If you had said that initially, we could have saved much of the above back and forth. You flatly said that any upgrade before 36 months would result in the rest of the initial trade-in credit being forfeited.
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Carrier Has ATT Changed Their Trade-In Promos?
- Thread starter Timenprayer
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If you had said that initially, we could have saved much of the above back and forth. You flatly said that any upgrade before 36 months would result in the rest of the initial trade-in credit being forfeited.
The market trade-in value of the phone you're trading in is irrelevant.
AT&T is saying we'll give you $1,000 in bill credits over 36 months for your trade-in, but you have to agree to finance the new phone for the same 36 months.
If at any point in the 36 months you want to upgrade the phone that is being financed, you have to pay the balance of the installment plan, but you also forfeit the remaining bill credits.
It's AT&T's way of keeping you locked in for 36 months to get the full value of the $1,000 trade-in.
Where did I do that?
You're still insisting that if I buy an $1,100 phone and trade in a ~$650 phone, I somehow still owe the full $1,100?
lol
No it’s different. That poster was “upgrading” by buying a new device from Apple. It’s not the same as upgrading your AT&T line.
Staying with AT&T for 36 months and not being able to upgrade for 36 months are two different things.
If I can buy a new iPhone 15 from Apple next year without losing the remaining credits from AT&T, which the other person is now saying, then it's a much better deal than initially described.
@wickedrm explained perfectly. Again. If you take their trade in deal. They give you $999 over 36 months. $27.75 per month. So, if you want new device after 1 year. You have received $333 credits and would owe balance. It’s the way ATT does it. Take or leave it.
Last edited:
In post #41.
Yes. Luckily you’re getting $1000 in credits.
You’re simply not understanding what kind of deal you’re entering into with AT&T. Post #52 by @Liberal explains what I’m saying in another way.
How is it different? AT&T obviously knows about the upgrade when the existing iPhone is replaced by the new iPhone, but if AT&T leaves the remaining credits in place, then AT&T is obviously fine with it.
Initially, you made it sound like anyone doing an AT&T trade-in had to use the same device for the next 36 months or they'd lose the remainder of the trade-in credits.
The promo is tied to the line, not the device. Buying a new phone from Apple or using an iPhone 6s from your drawer is not considered upgrading to AT&T.
You mentioned $650 + $350. Don’t worry. It’s not relevant.
You can upgrade whenever you want, but you are required to pay the balance of the installment plan before you can upgrade the line.
Just for argument's sake: With this program, if you trade in a 13 Pro and finance a new 14 Pro for 36 months, you would be billed each month accordingly:
$27.75 charge for the financing of the 14 Pro
-$27.75 credit for the trade in of the 13 Pro
The balance on the installment plan would decrease by $27.75 and the balance would be $971.25.
If you made payments for 12 of the 36 months of the agreement, the balance of the installment plan would be $666.
If you decided at that point that you wanted to upgrade that line to a 15 Pro, you would be required to pay the $666 balance, but you would not receive any additional credits for the original 13 Pro trade in, meaning that the actual realized value of the 13 Pro you traded-in was $333.
If you paid the $666 balance, you would own the 14 Pro outright and could do with it what you pleased, it's now yours lien-free.
I think here is a feasible plan, for the folks who are in the same boat with me - still have remaining installment with credit, do not want to lose the credit, and do not want to deal with ATT the new 36 months crazy installment for iPhone 14:
Trade in the still-on-installment old iPhone with Apple, buy the new iPhone 14 from Apple. Still pay the remaining monthly installment for the old iPhone (after send it to Apple). So we still have the credit applied to the remaining att installment.
Trade in the still-on-installment old iPhone with Apple, buy the new iPhone 14 from Apple. Still pay the remaining monthly installment for the old iPhone (after send it to Apple). So we still have the credit applied to the remaining att installment.
Well, when I bought my iPhone 13 Pro from Apple last year, AT&T charged me a $30 or $35 "upgrade fee."
Does this apply only to a new phone bought from AT&T or to a new phone bought from anywhere? That's the key question.
Do you lose the remaining credits even if you continue to use AT&T service pretty much indefinitely? I've been with AT&T for over 10 years and don't plan to change... however, this is confusing...
I have 12Pro, it was on installment plan. I have 8 payments left out of the 30 in the deal I did back in 2020 = ~$300.
So let's say I pay it off. Fine so far. I might have lost part of my 2020 trade in, I'm not exactly sure, but let's just think forward from here..
