB and pay overages than pay and extra $30/month every month no matter what.

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Well, that and you are effectively buying 3x as much data as you are currently. That's not going to come free - no matter how good their marketing.

Well right now I have 2 unlimited plans that use around 15GB of data per month, and one line that is capped at 3GB that uses all 3GB a month. So, together, we use around 18 GB a month, and since I have never tethered before, I'm assuming that will be a few more GB's a month.

 

[zhenya]

I get what you are saying...even if I sell my phones I still have to buy new ones, so while it is a wash now, there was a point where I originally laid out the $200 for each phone. That sounds confusing, but I get where you're coming from.

Yep, it's good to understand this well enough to make sure you aren't being hosed, but ultimately you should set yourself up with a plan that makes your life easiest even if it costs a little bit more over time.

I could have saved money if I'd never upgraded my plans over the years - kept my 550 minute plan, 200 texts, etc. However AT&T has been strategic over the years in offering me something to give that stuff up. Right now I'm pretty happy as to where my bill is at. It's easy to understand (for the first time I can remember EVER for a phone company, as long as I've been paying the bills).

When they introduced NEXT last year they even let those of us on contract off-contract early if we switched which meant I got a $15 discount on my line for 8 months or so - that was all free money.

I might theoretically like more data than I have now but for me making due with 2GB/month saves me $40/month over the 10GB plans they like to push. I can be a tiny bit careful in exchange for nearly $500/year.

 

[macher]

Your math is totally off... but almost all agree that an unlimited with essentially 1 phone is cheaper than all other plans. I say 1 phone since data is really only needed for 1 in your case.

Now if you are using 20GB per month on your phone and being throttled at 5 GB is a problem. Then that would be a better reason...

Others will either let this thread die or correct the math for you

Why do people think throttling is so bad? When I'm throttled it doesn't feel like I'm throttled cause I still get LTE pings. Even if you're throttled at 500 down and up and the pings are low you still get speeds that you're able to use your device.

 

[MacTechnics]

I was in the AT&T store yesterday and all the employees were pushing the NEXT plans to everyone. That, coupled with the fact that they take away that $25 discount for NOT being on NEXT leaves me skeptical about NEXT. Companies push what's better for them in the end, to maximize profit. They don't push what's better for the consumer to save money while they make less. I don't like leasing cars anyway, so I would never "lease" a phone with NEXT.

 

[titans1127]

Why do people think throttling is so bad? When I'm throttled it doesn't feel like I'm throttled cause I still get LTE pings. Even if you're throttled at 500 down and up and the pings are low you still get speeds that you're able to use your device.

Exactly, I dislike that there is this stigma that being on an unlimited plan is like being on a 5GB plan. If that was true we would be paying $20 more and overage charges. Like you said, you still get LTE pings so sites still load up normally. It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Streaming audio and video still work just fine. I only see things taking a little longer than usual if I am in a poor coverage area.

 

[joelb727]

I don't like leasing cars anyway, so I would never "lease" a phone with NEXT.

Choices are good. No one is forcing anyone to do anything.

One thing… you are incorrect if you think NEXT is a leasing program… which it's not. It's actually a 0% financing program. The phone is yours once it's paid off.

You don't really think that the subsidy "contract" phones are NOT being paid for completely by you, do you? ATT is building/hiding the remaining cost of the phone in your monthly contract fees.

 

[MacTechnics]

After you've paid full non-subsidized price it better be yours lol

 

[aristobrat]

I don't like leasing cars anyway, so I would never "lease" a phone with NEXT.

Next is literally a 0% APR financing plan.

Funny you mention cars, because to me, the format of the Next contract (below) looks very much like the format of the contract when you finance a car.

Just like with a car, after you make your payments, the phone is yours. Except AT&T doesn't hold a "title" on your phone, so you're actually free to sell your phone at anytime during your Next contract ... you're still obligated to finish making the payments on it, though.

As for being suspicious about Next because companies only do what's best for them, my guess is that the Next type of contract looks better on their books vs. the way they traditionally subsidized the phones.

 

[packgolfdude]

The Next v/s 2 yr contract should be separate discussion.

You can spin these numbers any way you want with regards to the unlimited plan v/s MSV. I just switched to MSV (6GB) and I am saving $50 a month from my old unlimited plan and 2 separate iPad plans ($25/25 now is $10/$10). Plus I get a 23% discount.

The next plan is great if you want to upgrade your phone every year, if you keep your phone for 2+ years then it's not as great a deal, simple as that. A lot of people want to upgrade there phones after 12 months and now they have that option with a cheap monthly plan. Plus, you get a deal on your service with the Next plan which offsets the savings you would have had on the 2 year contract.

 

[petefza]

Choices are good. No one is forcing anyone to do anything.

One thing… you are incorrect if you think NEXT is a leasing program… which it's not. It's actually a 0% financing program. The phone is yours once it's paid off.

You don't really think that the subsidy "contract" phones are NOT being paid for completely by you, do you? ATT is building/hiding the remaining cost of the phone in your monthly contract fees.

While I agree with you that on a current share/Next program you are right ($40 instead of $15 per month), how does it apply to my situation above? While I agree that all of these comarisons make sense if you're comparing mobile share to mobile share, I don't think it makes sense when comparing them to the grandfathered plans that some of us have with unlimited data. That is why there are so many of us asking the question of which one is better, because it is more difficult to compare them to the older plans.

