Carrier Has ATT Changed Their Trade-In Promos?

[Indigovalley]

So, I have a paid off AT&T iphone 12 Pro Max with Next Up. If I trade in the phone for the iPhone 14 Pro Max (with Next Up again)--and if I want to upgrade before the 36 months--I can still do that via Next Up correct (assuming I sign up for that feature again with the new phone)? And do they count the "credit" I get for my other phone as what I've "paid" towards the phone when determining how much more I would need to pay to reach that 1/2 paid off level so I can upgrade again?

 

[MrRom92]

I’m also curious what AT&T considers “damage.” My phone is physically flawless, not a dent or scratch or scuff anywhere to be seen. But after 3 years of daily driving my 11 Pro Max, you can definitely see the outline of the battery and wifi icon at the top of the screen.
Screen burn-in is inherent to OLED technology itself so as far as I am concerned that is just normal wear and tear of normal use of the device. I don’t want them to cheat me. This $1000 seems a little too good to be true, I really hope this isn’t just some kind of scam on AT&T’s behalf.

 

[falconman515]

I’m not sure where you’re getting the $650 trade in + $350 credit, never seen that.

AT&T has the deal structured in such a way that you are financing the entirety of the phone on an installment plan for 36 months (all $1100). That means you are paying $30.55/month for the phone. However, because you give them the 13 Pro, they credit you $27.77/month. Your net cost is $2.78/month ($100 after 36 months).

If at anytime you upgrade the line in those 36 months, you forfeit the remaining credits and you are required to pay the remaining balance on the financed phone.

So I have an iPhone 12 Pro paid for, I owe nothing.
I’m going Pro Max this year
So it’s $1,100
If I use the AT&T deal am I correct that based on what you’ve wrote I pay $2.78 a month as this pays the difference of the extra $100 after 36 months.
BUT …. I upgrade at least every two years!
So what do I owe after 2 years?
Seems like after 24 months I would owe $333 correct?
So normally I use my Apple Card and just use it to pay the difference with no interest after my Apple Trade-In Value.
That is only $430 right now.
Is the AT&T deal better after 24 months since I only owe $333 to get out from under it???

I’m not sure if I’m reading all this right.

Seems owing $333 to pay it off after 24 months with att is better then paying off the $670 over 24 months with Apple upgrade after $430 trade in value.

Seems there’s almost a $300 value going att after 24 months then doing Apple trade in and Apple Card installment plan?

Am I seeing this right? What am I missing or should I know?

 

[Time Less]

This still Isint making sense to me. I owe 260 for my 12 pro. So if I trade in my 12 pro I still have to pay the 260 then I get the 14 pro free. But I have to keep the plan active for 36 months? So it’s costing me about $800. (260+650-approx 12 pro value) wouldn’t it just make sense to keep getting the 260 credits, then sell my 12 pro and then just buy the new one unlocked? It’s like paying 740 for the 14 pro and I can sell my 12 pro. Am I missing something? They’re basically not doing me any favors to try and keep me for 36 Months from what I can tell.

I’m sort of in a similar situation but I will trade in my old 11 pro to AT&T and keep the 12 pro for a backup phone. Here’s the math I did so hopefully it helps.

AT&T 8 months payoff balance -$293 ($36/mo)

*bill credit +$213 (~$26x8 mo)
*amount owed after bill credit -$80

iPhone 11 Pro trade in +$800 - $293 = +$507
iPhone 14 Pro $1099 - $507 = $592 final cost

Apple
11 Pro Trade in $300

AT&T balance +$133 ($213 bill credit - $80 owed)

iPhone 14 $667 final cost

 

[wickedrm]

So I have an iPhone 12 Pro paid for, I owe nothing.
I’m going Pro Max this year
So it’s $1,100
If I use the AT&T deal am I correct that based on what you’ve wrote I pay $2.78 a month as this pays the difference of the extra $100 after 36 months.
BUT …. I upgrade at least every two years!
So what do I owe after 2 years?
Seems like after 24 months I would owe $333 correct?
So normally I use my Apple Card and just use it to pay the difference with no interest after my Apple Trade-In Value.
That is only $430 right now.
Is the AT&T deal better after 24 months since I only owe $333 to get out from under it???

I’m not sure if I’m reading all this right.

Seems owing $333 to pay it off after 24 months with att is better then paying off the $670 over 24 months with Apple upgrade after $430 trade in value.

Seems there’s almost a $300 value going att after 24 months then doing Apple trade in and Apple Card installment plan?

Am I seeing this right? What am I missing or should I know?

