How does AT&T determine upgrade eligibility?

[medgirl2001]

I know this must have been answered a gazillion times before, but search isn't bringing up the answer for me. I have seen links to the program AT&T has for giving additional discounts based on how long you've been with them, but how do they decide what your actual upgrade date is? We signed up in 11/08, and just recently the primary line on our family plan had the upgrade eligible date reset to 11/09 (the secondary line is something like 7/10). I'm not complaining, and I imagine this is related to the amount of charges on each line, but I was wondering if there was a formula for it.

What's really strange is my parents got new phones in 9/08, and now both of their lines are already eligible for upgrades. They were on two individual plans, neither at particularly high rates, which makes me wonder if this was a mistake. They have since merged into a family plan, and I wonder if their upgrade eligible date will be reset again.

[Cauchon]

Not all Cingular/AT&T customers may qualify for a cell phone upgrade. At this time, AT&T Mobility allows these customers to upgrade with no upgrade fee when they commit to a new 2-year contract:

* AT&T customers who have had 24 months of cell phone service since activation of their cell phone or since their last phone upgrade.

Certain AT&T customers may be eligible for a cell phone upgrade even if they have been in their current plan for less than two years (24 months), if they commit to a new 2-year contract and meet these eligibility requirements:

* Customer has had a standard calling plan plus data services costing at least $68.99 a month but no more than $98.99 a month, and who has been in contract (and not had a phone upgrade) for 21 months or more,
or
* Customer has had a standard calling plan plus data services costing $99 a month or more, and who has been in contract (and not upgraded) in the last 12 months.

A customer with a calling plan and data services of less than $69 who is 21 to 23 months into contract may upgrade for a fee and a commitment of an additional two-year service contract extension. No upgrade fee is assessed for any customers who are on a month-to-month agreement.

Note that AT&T upgrade eligibility may be further limited based on customer’s usage history, payment record, previous phone replacement, etc. Upgrade eligibility is solely determined by AT&T Mobility at its discretion.

http://www.wirefly.com/upgrades/eligibility/att/

[RF9]

This question has come up a lot lately. Making it a sticky for now.

And for early upgrade discussion and questions, try this thread:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1498799

[medgirl2001]

Thanks for the responses - and for the sticky!

[walds11]

I have always been confused with this. For instance, I have a family talk plan with two lines. I upgraded to an 8110 on 6/2/2008 on my primary line. This is my upgrade eligibilty...

"You can take advantage of our full retail pricing option, with the exception of iPhone which requires a 2-year commitment. Additional discounts may be available on 11/02/2009."

That is 17 months. My wife's line (second line0 is eligible now for an upgrade. I guess I could use her line to get a new BlackBerry if I so choose. She has a Motorola Razr and has no plans on getting a new phone. Other than that, what are my options if I want to upgrade on my primary line and not mess with her line?

[Kobe99]

I have been with ATT for just 10 months and they have offered me an upgrade. I have the cheapest plan $39/month + $20 data.

But the phones are quite expensive compared to 3rd party like Letstalk & Wirefly. For example the Fuze is $299 on ATT but Free at 3rd party although they seem to require more expensive plans. There are free ones but not worth an upgrade. Only ones worth it seem to be iPhones which are the same price as new subscribers.

I dont know why i was offered an upgrade so quick and on the cheapest plan..... maybe it had to do with my being a customer for 1 year (contract used to be 1 year before Cingular bought them and changed to 2) back about 8 years ago.

[xpgeek]

I had to sign at least a one year contact even bringing my own equipment. This was before things changed to where you could go month to month from the start. I've been out of contract since November 2008 and they keep pushing my upgrade eligibility date further ahead. Granted I have removed extra features to reduce my bill some due to hard times but that should not constitute a change to the eligibility date. It's just not good business practice in my opinion.

There have been times where I've been interested in looking for a new upgrade phone knowing and understanding that I will be renewing with a two-year agreement but can't because they keeping pushing the date on me. This inability for me to get discounted equipment at my own carrier has got me interested in looking elsewhere.

[aneftp]

* Customer has had a standard calling plan plus data services costing $99 a month or more, and who has been in contract (and not upgraded) in the last 12 months.

http://www.wirefly.com/upgrades/eligibility/att/

AT&T Mobility's upgrade policy is very tricky for those of us who have FANs and/or Family Talk plans.

For AT&T to consider your plan $99, they consider this AFTER your discounts for the primary line only.

Example:

Say you have a FamilyTalk 1400 for $89.99 plus $30 unlimited family text with a 20% discount. ATT only calculates only the First line ($80 plus $30 for unlimited family text) This would mean $80 +30= $110.

So you think you would qualify for a 12 month upgrade (since you think your bill is greater than $99). However, since you have FAN of say 20%. ATT would take 20% off the $110 bill (which accounts for a $22 discount) so your REAL ATT Bill before taxes is only $88.

So by ATT's calculations you would not be eligible for an upgrade every 12 months, you would be eligible for an upgrade every 18 months.