New deal is that if I buy the 14pro from them, I can get $1000 credits by paying for it installments for 36 months. Alight except I know in 2 years I will want to upgrade the phone again, while staying on AT&T of course...
trade in value is currently $430 on on my 12pro.
Alight, does that mean they give me my $430 Trade before any credits, or do I get trade in as credit, or do I get a full $1000, but as credits over 36 months? If the latter, Then that would mean I would get a total of $666 billing credits between now and 2 years from now...at which time I guess if I pay it off early and upgrade the phone again..that's it...I will have essentially gotten a $666 trade in for the phone instead of $430 if I do it directly through Apple right now. Though a bit confusing.
Am I understanding this correctly?
its not exactly a free phone every two years, but if I am understanding that right, its still better then through Apple.
Based on what others have said above, your understanding is correct. Unlike Verizon, which actually gives you an upfront trade-in credit and then an additional "bill credit" incentive, AT&T gives one lump-sum credit that, in effect, only pays you for your trade-in over 36 months.
I'm in almost the exact same scenario (12 pro with 8 payments left with ATT).
I think you may be conflating the AT&T and the Apple offers. You can't collect both for upgrade. I see the scenarios as:
Apple Trade In: They give you $430 (as a rebate after you pay full price for an unlocked phone and trade in your old one). In this scenario, you SHOULD be able to keep the remaining 8 statement credits (est around $250) since the credits have historically been tethered to the line, not the device.
AT&T Upgrade: You NEED to pay the remaining credits off first (est around $250) then you get $1k in statement credits spread across 36 months. If you plan to upgrade every 24 months, this only nets you around $666, or around $400 net after you factor in the payoff amount.
That's why I am going with the Apple approach, and hoping I can keep the legacy 12pro credits intact, plus the benefit of having an unlocked phone and minimal AT&T hassle (since they almost always botch the upgrade credits).
I think you may be conflating the AT&T and the Apple offers. You can't collect both for upgrade. I see the scenarios as:
Apple Trade In: They give you $430 (as a rebate after you pay full price for an unlocked phone and trade in your old one). In this scenario, you SHOULD be able to keep the remaining 8 statement credits (est around $250) since the credits have historically been tethered to the line, not the device.
AT&T Upgrade: You NEED to pay the remaining credits off first (est around $250) then you get $1k in statement credits spread across 36 months. If you plan to upgrade every 24 months, this only nets you around $666, or around $400 net after you factor in the payoff amount.
That's why I am going with the Apple approach, and hoping I can keep the legacy 12pro credits intact, plus the benefit of having an unlocked phone and minimal AT&T hassle (since they almost always botch the upgrade credits).
I'm in the same situation as you. Originally I thought about going the Apple Trade route based on the same conclusion you came to, but there is that little of uncertainty of
Pretty sure you are correct, but there isn't a definite answer from this forum. I've decided to just pay off the phone and do the pre-order tomorrow using AT&T upgrade to get a new set of credits (paying ~$2 a month for 14 PRO 256 GB). Over the life cycle of 36 months, I'm only netting ~$400, but not planning on leaving AT&T anytime. Plus I have another line that is upgrade ready, so I can use that for another upgrade in 1-2 years.
Yes, this scenario was for trading in an iPhone 12 pro.
I do think the decision on going ATT vs Apple trade in comes down to how long you plan to own the device. If you are a 1-2 year upgrader, Apple makes more sense. If you can stick it out for 3 years, then ATT is the better deal.
I also value being able to have an unlocked phone for international travel, etc... since ATT's roaming plans are weak at best.
I do think the decision on going ATT vs Apple trade in comes down to how long you plan to own the device. If you are a 1-2 year upgrader, Apple makes more sense. If you can stick it out for 3 years, then ATT is the better deal.
I also value being able to have an unlocked phone for international travel, etc... since ATT's roaming plans are weak at best.
The cost. You can get a large data package in most countries for significantly less than that. When traveling with a family of four, that $100 adds up (and if your trip crosses billing cycles, as our last one did, the 10 day max counter starts over). I tried (and failed) to get ATT to modify our billing cycle but that was 2-3 hours of my life i'm never getting back.
This is also my exact situation, too. Except I have a third line of service that is completely upgrade eligible. I could upgrade that line, trade in the iPhone 12 from another line, and then put the new iPhone 14 on my line. In this situation, I believe I would get the remaining installment credits for the iPhone 12 (without paying it off) and get the $1000 of iPhone 14 credits. While still getting the credits from last year’s iPhone 13 as well.