Upgrading Phones with AT&T...2 YR contract vs Next

The best way to determine whether you'll save money is to calculate your 24-month costs, including the phone, and compare it to the 24-month costs + phone for the newer plan (based on how much data you need)

I suggest the 24-month cost because that is the length of AT&T's contract and, on average, the amount of time someone keeps a phone. Here's an example based on my current plan, which includes two users:

Current plan-- unlimited data, 2 flagship phones purchased every two years.

Cost per month of service: $140 x 24 = $3360
+
Cost per new, flagship phone: $199 + ~$18 (tax) + $40 (upgrade "fee") = $257. Two phones = $514

Total 24-month costs for current plan= $3874

ATT Mobile Share 15GB w/ ATT Next (My wife and I use 6 to 10GB combined each month, so the 5GB is not enough, and there's nothing in between)
Cost per month of service: $130 x 24 = $3120
+
Cost per new, flagship phone: $649 + ~$58 (tax). Two phones = $1414

Total 24-month costs for new Mobile Share 15GB plan= $4534

Again, the above is an example of what to account for when calculating 24-month costs, not a recommendation of any sort. Your situation will be affected by the fact that you aren't buying the latest and greatest and you aren't paying for two lines. It also sounds like you perhaps aren't on an unlimited plan, but on a data plan that existed before AT&T started penalizing customers for using the contract subsidy?

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I would much rather just spend the $49 and get the iphone 5 for $49 than have to pay $22 a month for 24 months for the iphone 6.

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Buying an iPhone 5 outright is not an option? I bet you could find one cheap online. You don't have to get it through AT&T regardless of the plan you choose. Though I'd recommend the 5S at a minimum, not the 5.

I do some copying and pasting of my old posts, but it's often faster to just retype it than retrieve an old post.This time I just typed it out in the context of an example.

I should start bookmarking my own lengthy posts because this site's search function is terrible. Even the Google-powered one seemingly arbitrarily omits certain posts even if I search for a phrase verbatim.

quote:

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I would much rather just spend the $49 and get the iphone 5 for $49 than have to pay $22 a month for 24 months for the iphone 6.

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If you're on a plan larger than 5GB, you're paying $40/month for access to the line. If you use NEXT, you only pay $15. So you're paying $25/month to be under a contract. Not sure if you've run the numbers, but at $22/mo you could have a iPhone 6 for nearly the same price.

But, as mentioned, run the full 24-month numbers for yourself. It made sense for me to switch to NEXT.

So most of the answers regarding Next are correct. They will force me to pay $40 a month for my data plan instead of the current discounted rate of $15.
Throw in the cost of the phone and the upgrade fee and its a lose lose.

My bill will increase however much the monthly installment is on the phone. My only other option that i see is to buy a used (or new) phone elsewhere and use that.

AT&T sucks.

OK, so you are on the newest plan by AT&T. In that case, there is absolutely no scenario in which the on-contract upgrade is worth it. From your first post, it sounded like you regularly bought phones on-contract at the subsidized price. Either buy a phone from pretty much anywhere, or pay for it in interest-free installments via AT&T.