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What's so bad about the NEXT plan?

D

drober30

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 5, 2007
848
106
For the first time I'm trying to figure out what I should do to upgrade on AT&T.

I usually trade in our phones and it's a wash, even paying a premium for not being eligible for a full upgrade.

However I'm sick of the $188 bill for three phones. AT&T is trying to talk me into the next plan with 10GB of data. My current plan allows for unlimited but we never use more than 4 to 5 GB. 10 GB should be plenty.

I will save $40 a month on my bill but pay full price for the phones. I guess the savings won't really start until after 2 years have passed. Who knows what plans will look like in 2 years...

So why is NEXT good or bad in your opinion?
 
I'm going with NEXT for the first time next week. I see it as a 0% interest financing option and I upgrade every year anyway. The only thing that sucks is that I have to return the phone, but I can live with that. Also, I believe I get a $25 discount on my line if I do NEXT but if I upgrade via the 2 year option, that discount goes away.
 
Was just looking at the options myself.

If I go for the subsidized upgrade I will pay a $40 fee (yes, they raised it) and $25-40 more a month for the service.

Next I would get fee-free financing on the full price of the phone and a lower bill with no upgrade fee.

Works out about the same. So I guess it mostly comes down to do you want to feel like you got a deal on the phone - and then cry when you aren't upgrade eligible for the 6s - OR Save on your bill, but cry when you swipe your card Friday.
 
TheBama said:
Was just looking at the options myself.

If I go for the subsidized upgrade I will pay a $40 fee (yes, they raised it) and $25-40 more a month for the service.

Next I would get fee-free financing on the full price of the phone and a lower bill with no upgrade fee.

Works out about the same. So I guess it mostly comes down to do you want to feel like you got a deal on the phone - and then cry when you aren't upgrade eligible for the 6s - OR Save on your bill, but cry when you swipe your card Friday.
Click to expand...

Unless you do the NEXT 12 plan. You would be able to get a new device every year.
 
Nothing wrong with them. Just depends on what works best for your particular situation and the particular plan you are on--sometimes Next can be better and sometimes it might be worse.
 
I'd like to add that it might be better to not do NEXT if you have one of those excellent old plans before Mobile Share was available.
 
drober30 said:
For the first time I'm trying to figure out what I should do to upgrade on AT&T.

I usually trade in our phones and it's a wash, even paying a premium for not being eligible for a full upgrade.

However I'm sick of the $188 bill for three phones. AT&T is trying to talk me into the next plan with 10GB of data. My current plan allows for unlimited but we never use more than 4 to 5 GB. 10 GB should be plenty.

I will save $40 a month on my bill but pay full price for the phones. I guess the savings won't really start until after 2 years have passed. Who knows what plans will look like in 2 years...

So why is NEXT good or bad in your opinion?
Click to expand...
How often do you upgrade? If you upgrade all 3 phones every 2 years, keep your old plan. Sure, you might be getting a $40 savings per month but keep in mind on your old 2-year contract plan, you're also getting $56.25 per month in subsidies.
 
drober30 said:
For the first time I'm trying to figure out what I should do to upgrade on AT&T.

I usually trade in our phones and it's a wash, even paying a premium for not being eligible for a full upgrade.

However I'm sick of the $188 bill for three phones. AT&T is trying to talk me into the next plan with 10GB of data. My current plan allows for unlimited but we never use more than 4 to 5 GB. 10 GB should be plenty.

I will save $40 a month on my bill but pay full price for the phones. I guess the savings won't really start until after 2 years have passed. Who knows what plans will look like in 2 years...

So why is NEXT good or bad in your opinion?
Click to expand...

I was in the same boat. Wasting money on unlimited. Went to 10gb SHARED, plus tethering. Bill dropped $100. If I want a phone I pay the extra and will probably do next - EXACT same price as buying it outright. But I have the choice at 12 months to trade up, pay it off or finish paying.
 
question, i moved to 10gig family plan when it came out and looking to do next, next week. does anyone know if i can pre order at apples site or does it have to be on att site?
 
pitt1717 said:
question, i moved to 10gig family plan when it came out and looking to do next, next week. does anyone know if i can pre order at apples site or does it have to be on att site?
Click to expand...

NEXT is already an option on the Apple Store iOS app. You can't actually finish the order yet but it lets you do a fake order with NEXT.

