What is the earliest you have gotten a phone upgrade with Verizon?

I tried it back when the iphone 5 was coming out. I called about 3 months before my upgrade time, and they told me I could upgrade early, but I couldn't get the iphone 5 or the samsung phone out at the time (S3 maybe).

gotcha, well worst case scenario ill just buy some crappy phone on ebay and use it for a few months until i can get the S5

bought my nexus 4 for $199 when it went on 'firesale' at google, sold for $250 on craigslist, bought mint nexus 5 on craigslist for $300
???

profit!

who pays telecoms for phone subsidies these days?

If you have insurance with Verizon, adding a dummy line isn't a bad option. To add the line is $20/month. Cancel your insurance will save you $10/month. Bill will go up $10/month and you can get the phone of your choice and keep your old phone in case the new phone breaks. This will then allow you to upgrade more frequently and you can keep the phone or sell. Brand new, unlocked phones sell on eBay b/w $600-$800. Over a 24-month period, you spend $240 more, get a new phone with contract for $200. Sell for $800. $360 profit.

Shot in the dark, but with all the providers rolling out these new plans and plans where you pay for the phone over time, you might see if you can get that deal (if you can live with it) when the S5 comes out.

GF is on ATT and did that with the 5s after her 5 got crushed. Really worked out to about the same price over time.