Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What to add to make iPhone plan upgrade eligible next year?

F

freediverdude

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 26, 2006
573
0
Hi there- Well, my current iPhone plan is the 450 minute plan + unlimited texts = 89.99 + taxes. So this year I had to pay the $499 price for the 3GS.

What I'm wondering is, I'm trying to think ahead for next year- what are my options for adding a $10 item to my bill every month, so that next year I'll be eligible for the full upgrade pricing? What items count towards the $99+ bill requirement for 12 month eligibility?

I'm thinking if I add a $10 item to my bill every month for the next 12 months, then I'll pay an extra $120 over time, instead of having to pay an extra $200 for next year's phone. Any suggestions?
 
freediverdude said:
Hi there- Well, my current iPhone plan is the 450 minute plan + unlimited texts = 89.99 + taxes. So this year I had to pay the $499 price for the 3GS.

What I'm wondering is, I'm trying to think ahead for next year- what are my options for adding a $10 item to my bill every month, so that next year I'll be eligible for the full upgrade pricing? What items count towards the $99+ bill requirement for 12 month eligibility?

I'm thinking if I add a $10 item to my bill every month for the next 12 months, then I'll pay an extra $120 over time, instead of having to pay an extra $200 for next year's phone. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

how about the AT&T Navigator? its a $9.99 a month and it will put u right there. Or you could add like a couple things like the road side assist, enhanced voicemail and such.
 
nitemare said:
how about the AT&T Navigator? its a $9.99 a month and it will put u right there. Or you could add like a couple things like the road side assist, enhanced voicemail and such.
Click to expand...

First theres not guarentee ATT will be as kind this year as they were last.

Secondly the upgrade they did only applied to voice and data services on the line so no telling if navigator would or wouldn't apply. The safest bet is upping minutes, going unlimited texts. Even then its buyer beware as you may still be SOL next year. Check and see what your upgrade eligible date is. I'd guess its 18 months away in which case they won't be pulling your upgrade forward next year anyway.
 
freediverdude said:
Hi there- Well, my current iPhone plan is the 450 minute plan + unlimited texts = 89.99 + taxes. So this year I had to pay the $499 price for the 3GS.

What I'm wondering is, I'm trying to think ahead for next year- what are my options for adding a $10 item to my bill every month, so that next year I'll be eligible for the full upgrade pricing? What items count towards the $99+ bill requirement for 12 month eligibility?

I'm thinking if I add a $10 item to my bill every month for the next 12 months, then I'll pay an extra $120 over time, instead of having to pay an extra $200 for next year's phone. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Your reasoning is flawed. You are assuming that AT&T will do the same thing next year. The smart move is to not inflate your phone bill and pay for something you have no use for in the off chance they do something similar next year.
 
edk99 said:
Your reasoning is flawed. You are assuming that AT&T will do the same thing next year. The smart move is to not inflate your phone bill and pay for something you have no use for in the off chance they do something similar next year.
Click to expand...

My bill is over $100 a month ($170 family plan with 4 lines). I got the 3GS on June 19th, and checking my upgrade eligibility right now it says I am eligible on June 19th 2010.
 
wait...so at&t bases their two year agreement plan on how much money you've spent with them???

That's news to me
 
xsecretfiles said:
wait...so at&t bases their two year agreement plan on how much money you've spent with them???

That's news to me
Click to expand...

The way I understand it: if you spend over 99.00 per month it can vary from 12-18 months. As was mentioned earlier I upgraded on release day and now my upgrade date says one year from that. So I'm in the one year cycle for iPhone releases it appears. If AT&T had not let some of us get it on release day I would have had to wait about 3 weeks after release before I could have purchased the 3GS for the upgrade discount.
 
uberamd said:
For what its worth, I have been able to upgrade phones each year (1 year) for the 2 year new contract price.
Click to expand...

Wow.. I confirm. I also bought mine on launch day.

picture1s.png
 
If you want to add 10 bucks a month just add another line and don't use the subsidy till next year. Or just add the new line for 10 bucks next year and swap the sims.
 
HarrisonB said:
If you want to add 10 bucks a month just add another line and don't use the subsidy till next year. Or just add the new line for 10 bucks next year and swap the sims.
Click to expand...

