Is the AT&T NEXT program worth it?

[lovemachine]

Wife and I have been out of our AT&T contract for a good while now. Both have the Iphone5. I have just started looking into doing an upgrade to the iPhone6. But now AT&T has the NEXT program. Is it worth it? What's the catch? I'm still trying to figure it out.

 

[Peter Potamus]

Anyone who willingly commits to an AT&T contract of any kind deserves exactly what they get. Run........

 

[lovemachine]

Anyone who willingly commits to an AT&T contract of any kind deserves exactly what they get. Run........

Why?

 

[HamsterStyle]

You are going to pay for the phone one way or another. That said, it is ultimately up to the purchaser. If you are happy with your service through att, then go for it. Whereabouts are you located? My brother wprks for att and would be more than happy to talk you through it and explain the plan in better detail if you are nearby his store in Bedford.

 

[HamsterStyle]

Why?

People like to join teams. That's why. Verizon rules att sucks. Glock are awesome. 1911's are antiquated. It's opinion. I have had att for 10-11 years and like the service. It's a bit spotty where we live now, but so are all the others that have been out there.

 

[chezuki]

Wife and I have been out of our AT&T contract for a good while now. Both have the Iphone5. I have just started looking into doing an upgrade to the iPhone6. But now AT&T has the NEXT program. Is it worth it? What's the catch? I'm still trying to figure it out.

Unless you can drop the $$ to buy the phone outright (which most of us can't), it's the best offer hey have. You get a $25/mth discount for using it, which makes it cheaper in a the end than the $200+ upgrade fee + monthly payments.

It also allowed me to get the 128gb version that I wouldn't have been able to swing otherwise. If you opt for a little more monthly, you can upgrade the phone every 12mths if you want (12mth upgrade or paid off in 18). Otherwise it's 18mth upgrade or paid off in 24.

 

[jamil]

People like to join teams. That's why. Verizon rules att sucks. Glock are awesome. 1911's are antiquated. It's opinion. I have had att for 10-11 years and like the service. It's a bit spotty where we live now, but so are all the others that have been out there.

This!

They all try to get as much as they can while spending the least that they can. Unless they kill puppies, the only reasons to choose one over the other should be purely pragmatic.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

There really isn't a catch, and as stated by chez, you do get a discount for using it. It was my understanding that you don't really have a new service contract using that program either, you can leave at anytime with no penalties other than you have to pay off the remainder of the phone. I could be wrong because I signed up awhile ago though.

 

[chezuki]

People like to join teams. That's why. Verizon rules att sucks. Glock are awesome. 1911's are antiquated. It's opinion. I have had att for 10-11 years and like the service. It's a bit spotty where we live now, but so are all the others that have been out there.

Rep'd. The "your choice sucks because it's different than mine" argument is a bit played out.

 

[lovemachine]

I'll try to stop by the AT&T store this weekend then. I've been told I can possible be paying less a month than I am now, while getting a new phone at the same time. I'm hoping this is true.

 

[MCgrease08]

How AT&T Helped the NSA Spy on Millions | United States of Secrets | FRONTLINE | PBS

I had horrible experiences with AT&T years ago and vowed I would never go back.

Add to that the fact that they've been forwarding customer's personal data directly to the NSA for years. I'm not a fan.

 

[Clay]

I don't think the Next plan is worth it, and here is why:

with the next plan you are buying a phone at full retail price, and paying taxes. IE when I was looking for a Galaxy Note 4, they wanted $850 for the phone full retail, total price with tax was ~$909. You pay for the taxes up front when you sign up for the Next plan.

Depending on the plan, they split it up over a number of months and that's your payment. IE the Next 24 split the total cost of the phone up over 30 months, so for my phone on that plan it would have ben $28 per month. At the end of 24 months (where they get the "Next 24" name) you can turn in your phone and upgrade to a new one to stay on the Next plan, OOOOOORRRRRR you wait until 30 months and the phone is yours free and clear, and you go off the next plan.

