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I was told the price with unlimited choice (free HBO)would be $145 plus $20 plus taxes. So ~ $180 for 3 lines

Yeah. But if you somehow convince them to give you a $450 subsidy per phone, they will increase your access charge to compensate.
 
Just posting some specifics of how my plan was affected by the phasing out of the subsidy model.

I have an AT&T Mobile Share plan with 2 phones.

The plan costs $75/mo (includes a 25% FAN). Each phone line costs $15/mo. That's a total of $105/mo before taxes. When I was within the 2-year subsidy contract, the phone lines were $40/mo. for a total of $155/mo.

While under the subsidy period of 2 years, I was paying an extra $600, in addition to the $200 up front. That's $800 for a $650 phone.

So I'm very happy with the non-subsidy model.
 
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Just posting some specifics of how my plan was affected by the phasing out of the subsidy model.

I have an AT&T Mobile Share plan with 2 phones.

The plan costs $75/mo (includes a 25% FAN). Each phone line costs $15/mo. That's a total of $105/mo before taxes. When I was within the 2-year subsidy contract, the phone lines were $40/mo. for a total of $155/mo.

While under the subsidy period of 2 years, I was paying an extra $600, in addition to the $200 up front. That's $800 for a $650 phone.

So I'm very happy with the non-subsidy model.
seems like the subsidy plan was better for individual plans then
 
seems like the subsidy plan was better for individual plans then
Like I've been saying all along, most people benefited from the phase out of the subsidy plans. That includes family and individual plans.

The only folks that didn't see their plan prices drop were the ones that were holding onto their unlimited plans. Both AT&T and Verizon wanted those folks to switch from unlimited to something else, so they did not drop the plan price after the 2 year contract expired.

Then to even screw the folks even more, they made them pay full price for the phones and kept the monthly plan price the same ... and I think they even increased the plans by like $5 or so.

There may be some edge cases where folks on Family/Shared plans got screwed when the subsidy model went away. Most of the time if that happens, it's because that person had a really great FAN discount would no longer apply.
 
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Yeah I really miss paying more than retail price for my phone... Subsidies were a joke. Let's break it down. Back when flagship iPhone was like $650 you could pay ATT $200 for it. Buttt your bill would have an additional $25/month charge for the term of the contract. (24 x $25) + $200 = $800. So yeah I really miss paying an extra $150 for my phones.
 
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Yeah I really miss paying more than retail price for my phone... Subsidies were a joke. Let's break it down. Back when flagship iPhone was like $650 you could pay ATT $200 for it. Buttt your bill would have an additional $25/month charge for the term of the contract. (24 x $25) + $200 = $800. So yeah I really miss paying an extra $150 for my phones.
my bill was no different with the phone paid off or on the contract it was always the same. I guess the people effected the most where the grandfathered data owners it seems.
 
Yeah. But if you somehow convince them to give you a $450 subsidy per phone, they will increase your access charge to compensate.
That's the whole point of this thread.

AT&T wasn't giving you a present with the subsidies. They were just changing which pocket they took the money from.
 
AT&T still offers subisdies if you do a 2 year contract

Only to business customers, and the line access fee increases when they do so. The only reason they offer this is because it's easier in some cases for small businesses to file taxes on lump sum payments on the equipment as opposed to installment plans. They end up paying the same price if they finance or do the 2 year contract (Due to the line access fee increasing if they choose to do a contract)
 
Update - spoke to three different ATT people today. Was offered $80 for two cell phones with 6gb data, no contract, unlimited text and data. I opted to go with the $125 unlimited data one as it's the grandfathered version. They said I can change at any time.

I did pay off my last installment on my phone with a credit card so Apple will see that is clear. I've been waiting for my order to move from "processing" and I think that was holding it up as I'm buying with the Apple installment and also trade-in.
 
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Still have this model in Canada and it’s horrible. Example: The big 3 (Rogers, Bell, Telus) charge $559 upfront for the Xs Max and plan for 1GB of data starts at $120 a month. Let’s do the math:

$559 x tax = $631.67
$120 x tax x 24 months = $3254.40
Total = $3886.07

Nearly $4000 over two years. Not to mention your still paying the same price if you don’t upgrade after two years.
 
Only to business customers, and the line access fee increases when they do so. The only reason they offer this is because it's easier in some cases for small businesses to file taxes on lump sum payments on the equipment as opposed to installment plans. They end up paying the same price if they finance or do the 2 year contract (Due to the line access fee increasing if they choose to do a contract)
Nope not only for business customers and I will back Friday with a killer retentions only deal
 
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