AT&T's Next plan

[GuiTuber]

Anybody got a current AT&T plan where you are receiving a discount because your current phone's contract was initiated before a certain date or the contract has expired?

Last year, in order to save some money on our cell phone bill, we switched over to their Mobile Share Plan. $130/mo plus $40 per line access fees. However, we're getting a $25 per line discount each month because of the age of the contracts at the time we switched plans.

Now, if we want to upgrade, we can either pay nothing up front and make monthly installments (the Next plan) of $20-$25/mo per phone, or we can pay the normal discounted price of the phone, e.g. $199 or $299 for an iPhone, and lose the $25/mo discount on each line.

There is very little incentive for us to stay AT&T customers.

Maybe it's time to go back to a simple flip phone.

Edit: and just to do some quick math, under the Next plan, AT&T will get $450 over 18 months at $25/mo. Or I can pay $199, lose the discount and end up paying $649 for the phone over the same 18 month period.

 

[48thStreetCustom]

I have an older plan but I don't get those discounts.

Here's what an AT&T customer service person told me. Right now most of the companies are offering unlimited talk and text. They'll all be switching to unlimited data soon once they convert their entire infrastructure to LTE. So that's why they're so competitive right now trying to steal each other's customers. They need them to pay for the system upgrades to LTE. That's why Sprint was offering to cut your current bill in half.

So there's two take-aways: Cheap fast unlimited data will be the industry norm soon. And make sure your next phone is LTE.

As for phone upgrades. Everybody wants an iPhone6 now, so you can pick up a used 5c or 5s for pretty cheap.

 

[GuiTuber]

I have had my 4s for more than 2 yrs now. I don't need to upgrade, as my phone still works for me. Plus, it's not much of an upgrade to go to a 5, at least for what I use the phone for. However my wife's Samsung Note is giving up the ghost and it's only a few months older than mine (just her luck or a sign of how long an Apple phone lasts compared to an Android phone?).

We'll be looking at switching for sure. I don't want to as I like dealing with AT&T, compared to the other carriers. But it galls me to think I can't upgrade a phone the old fashioned way without paying more on my bill. I know things change, but I'm being put over a barrel and that stinks.

As a friend once told a utility customer service person once when asked if he'd like to pay a huge installation fee in full or spread it out over a few months: "Spread 'em"

 

[MJ5150]

Our Verizon plans expired, then they kicked in a $25 discount per phone line (two lines). I'd say that is a good incentive for us to stay at Verizon.

If we want shiny new phones, we'd have to sign a contract, and lose that $25 per line upgraded, or pay in full cash. No thanks. I like my two plus year old Android. The wife likes her iPhone5. Our son upgrades all the time, but he's cool with paying more per month. If/when I need a new Android, I'll get one from craigslist, the classifieds here, or somewhere online. My days of subsidizing $600 mobile phones with two year contracts are over.

-Mike

 

[48thStreetCustom]

I have had my 4s for more than 2 yrs now. I don't need to upgrade, as my phone still works for me. Plus, it's not much of an upgrade to go to a 5, at least for what I use the phone for. However my wife's Samsung Note is giving up the ghost and it's only a few months older than mine (just her luck or a sign of how long an Apple phone lasts compared to an Android phone?).

We'll be looking at switching for sure. I don't want to as I like dealing with AT&T, compared to the other carriers. But it galls me to think I can't upgrade a phone the old fashioned way without paying more on my bill. I know things change, but I'm being put over a barrel and that stinks.

As a friend once told a utility customer service person once when asked if he'd like to pay a huge installation fee in full or spread it out over a few months: "Spread 'em"

I hear ya. I still have an iPhone3. You should make sure you can take your phones to the new provider.

 

[placedesjardins]

I dropped AT&T and switched to Metro PCS. Their rate plans are such that AT&T would provide limited phone, pay per text, no data with a non-smartphone for the same price as Metro PCS unlimited talk, text and data per month on a smartphone.

The Next plan appears nice, but I am not a heavy talk, text and data user. I just don't make a lot of calls or contact tons of people via phone. Unused minutes racked up like crazy in my last AT&T talk plan and it would have been impossible to use my carry over minutes unless I was on the phone for days on end.

 

[PortlandBass77]

Switch to Credo/Sprint. Unlimited talk/text/data for $50 to $100 a month depending on the phone (at least when I checked about a year ago)