This is incorrect. When adding a new line, you get the subsidy discount for the phone you buy that day. You can't start a line and tell them you want to save your subsidy til next year. It doesn't work that way. Also, you have to average $99 per line on the account so this would put him much further away from the $99 mark on his line. Just go to the next rate plan up for the $10 extra. This is the easiest way to know you will be there since there are questions about what features count towards it.
 
adding this and paying the extra 10 dollars a month isnt worth it. Your paying the extra 120 dollars a month, its not differnet then buying the iphone at the extra price next year.
 
RKilbane20 said:
adding this and paying the extra 10 dollars a month isnt worth it. Your paying the extra 120 dollars a month, its not differnet then buying the iphone at the extra price next year.
Click to expand...


The extra $120 would be over the course of a year, not every month. Paying $120 spread out across a year as opposed to $200 at once sounds well worth it and much different than buying the iPhone at the extra price next year.
 
I just want to point out that the "over $99" is before taxes and after any FAN/corporate discounts. I pay $105/month for 900 minutes, iPhone data & 1500 texts and am not eligible until 18 months. When I called to ask, they did a LOT of research (multiple supervisors involved) and it turns out that it's not really documented well, but that my FAN discount of 19% ($17/month) brings me down to $88 in AT&T's eyes.

$17/month savings = $204/year though, so it's not like they haven't already given me enough to pay the difference in an upgrade anyway.

Additionally, they look at 3 month averages, so if you upgrade your features to put you over $99, it'll be a few months before it takes effect and changes your upgrade date.
 
jkozlow3 said:
I just want to point out that the "over $99" is before taxes and after any FAN/corporate discounts. I pay $105/month for 900 minutes, iPhone data & 1500 texts and am not eligible until 18 months. When I called to ask, they did a LOT of research (multiple supervisors involved) and it turns out that it's not really documented well, but that my FAN discount of 19% ($17/month) brings me down to $88 in AT&T's eyes.

$17/month savings = $204/year though, so it's not like they haven't already given me enough to pay the difference in an upgrade anyway.

Additionally, they look at 3 month averages, so if you upgrade your features to put you over $99, it'll be a few months before it takes effect and changes your upgrade date.
Click to expand...
OK, lots of bad information in this thread so far.

The National Account Discount (NAD) is not counted in the calculation of your Monthly Recurring Charges (MRC). Your MRC is based on your voice rate plan and select data plans / features (AT&T gets to pick, you don't), just think any data plan over $30 in an individual line since shared features don't count. BTW, the iPhone data plan is really a "Feature".

Yes, the MRC is calculated on a 3 month rolling average on an individual line basis, so in many cases customers that have a FamilyTalk rate plan with the 2100 minute plan with an iPhone data plan or other individual $30 or higher data plan would qualify for an upgrade on that individual line every 12 months.

Just to be clear, only the $80 part of the $89.99 FamilyTalk 2100 minute rate plan is actually on the primary line. The second line gets $9.99 of the total.

For an individual line you would need to have to have the $79.99 voice plan + a $30 or higher voice / data plan.

Some customers might consider using the $45 Enterprise iPhone data plan to get above the magic greater then $99 per month MRC. An extra $15 per month would be $180 per year for a net savings of $20 next year. Again, not sure this is worth the time or money. :(

Dave
 
I also have the 450 and unlimited messaging for $90 before taxes. I use the $9/mo early night minutes add-on, and the $3/mo roadside assistance add-on, and that puts my monthly bill at just under $102 before taxes. That's probably about as close as I can cut it while getting a feature I can actually use. I confirmed with the AT&T customer service representative (dialing 611, then 1, then 0, then 0) after a long wait on hold while he was conferring with other managers, that I will be eligible for the 12-month upgrade plan.
 
flurffmeister said:
I also have the 450 and unlimited messaging for $90 before taxes. I use the $9/mo early night minutes add-on, and the $3/mo roadside assistance add-on, and that puts my monthly bill at just under $102 before taxes. That's probably about as close as I can cut it while getting a feature I can actually use. I confirmed with the AT&T customer service representative (dialing 611, then 1, then 0, then 0) after a long wait on hold while he was conferring with other managers, that I will be eligible for the 12-month upgrade plan.
Click to expand...

Sure you will be eligible in 12 months but at the "Early Upgrade" rate and not the full subsidy rate. The Care reps are not the ones that make the MRC calculation, it is automated and they are wrong and sorry but your MRC is not going to be greater than $99 per month. :(

This is just like the now "famous", I got the Care rep to note in my account notes that I qualify for the upgrade but when I go to the Apple store, AT&T or Bestbuy they will not let me purchase the iPhone for the full discount (subsidy).

