Will we have to change rate plans with this purchase?

[SoCalHeli]

i have a foundation account and att has been nothing but good to me, anyone know what will happen with our rate plans our foundation discouts and all of that stuff once the buyout is completed. i know cingular has some coorporate discounts....what do you guys think?

[ETurla]

Your current contracts should be grandfathered into Cingular, provided you are still in contract by the time the integration takes place. Rainmaker accounts are non-existant with Cingular (As far as I know.) So unfortunately once ATTWS customers migrate into Cingular you most likely will lose your rainmaker accounts.

[SoCalHeli]

what do you mean by rainmaker accounts? is that the same as FAN accounts? how long will this integration (or should i say stripping out of at&t take?)

[SHoTTa35]

Originally posted by SoCalHeli
what do you mean by rainmaker accounts? is that the same as FAN accounts? how long will this integration (or should i say stripping out of at&t take?)

bout a year before it all goes thru but i got no idea what rainmaker accounts are either.

[Packy]

I'm also wondering about Foundation accounts. My wife and I get a discount through her work right now.

So it sounds like all current deals will roll over? That is good news... I wouldn't want to lose our 15% more minutes and 15% discount!

[SoCalHeli]

that is what i am wondering too, but i do know that cingular does have promotions for large companies, i am guessing we will just have to leave the foundation account and use the cingular version of it. hopefully they will be comperable. what i really liked about the foundation aco×××× was the discounts on the equipment. that is the most important thing for me. hopesome can chime in with info. but it is also too early to know what will happen.

[ETurla]

Rainmaker accounts are what ATTWS calls their customer base that is eligable for some kind of discount. For example Employees of the North Shore Hospital Association are eligable for 40% off of their phones. Gov Employees are eligable for 60% off phones and accessories and like 25% off of their bill. The integration of both companies will supposedly be complete by 4Q 2004.

[ETurla]

Yes I believe NYC Market Rainmaker accounts may be the same as your Foundation Accounts....Either way they are non-existant here at Cingular as far as discounts on phones and accesories. Their are however some kind of customer discount but I believe they are only eligable for a 18% discount on their bill and they would have to call CS. I do not believe that they can be added on the store level.

[Slowpoke SS]

Now it kinda blows with all GSM companies cutting minutes and features on the $29.99 plan

T-mo has only unlimited weekend minutes; Cingular has 1000 nights and weekends only...AWS has completely removed nights and weekends altogether.

Really blows for people like me who average 1300~1500 N/W minutes a month.

[SoCalHeli]

hey slowpoke, do you have an SS? i do too, anyways i have an extra x426 if you are looking to get one, its new. just e-mail me:

socalheli@hotmail.com

[Packy]

Hopefully the Nokia 6230 comes out before the 50% off new phones for my Foundation account dissapears!

[shilton]

Originally posted by ETurla
Rainmaker accounts are what ATTWS calls their customer base that is eligable for some kind of discount. For example Employees of the North Shore Hospital Association are eligable for 40% off of their phones. Gov Employees are eligable for 60% off phones and accessories and like 25% off of their bill. The integration of both companies will supposedly be complete by 4Q 2004.

I am sure there will be some...for example here in Central PA, Cingular gives generous discounts to Penn State Employees (and students too I am pretty sure). There are also some other ones but I wasn't eligibile for any of them so I don't remember them all. Best bet is to go to a Company Store and ask about discounts...but yes its true that most discounts are on PLANS only and not on equipment.

As for questions on HAVING to change plans...no probably not. I had Verizon years ago when they bought out Alltel in my area and all plans were grandfathered in. But in the case of Many "home" users, it may be to your advantage to sign a new contract. For example, My father-in-law has a plan with AT&T "ONE-RATE". Same plan with Cingular (Cingular Nation GSM)with MORE MINUTES and a shared phone for his wife $25.00 less than he is paying now...so there may be some advantages. If you have the loweest cost basic plan, probably not...but if you are a user of say $40.00 or higher every month...look at the plans and there may be some savings.

[Nilelegend]

So if Im with ATT right now and I am no longer on contract, there is noway that they can take away my plan including addons that I have such as North America PKG? Or do I have to be under contract? thanks

[goterps]

what is the # for the "rainmaker" account... I have a gov't plan... but when I call the regular # they tell me they have no idea what I am talking about regarding the discount on the phone

[mgfjd]

people here dont get it.
att or cingular are not going to be 2 class citizens or anything like that.
it is going to be a new powerful cell phone company that has to come up with joint plans for both customers not only att or cingular customers.
The uncertainty is how the new plans are going to be, cheaper?? more expensive??? more coverage?? less coverage??? I hope the new cingular gets the best from both companies.