AT&T Next Plan?

[30-30]

I recently upgraded to an iPhone 6. When I bought it, I was told I could use my upgrade and buy the phone outright for something like $300 with a two year contract, or go with the Next Plan. The sales guy assured me that the Next Plan would save me money. So I paid $116 in-store, now my bill says I owe another $750 at $31 a month...

Am I missing something?

[jaime1982]

read the fine print, its all there.

[Chadroe]

I think they get their money one way or another regardless if your on the next plan or two year contract.

[altez]

I think they get their money one way or another regardless if your on the next plan or two year contract.

pretty much it... if you do the math at&t comes out ahead with the next plan in most cases. Thats why a lot of stores are pushing it.

[Dirtymike]

I bought into the next plan...... wont be doing that again. What happen to the penny iphone with 2 year contract

[Simple Man]

Yep... Verizon went to the same type of deal. They call it the edge plan. When I signed up, you were supposed to be able to upgrade your phone after 12 months. Well... they have no decided they didn't like that deal and changed it to 20 months. BS!!!!!!

[AntlerCollector]

You mean the "NEXT time pay more attention PLAN"

[pblaetz]

Next plan reduced my monthly cost, but yes you are paying for the phone over a period of time. When I started with the next plan i had 7 phones, but now I'm down to 3. I'm looking into cricket wireless. Should cost me $100.00 per month total! I own the phones. Free up grades aren't free.

[CSF45]

I was looking into upgrading a few months ago and from what I understand, they basically did away with giving you a discount on the new phone. You can either do the next plan or do a 2 year contract, but they both come out to about the same (which is the full price of the phone). If you do the contract they tack on this new charge of like $15 or $20 a month saying that it was some discount that you were getting before, but if you do the next plan you still get that discount. So the phone may be initially cheaper with the contract, but that extra charge a month adds up after 24 months. With the next plan they are basically just financing the full price of the phone over 24 months adding it to your bill monthly. This is how I understood it when I was looking to upgrade, which I decided against.

[Javelin]

The way you save money is they discount other parts of your bill to equal more than the $31 a month you are paying for the phone. Sometimes it works out to be cheaper for consumer sometimes not. My bill went from $90 to $125, BUT I went from I phone to S5 then because I didnt like the S5 6 months later was able to switch back to an I phone and my bill actually went down to $120 a month. So for me its a big plus being able to switch phones sooner than every 2 years with an upgrade.

[denowt]

Mine came out slightly cheaper in the long run using the Next Plan.
You end up paying the full retail price for the phone either way, it's just a matter of what that line item on your bill says.
I currently pay $100 for my family share plan, plus $15/month per device because all of my phones are not in a contract.
If I would've upgrading without using Next Plan, I would have paid $100 for the phone up front, then an extra $25/month, $40/month total, for the new phone because it would be in a 24 month contract. This extra $25 would be paid for the entire 24 months, $600 total payment, plus $100 initial charge $700 total for the phone.

With the next plan, I pay $27/month for the phone for 18 months on the next plan. I pay the $15/month device fee because I am effective buying the phone outright and the phone is considered to NOT be in a contract.
$486 total over the plan duration AND I am still eligible for an upgrade at any time. I paid $50 up front for the phone, and BestBuy had a promotion going at the time where I received a $50 BestBuy card.
So, I will end up paying a total of $486 for my phone vs $700 total if I did not use the Next plan.

The Next plan is basically a small loan for the purchase of a new phone.

Depending on what type of plan you currently have, the Next plan may not be the cheaper option. In my case, it was.

Talk to someone, ask question, and make sure they explain it to you until you understand your options.
If they try to push you one way or the other, stand up and start to walk away. Don't let them push you around.

[salth2o]

I went in for an upgrade and felt like I was dealing with a used car salesman when they were pushing the Next plan.

[Randy]

Basically they are tired of subsidizing phones. What they are selling you is a zero to low financing plan for the phone. They say its not a contract but you have to sign it, agree to it and pay every month. You know, just like a contract.

[ted_kennedys_liver]

One of the many mistakes of my life. The smart phones cost a ton and is like the payments never stop. Only way I would do it again is if I was in a monetary bind and my phone died in a way not covered by insurance. However I would look into buying a phone of of eBay or Craig's list first.

[GarrettH]

dont do it!!