I'm not sure if they take into tax considerations or not but I know for sure they deduct your FAN's discounts to determine whether you qualify for the 12 month upgrade if your bill is greater than $99.

My ATT Bill (primary line is $70 plus $30 for unlimited family text plus $30 for iphone 3g data plan) so that equals $130. I get a 24% FAN discount for a total discount of $31.2. That brings my bill down to $98.8. But ATT still gives me discounts on my primary line every 12 months. But my other 4 lines have to wait 18 months. So in my case, they may consider my history( ATT/cingular customer for 5 plus year with zero late payments) or they may consider taxes in their calculations. This seems to be a very gray area in terms of upgrades. I used to be able to upgrade every line every 12 months but now its only the primary line that get the 12 month upgrade (in a 2 year contract)

Hope this clarifies matters for some on this board.

[EvilCSR]

Also keep in mind that depending on who you work for, if you have a discount through your company, you might be entitled to additional discounts for your upgrade. Check your MyWireless/MyWorld page on the ATT website, and it'll give you a lookover if you get additional discounting.

[RF9]

This re-summarizes the above information. But since the iPhone 3GS just came out and there's a lot of confusion, I'm making this post that hopefully spells it out:

Here is the upgrade eligibility schedule. This page describes it well (mentioned in above post.)
http://www.wirefly.com/upgrades/eligibility/att/

• 24 months if the monthly bill for that line is less than $69
• 21 months if the monthly bill for that line is $68.99 to $98.99
• 12 months if the monthly bill for that line is $99 a month or more

• A customer with a calling plan and data services of less than $69 who is 21 to 23 months into contract may upgrade for a fee and a commitment of an additional two-year service contract extension. No upgrade fee is assessed for any customers who are on a month-to-month agreement.

And this is from the AT&T site, though these rewards do not apply to the iPhone. There is some similarity in this information. These "rewards" should apply to any non-iPhone typically. But I'm not sure exactly how and when this discount is applied:
http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/wh...-advantage.jsp

These links also describe the upgrade eligibility schedule:
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/68...Customers.html
http://technologyexpert.blogspot.com...igibility.html
Why your at&t upgrade eligibility date is different than your neighbors

In regards to iPhone upgrading every year, here's a somewhat rude blog post, but it explains it:
http://www.theiphoneblog.com/2009/06...-subsidy-year/

[Tobyus]

I have a Blackberry with a data plan and an additional line for my wife without any extra features. With my FAN discount our total bill is only $82 or so. I activated over 18 months ago, and am in a 2 year contract.

What would happen if I went to Amazon and ordered a Blackberry Bold for $99 as an existing AT&T customer and picked the same voice and data plans as I currently have for my phone and line (not an additional line since they don't support this) and agreed to a new 2 year contract. Would this affect my additional line in any way? Are they going to send me a crazy high bill for something? Since I'm already a customer, there shouldn't be any activation fees should there? Is there anything wrong with this?

[ATTILA THE HUN]

I have a Blackberry with a data plan and an additional line for my wife without any extra features. With my FAN discount our total bill is only $82 or so. I activated over 18 months ago, and am in a 2 year contract.

What would happen if I went to Amazon and ordered a Blackberry Bold for $99 as an existing AT&T customer and picked the same voice and data plans as I currently have for my phone and line (not an additional line since they don't support this) and agreed to a new 2 year contract. Would this affect my additional line in any way? Are they going to send me a crazy high bill for something? Since I'm already a customer, there shouldn't be any activation fees should there? Is there anything wrong with this?

Be cerfool I have 3 blackberry's on my family account, when I bought 2 iphones to add them to my account I lost all my discounts, because iphone account not getting any discount.
it was very hard to cheng back the account back to bb acount.

[Tobyus]

Be cerfool I have 3 blackberry's on my family account, when I bought 2 iphones to add them to my account I lost all my discounts, because iphone account not getting any discount.
it was very hard to cheng back the account back to bb acount.

That may be something specific to iphones, and I'm still with the company that I receive my FAN discount through, so I don't think there's any reason to worry about losing that as long as I'm not buying an iphone right?

[3gs]

So I just bought the iPhone 3G S and my account on wireless.att.com indicates that I'm still eligible for discount pricing and when I go back on apple.com I can purchase at the discounted rates again if I wanted to . . . should I? Or will AT&T catch up with me if I order a second phone at the discounted price?

I have a individual account with a FAN discount.

Thanks for your advice . . .

[M0t0R0ller]

Please clear some terminology up before continuing with this discussion:


-The 2-year contract prices on att's site and stores are 2-year contract price for NEW CUSTOMERS or UPGRADE/EXISTING CUSTOMERS or BOTH?
By upgrade/existing customers I mean someone who is eligible for upgrade/contract extension.


Bottom line: Are new 2-year contract prices the same as upgrade prices? (Assuming you are eligible for upgrade.)


This would clear a lot up.