I found the exact phone I wanted (Galaxy Note 4) for less than half what it would have cost me at AT&T. Then I changed my service to their non-contract plan and dropped the phone bill from like $140/month to $90. Not bad.

I think the only "advantage" the Next plan gets you is if you sign up for it, they do give you like a $15 discount each month. So your $28 payment really drops down to $13, but I could be wrong about how all that works since I didn't actually sign up. Also, the discount you get varies by how much data you sign up for. Over 10 GB gets you $15/month, under 10GB gets you like $10/month or something like that.

Best thing to do is go to an AT&T store and have them run the numbers. You can probably do this online as well.

 

[shootersix]

the way att described it to me, when I upgraded my daughters phone was this, we don't give away phones anymore, we never did, you paid for the phone, you just did in your bill, now we don't give you the phone, you pay for it, her iPhone (think its a 6) is 25 bucks a month, plus they dropped my bill so much, even when I added 25 bucks to it, I'm still paying less than I did before I bought the phone.

but remember, next is a credit thing, ie bad credit=no next!

 

[WyldeShot]

I have AT&T and signed up about 9 months ago for the NEXT plan. I priced it out both ways, NEXT vs contract. Over the life of a 2 year contract you will pay a little less on the NEXT plan. I don't remember the exact figure but maybe $20 or so.

The NEXT plan is great for people who want to get a new phone often. You are basically financing your phone for a certain amount of time. NEXT12 means you can get a new phone after 12 months and you are done paying for it after 18 months. NEXT18 means you can get a new phone after 18 months and you are done paying for it after 24 months. There are other plans. The high the next number the cheaper your payment. Once you are done paying for the phone then your bill drops.

One thing I noticed is that the NON-NEXT plans have a higher Smartphone fee. They almost punish you for signing the contract. AT&T really doesn't want to sign anymore contracts. If you get the NEXT plan be sure to include insurance on the phone. Pressure your sales person to include screen protectors at a discount. Then can do it!

Just to note, we have iPhones. As mentioned above, it might be a different experience with a different phone.

 

[lizerdking]

The downside to next is that you have to give them back the phone when you upgrade again. So, you're out the value of the old phone at that time... do some googling, if you're on the old ATT plan you're probably better off staying with that.

Everytime I go in one of the reps tries to get me to switch, and tries to explain they're saving me money. I've run the numbers, (they're not)

Think of if this way, they wouldn't want you to change plans so bad if they were going to lose money by having you switch....

 

[WyldeShot]

The downside to next is that you have to give them back the phone when you upgrade again. So, you're out the value of the old phone at that time... do some googling, if you're on the old ATT plan you're probably better off staying with that.

You only have to give back the phone if you upgrade before you are done paying for the phone. Example. You are on NEXT 18 plan. This means you can upgrade after 18 month and you are done paying after 24 months. If you upgrade between 18 and 24 months then you have to give the phone back. You get to keep the phone after 24 months.

 

[Clay]

the way att described it to me, when I upgraded my daughters phone was this, we don't give away phones anymore, we never did, you paid for the phone, you just did in your bill, now we don't give you the phone, you pay for it, her iPhone (think its a 6) is 25 bucks a month, plus they dropped my bill so much, even when I added 25 bucks to it, I'm still paying less than I did before I bought the phone.

but remember, next is a credit thing, ie bad credit=no next!

my main issue with the next plan is you're paying way more for the phone that what you could buy it for elsewhere.

 

[chezuki]

my main issue with the next plan is you're paying way more for the phone that what you could buy it for elsewhere.

Depends on the phone.

 

[Clay]

Depends on the phone.

Ok, I guess to clarify, if you want a 'popular' phone, ie the latest iphone or galaxy, etc, then you will pay more because they want retail, and you can get it cheaper elsewhere if you look around.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

One of my coworkers has it and is happy with it. He gets the new phone, passes down his phone to his wife, she passes her phone down to the daughter. Everybody gets a relatively new phone, only one account has the extra payment.