Yes your logic is sound. With Apple trade in you’re only getting $430 over 2 years. With this AT&T promo, you’re getting $666 over 2 years.

 

[falconman515]

Yes your logic is sound. With Apple trade in you’re only getting $430 over 2 years. With this AT&T promo, you’re getting $666 over 2 years.

Once 24 months is up though is it easy to call AT&T and tell them “I’m gonna buy the iPhone 16 but still have 1 year left on my trade-in agreement, I want to just pay off the leftover $333 (or around about that) and be good to now trade-in this phone for yet upgrade”

Is this possible without any other penalty’s, etc.?

They won’t say something like “nope you still have a year left on the agreement so you owe the rest plus a penalty” or they something weird where I get screwed?

 

[nojokews6]

So does anyone know the answer to this for sure. I still have $230 in remaining bill credits. If I buy the phone outright through apple tomorrow will the bill credits keep coming off my bill once I activate the new phone? I’m not trading in the phone that has the credits.

 

[Mr. Jenkins]

Well, when I bought my iPhone 13 Pro from Apple last year, AT&T charged me a $30 or $35 "upgrade fee."

Did you take advantage of any AT&T installment or trade-in deals?

 

[jk73]

Did you take advantage of any AT&T installment or trade-in deals?

None.

 

[Mr. Jenkins]

None.

That's strange.

Generally, the upgrade fee or activation fee only kicks in when someone purchases a device on an installment agreement (or on a 2-year contract back when they had those) or when you activate a new line.

I've done it for my parents when I bought their phones from Apple outright. Switching from one phone to another (brand new or not) on an existing line should not cause an activation or upgrade fee to be charged.

ETA: I've done it when they were on active installment agreements and no activation or upgrade fee was charged.

 

[ultravioletfly]

wife’s Line1 iPhone 12: 8 payments left
My Line 2 iPhone 12 pro: paid off

i want to upgrade line 2 to the 14 pro with trade in. Plan is to move the 12 pro to my wife’s plan (by moving the SIM card), and trade in the 12 for the $1000 trade in. Is this possible?

 

[Dewdman42]

I don't really understand all this mis information here. The ATT deal is clearly better as long as you will stick with ATT and not upgrade your phone again for 2 more years or more. ATT gives you $1000 to trade in the phone, apple only gives $430. If you upgrade the phone in 2 years from you you will only reap 2/3 of that trade in....$666, but that is still more than apple.

If you buy the next phone from Apple you only increase the odds of ATT shafting you out of the next 8 credits for the previous trade in you did. In either case I presume you are keeping your ATT service.

And yea another consideration is that ATT charges $35 for the upgrade. I'm not sure if that fee is required when you buy from Apple..I think possibly not. But still $666 > $430

 

[aloecool]

Has anyone done something similar?

Line #1: iphone 13 pro, 24 payments left (intend on keeping this line active for 24 more months to get full credit)
Line #2: iphone 12, paid off, eligible for "upgrade"

I want to get the iphone 14 pro on line #2 with it's upgrade eligibility and trade in the ip12 for the $1000 credit. I want to switch the ip14p and ip13p btw the lines as soon as the ip14p is activated. Has anyone done a similar swap in the past, and verify that their "line #2" started receiving the trade in credit 2-3 months into the billing cycle? AT&T assured me it's possible via chat, since the installment plans follow the phone number.

Basically, after the swap it should end up with:

Line #1: iphone 14 pro, 24 payments left
Line #2: iphone 13 pro, new installment plan/36 payments

 

[nojokews6]

I don't really understand all this mis information here. The ATT deal is clearly better as long as you will stick with ATT and not upgrade your phone again for 2 more years or more. ATT gives you $1000 to trade in the phone, apple only gives $430. If you upgrade the phone in 2 years from you you will only reap 2/3 of that trade in....$666, but that is still more than apple.

If you buy the next phone from Apple you only increase the odds of ATT shafting you out of the next 8 credits for the previous trade in you did. In either case I presume you are keeping your ATT service.

And yea another consideration is that ATT charges $35 for the upgrade. I'm not sure if that fee is required when you buy from Apple..I think possibly not. But still $666 > $430

I don't really understand all this mis information here. The ATT deal is clearly better as long as you will stick with ATT and not upgrade your phone again for 2 more years or more. ATT gives you $1000 to trade in the phone, apple only gives $430. If you upgrade the phone in 2 years from you you will only reap 2/3 of that trade in....$666, but that is still more than apple.

If you buy the next phone from Apple you only increase the odds of ATT shafting you out of the next 8 credits for the previous trade in you did. In either case I presume you are keeping your ATT service.

