The days of extending your phone service contract for a year or two to get a free (or cheaper) phone upgrade are soon to be a thing of the past. The recent shift that phone companies have made away from contracts means that getting your next upgrade is no longer as easy as paying a $100.
What does this mean for you? Get ready to open your pocket book, because phone companies are expecting you to pay full price for your next phone – that’s upwards of $600 or $700 for top of the line models. They do offer installment plans, of course, and some companies including Sprint even offer a leasing option.
So how will this paradigm shift affect your phone bill? To get a better understanding of how your monthly payment will be applied, there are three bill components to consider:
- If the cost of your phone has been split into installments, how are each of those installment payments being applied to your bill?
- The access charge per phone may seem cheaper, but you need to remember that you’re actually paying more in the long run because you’re buying the phone at full price.
- The charge for your data packet, which varies if you’re on a group plan and according to your needs.
Is it better to stay on with a traditional contract if your company is still allowing it? Only you can answer that question based on the above mentioned factors and few other points of contention. Is having a newer phone more often important to you? If so, you may be willing to make the jump to an installment plan which allows you to upgrade phones more often.
Whether you decide to buy your new phone outright, pay for it installments, or lease it, you should really stop to consider if now is a the right time for you to upgrade in the first place. For example, iPhone’s newest model isn’t expected until sometime in September, and wouldn’t you rather foot that hefty bill for the latest version instead of the current verison?
So before you run out and get that new upgrade, think about bringing in your current phone to iDropped for an expert repair so you can hold off on buying new until the time is right.