 

[aristobrat]

After you've paid full non-subsidized price it better be yours lol

If you don't use Next on these new Share plans (and sign a 2-year contract instead), you wind up pay $799 for a $649 phone. Not only should it then be yours, but they should personally come thank you!!!

 

[joelb727]

While I agree with you that on a current share/Next program you are right ($40 instead of $15 per month), how does it apply to my situation above? While I agree that all of these comarisons make sense if you're comparing mobile share to mobile share, I don't think it makes sense when comparing them to the grandfathered plans that some of us have with unlimited data. That is why there are so many of us asking the question of which one is better, because it is more difficult to compare them to the older plans.

You sound lucky that you were never throttled… where you are using 18gb monthly, we were at the 5GB threshold for each phone monthly. So if I was you, I think I may have had a tougher time dropping unlimited. I never thought I would have had such a tough time changing a phone plan (unlimited) myself. This was my situation:

Been with ATT for 17+ years. Former grandfathered customer on both my wife's and my lines. Moved to NEXT last week after much thought. Honestly, I was an idiot because we've only upgraded our iPhones every three years, so as not too loose the ability to upgrade when we were compelled by an iPhone we thought worthy. So that means that for two years over the past six, I've been overpaying for our devices to ATT.

Lower bill. Flexibility to upgrade each year if we want to. No hidden costs or overpaying for devices. Flexibility to bump up my data plan "on an as needed basis" if I think i'm going to be over 30gb (and we've been throttled before). Plus, my wife and I (even with robust traveling schedules) seem to jump from wifi to wifi in our daily lives.

I like that there are more choices now. I'm hoping that I don't regret it later.

 

[aristobrat]

The next plan is great if you want to upgrade your phone every year, if you keep your phone for 2+ years then it's not as great a deal, simple as that.

To me, unless you're on some weird old plan, if you're on a 2-year contract and keep your phone for more than 2 years, you're screwing yourself (because your monthly service rate doesn't go down after two years, even though you've paid back your subsidy).

 

[joelb727]

To me, unless you're on some weird old plan, if you're on a 2-year contract and keep your phone for more than 2 years, you're screwing yourself (because your monthly service rate doesn't go down after two years, even though you've paid back your subsidy).

I was that idiot… twice! ATT is not giving anyone anything. They are not giving you a phone for the subsidy price. Rather, they are building the remaining cost of the phone into your monthly contract fees.. on top of which they are charging ETF. So in essence, if you don't upgrade once your contract is up, then you will continue paying on the phone(s)… Just like the smartest guy in the room… me!

 

[zhenya]

I was in the AT&T store yesterday and all the employees were pushing the NEXT plans to everyone. That, coupled with the fact that they take away that $25 discount for NOT being on NEXT leaves me skeptical about NEXT. Companies push what's better for them in the end, to maximize profit. They don't push what's better for the consumer to save money while they make less. I don't like leasing cars anyway, so I would never "lease" a phone with NEXT.

The primary disservice they are doing is pushing everyone to 10GB and up plans. Otherwise, if you educate yourself these plans are remarkably transparent.

As stated, NEXT is not a lease, and in any case, even if you treat it like a lease by trading in every 12 months, it's still not a terrible deal for people who are doing that anyways. Like with automobiles, leasing just means you pay only for the depreciation of the item you are leasing. If you understand what that means, it can be used to your advantage and may make for some killer deals.

 

[dago5252]

It is financial merchandising at its best. Att is positioning themselves to grow market share with these new plans. Think about it, there are a lot of people that would love to get a new phone but cannot afford too. With the Next plan, there is no out of pocket costs and you are eligible for an upgrade early. Att realizes the opportunity for residual business and this is not a bad approach. We actually do similar leases in the forklift business.

 

[dishfan82]

I was in the AT&T store yesterday and all the employees were pushing the NEXT plans to everyone. That, coupled with the fact that they take away that $25 discount for NOT being on NEXT leaves me skeptical about NEXT. Companies push what's better for them in the end, to maximize profit. They don't push what's better for the consumer to save money while they make less. I don't like leasing cars anyway, so I would never "lease" a phone with NEXT.

Of course they do push it because it's full price for the phone so they make more $$$ off the sale. I have T-mobile and with jump it used to be after 6 months you could upgrade even if the phone wasn't half paid off. People complained 6 months was too long so they changed it to where it has to be half paid before you can turn in the phone. It all depends on if you want to get a new phone every year. Like May keep the iPhone 6 until the 7s. I'm not sure. One thing about jump is you have to pay off your device in full if you want to sell it because otherwise T-mobile will block the number on the phone so it won't be able to be activated. I had to pay off my jump in full and then I sold the phone.

 

[ricktat]

Next is literally a 0% APR financing plan.

Funny you mention cars, because to me, the format of the Next contract (below) looks very much like the format of the contract when you finance a car.

Just like with a car, after you make your payments, the phone is yours. Except AT&T doesn't hold a "title" on your phone, so you're actually free to sell your phone at anytime during your Next contract ... you're still obligated to finish making the payments on it, though.

As for being suspicious about Next because companies only do what's best for them, my guess is that the Next type of contract looks better on their books vs. the way they traditionally subsidized the phones.

Stop using facts to support your agenda.
Do you work for AT&T
Get off my lawn!

 

[RyanG]

Stop using facts to support your agenda.
Do you work for AT&T
Get off my lawn!

LOL.

Always surprises me how people goof the math up on these plans.