And yea another consideration is that ATT charges $35 for the upgrade. I'm not sure if that fee is required when you buy from Apple..I think possibly not. But still $666 > $430

Is it really? I guess it depends on your situation. I have $230 worth of credits I will give up to upgrade early to get the $1000. I also have to trade in my 12pro 256 valued at ~650. So it’s costing me $880 to get $1000. For that extra $120 I’m committed to ATT for 36 months. I don’t plan on leaving ATT but I’m better off using the upgrade next year after my $230 comes back to Me. What am I missing?

 

[sydia21]

Did anyone upgrading on the Next Up
Plan see that once you turn your device in, there’s $500 in bill credits that gets applied to your installments as a ‘thank you’?

 

[ycoidi2000]

I'm trying to make sure I didn't make a mistake this morning. When I ordered my iPhone on Apple's website, I didn't select trade-in and I did select financing. In years past, I took my iPhone to the AT&T store for them to assess and accept on the spot (for the trade-in). It was my plan to do the same this year. Can this still be done or should I have selected trade-in when I ordered?

 

[jk73]

I'm trying to make sure I didn't make a mistake this morning. When I ordered my iPhone on Apple's website, I didn't select trade-in and I did select financing. In years past, I took my iPhone to the AT&T store for them to assess and accept on the spot (for the trade-in). It was my plan to do the same this year. Can this still be done or should I have selected trade-in when I ordered?

I know it's smarter to drop off trade-ins at the store vs. the mail-in option, but I don't know if a trade-in can be added after the fact.

 

[Oridus]

Did anyone upgrading on the Next Up
Plan see that once you turn your device in, there’s $500 in bill credits that gets applied to your installments as a ‘thank you’?

Up to $500* with the Next upgrade purchase of a 14 pro series, up to $350* with the Next upgrade purchase of a 14 series.

*Credits given as monthly billing credits over 36 months.

 

[max2]

Can you do next up after the fact?

 

[sydia21]

Up to $500* with the Next upgrade purchase of a 14 pro series, up to $350* with the Next upgrade purchase of a 14 series.

*Credits given as monthly billing credits over 36 months.

Thx! I thought I saw that but I was freaking out trying to get my order in before dates slipped and forgot to take a screenshot

 

[TheMacGuy96]

So does anyone know the answer to this for sure. I still have $230 in remaining bill credits. If I buy the phone outright through apple tomorrow will the bill credits keep coming off my bill once I activate the new phone? I’m not trading in the phone that has the credits.

Yes; you will still have the credits applied. - AT&T Corporate Employee

 

[TheMacGuy96]

Can you do next up after the fact?

No, only at the point of sale. There is a work around if you bought it physically inside one of our stores but other than that no.

 

[TheMacGuy96]

I'm trying to make sure I didn't make a mistake this morning. When I ordered my iPhone on Apple's website, I didn't select trade-in and I did select financing. In years past, I took my iPhone to the AT&T store for them to assess and accept on the spot (for the trade-in). It was my plan to do the same this year. Can this still be done or should I have selected trade-in when I ordered?

Yes; as long as you are on a qualifying unlimited plan & you selected AT&T installments you'll be fine.

 

[max2]

No, only at the point of sale. There is a work around if you bought it physically inside one of our stores but other than that no.

That fine I only want to trade in my old phone anyway for credits.

You can't do both anyway.

 

[bonjourx]

Yes; as long as you are on a qualifying unlimited plan & you selected AT&T installments you'll be fine.

Hi. I have an iPhone 13 pro that has an ATT next up and I opted for an early upgrade and only had to pay $65 and will turn in the 13 pro. Now I saw that I qualified for the $500 off, I upgraded to the iPhone 14 pro 512 GB, technically it’s original price is $36 monthly installment plus $6 next up, and when I checked out it was showing me that my monthly bill will be $22 installment instead plus $6 next up. My question is, do I still qualify for that $500 off credit if I upgrade earlier than 36 months or I’ll have to complete the whole 36 months and will lose the 500 credit? I always upgrade every 12 months. would I have a problem if I upgrade before 18 months since I always try to upgrade every 12 months instead? Do I just need to pay $28 x 6 (remaining months from the 18 months) = $168 to upgrade early next year (12 month period) ? I just want to make sure that if I upgrade again after 12 months they wouldn’t make me pay the whole installment balance before I can do so. The agent told me I just have to multiply my monthly installment plan to the remaining months before 18 months which for me is 6 months. I hope I’m making sense! Just want to make sure there is no hidden cost.