Dave
 
dave006 said:
Sure you will be eligible in 12 months but at the "Early Upgrade" rate and not the full subsidy rate. The Care reps are not the ones that make the MRC calculation, it is automated and they are wrong and sorry but your MRC is not going to be greater than $99 per month. :(

This is just like the now "famous", I got the Care rep to note in my account notes that I qualify for the upgrade but when I go to the Apple store, AT&T or Bestbuy they will not let me purchase the iPhone for the full discount (subsidy).

Dave
Click to expand...

They specifically said that the two options I added on brought my MRC up past the $99 barrier. I called and confirmed again just now with somebody different.
 
flurffmeister said:
They specifically said that the two options I added on brought my MRC up past the $99 barrier.
Click to expand...
First, I am only trying to help so that next year there are not another 100 threads about why don't I qualify for the full upgrade, like we did on June 17, right after the announcement about moving the upgrade eligible date for specific customers that had an MRC greater then $99 and were already upgrade eligible for July, Aug, or Sept 2009.

Here is public snipit that will help reduce the confusion:

Monthly Recurring Cost (MRC) is based on a three month average of your rate plan plus selected data features.

Source: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/upgrade-advantage.jsp

So unless the Care rep can refer you to a public policy as to why adding a couple of low value add-on features become "data features". The $9.00 Early Nights and Weekends is not a data feature and the $3.00 Roadside Assistance will not count in raising your MRC.

If you choose not to believe me, just call Customer Care again and see how they can explain the information on the link above?

Dave
 
Well thank you for your replies so far. Now I'm even more confused, lol. I guess somebody at AT&T needs to define exactly what "selected data features" are that go into your calculation of MRC. I would think the early nights and weekends feature though would be considered part of your rate plan? The roadside service might be questionable, though.
 
dave006 said:
OK, lots of bad information in this thread so far.

The National Account Discount (NAD) is not counted in the calculation of your Monthly Recurring Charges (MRC). Your MRC is based on your voice rate plan and select data plans / features (AT&T gets to pick, you don't), just think any data plan over $30 in an individual line since shared features don't count. BTW, the iPhone data plan is really a "Feature".

Yes, the MRC is calculated on a 3 month rolling average on an individual line basis, so in many cases customers that have a FamilyTalk rate plan with the 2100 minute plan with an iPhone data plan or other individual $30 or higher data plan would qualify for an upgrade on that individual line every 12 months.

Just to be clear, only the $80 part of the $89.99 FamilyTalk 2100 minute rate plan is actually on the primary line. The second line gets $9.99 of the total.

For an individual line you would need to have to have the $79.99 voice plan + a $30 or higher voice / data plan.

Some customers might consider using the $45 Enterprise iPhone data plan to get above the magic greater then $99 per month MRC. An extra $15 per month would be $180 per year for a net savings of $20 next year. Again, not sure this is worth the time or money. :(

Dave
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave. Perhaps I was given incorrect information by AT&T then about my FAN discount bringing me down below $99?

I have an individual plan.

$60 for 900 minutes
$30 iPhone data
$15 for 1500 texts
------------------
$105
-19% discount (applies to voice & data only - not text plan)
------------------
$88 before taxes

So are you saying that they don't count texts as data then? It's either texts or my FAN discount that is disqualifying me. I have to imagine my plan + features is the most popular package out there for iPhone users, so I'm just trying to understand what exactly is counted toward the $99 and what isn't. AT&T doesn't seem to know themselves.

And yes, I understand that the $17/month in discounts I've been receiving has already made up for my subsidy. I just want to know what is keeping me from being eligible - text plans not counting or FAN discount?

Thanks!
 
AustinSTI said:
First theres not guarentee ATT will be as kind this year as they were last.
Click to expand...

edk99 said:
Your reasoning is flawed. You are assuming that AT&T will do the same thing next year. The smart move is to not inflate your phone bill and pay for something you have no use for in the off chance they do something similar next year.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I wouldn't be looking to add something to my bill since there is no guarantee that it will work.
 
You should have added a line to your plan this year to get the 3gs and then cancel the line. That way next year your original line would be avalible for an upgrade in 2010.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back