I'd have to assume Apple's website will have the same features as the app next week.
 
pitt1717 said:
question, i moved to 10gig family plan when it came out and looking to do next, next week. does anyone know if i can pre order at apples site or does it have to be on att site?
Click to expand...
You can do it on Apple. When I check my upgrade eligibility on Apple's site, pricing for Next 12 shows up there.
 
Was looking into this and wasn't enthralled with it. I was thinking of just getting the phone by adding a line and then paying the ETF.

Sadly I am not upgrade eligible until next year October. I used to have 2 lines and paid the 9.99 a month for one "ghost" line so I could have an upgrade ever year. Was fine until they came out with these ****** shared data plans and now charge $40 a line no matter what.

Ugh. The price we pay for the latest and greatest! :D
 
Ok could someone help me out with the Next program. So I have an grandfather data plan, and my line is on a family plan. If I did Next I would only want to do it for my line. If I choose the iPhone 6 64GB I would be paying $37.45 for the payment a month. Do I get any off my bill a month for doing the Next program? Also will I be able to keep my unlimited data plan and still do Next?

My other option is to do the early upgrade and pay like $549 for the same phone. I am going to sell my iPhone 5s, so I will cover most of it with that. It just seems like the Next plan might work well for me. I like upgrading each year. Plus if I do next I will still sell my 5s and pay off the phone early. Is there anything I missing?
 
bmac4 said:
Ok could someone help me out with the Next program. So I have an grandfather data plan, and my line is on a family plan. If I did Next I would only want to do it for my line. If I choose the iPhone 6 64GB I would be paying $37.45 for the payment a month. Do I get any off my bill a month for doing the Next program? Also will I be able to keep my unlimited data plan and still do Next?

My other option is to do the early upgrade and pay like $549 for the same phone. I am going to sell my iPhone 5s, so I will cover most of it with that. It just seems like the Next plan might work well for me. I like upgrading each year. Plus if I do next I will still sell my 5s and pay off the phone early. Is there anything I missing?
Click to expand...

Early upgrade is better for you since there's no discount for Next on the old grandfathered plans.
 
I recently made some changes to the account. The guy at the ATT store was talking in circles with options and comparisons. I spent a little time that night and figured it out to be that over 24 months Next was like 150 less? Something like that but you have to turn the phone in. And a two year old iPhone will fetch 150$ on eBay any day of the week. In the end, I decided against Next. I think there are probably situations where Next is a deal and situations where it's not a deal. Either way the "savings" are minimal. I really wish the companies would be honest and make the fee structure easy to understand and strait forward.
 
rockyroad55 said:
I'm going with NEXT for the first time next week. I see it as a 0% interest financing option and I upgrade every year anyway. The only thing that sucks is that I have to return the phone, but I can live with that. Also, I believe I get a $25 discount on my line if I do NEXT but if I upgrade via the 2 year option, that discount goes away.
Click to expand...

Of course if pay off the phone you don't have to return it.

This is my plan:

1. Get the Next 12 program at $37.45 per month and pay for 12 months
2. Right before the 2015 iPhone is release pay the balance which should be around $300
3. Presell my iPhone on Gazelle for $300 or so
4. Start the Next 12 program all over again
 
sfwalter said:
Of course if pay off the phone you don't have to return it.

This is my plan:

1. Get the Next 12 program at $37.45 per month and pay for 12 months
2. Right before the 2015 iPhone is release pay the balance which should be around $300
3. Presell my iPhone on Gazelle for $300 or so
4. Start the Next 12 program all over again
Click to expand...

Are you sure you can keep/sell the phone even after you pay it off and start a new NEXT plan without trading in your phone? If so then your plan seems pretty smart to me.

* I found this answer on their web site:

"What if the smartphone isn't in good working condition when it's time to trade it in at 12 or 18 months?"

If you have Mobile Insurance, you may file a claim and pay the deductible for a replacement smartphone, then use your replacement smartphone as your AT&T Next trade-in. Or, you may choose to just keep your smartphone and complete all installment payments. Once all payments have been made, you can upgrade to a new smartphone with a new AT&T Next installment plan or a 2-year service agreement.


So I think your idea is pretty good!
 
Last edited:
sfwalter said:
Of course if pay off the phone you don't have to return it.

This is my plan:

1. Get the Next 12 program at $37.45 per month and pay for 12 months
2. Right before the 2015 iPhone is release pay the balance which should be around $300
3. Presell my iPhone on Gazelle for $300 or so
4. Start the Next 12 program all over again
Click to expand...

BINGO!!

sfalter nailed it!!!
 
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