What is the AT&T next up charge?

Posted on: 13 Aug 2024
What is the AT&T next up charge?

Under the AT&T Next Up program, consumers with AT&T postpaid cellular service may opt to yearly, rather than biennially, update their smartphone After 12 monthly Next Up payments, you may trade your current qualifying smartphone for a newer model if you register for the AT&T Internet Next Up plan, which has an extra monthly fee invoiced with your mobile phone bill.

What is the AT&T Next Up Monthly Charge?

The AT&T Next Up monthly installment depends on the monthly retail price of the smartphone. Here are the AT&T Next Up monthly charges.

  • $5/month for smartphones $10-$25/month retail price
  • $10/month for smartphones $26-$35/month retail price
  • Smartphones that cost $36 or more retail price $15/month

The monthly cost is calculated at your new smartphone’s total retail cost spread out over 24 monthly payments charged on your 0% APR credit plan. Thus, the Next Up charge normally ranges from 1/5th your smartphone’s full retail price billed monthly, monthly for a year.

Which Smartphones Are Eligible for Next Up?

Designed for new and existing AT&T postpaid consumers who buy a new smartphone under a 0% APR AT&T Next payment plan, it Therefore, should you be utilizing AT&T Next to finance your handset for 24 months, you may choose AT&T Next when you upgrade to a new smartphone.

Should the phone cost less than $1500, AT&T Next is AT&T's device payment plan wherein you may pay for a new smartphone with 0% interest and in 24 monthly installments; for phones costing $1500 or more, it is 30 monthly payments. This divides the whole retail cost of your new gadget into more doable monthly payments seen on your wireless bill. You pay sales tax upfront at full retail price and $0 monthly payments with no APR for 24 months with AT&T Next.

This way, AT&T Next and Next Up allow you to take a new device every year without being charged early termination fees or new activation fees. With Next Up, you just turn in the eligible smartphone after making twelve monthly payments and get a freshly financed phone.

Are There Eligibility Requirements?

To qualify for AT&T Next Up, there are a few basic eligibility requirements.

  • You must be on an eligible 0% APR AT&T Next installment agreement for an eligible smartphone. This means that you bought a new smartphone from AT&T using the Next 24 monthly installments plan.
  • Your AT&T wireless account can not be currently delinquent or have any past due amounts owed on it.
  • When you upgrade, you have to return your previous eligible smartphone in good operational and cosmetic condition. The screens cannot be cracked or have any sort of damage on the other devices.
  • The Next Up upgrade program does not apply to premium branded smartphones that have been launched in the last 12 months. So iPhones that were recently released in the market are not eligible.

If you are following these requirements with an eligible smartphone, you can sign up for Next Up within 30 days of activating your new device on AT&T Next. After paying 12 monthly payments for 12 consecutive months, you are entitled to your annual upgrade provided all conditions prevail.

How AT&T Next Up Upgrades Function?

The AT&T Next Up upgrade process works like this.

1. Buy a new smartphone from AT&T Next with 0% APR with monthly installments over 24 months.

2. Enroll in AT&T Next Up within the first thirty days to incur the additional $5 to $15 monthly costs depending on the device’s payment.

3. In essence, after 12 Next Up monthly payments, you are eligible for an upgrade and can trade in your smartphone for a new device on a new Next Up AT&T plan.

4. As the time comes, go back to the store and exchange your old smartphone for a new one with AT&T. It has to be fully working and in cosmetic condition without any defects at all. Clear any outstanding balance that you would have on it.

5. Select a new smartphone and obtain a new 24-month AT&T Next installment plan. Your monthly payments for Next Up resume for the next 12 months.

6. Repeat annually! Next Up is available for select upgrades after the 12th monthly Next Up payment on your new device, and you can bring it again. Pursue such annual upgrades on an ongoing basis indefinitely.

Other benefits of the AT&T Next Up Program include

Along with annual smartphone upgrades, AT&T Next Up also includes these extra perks.

  • Save $20 when you upgrade within 12 payments using AT&T's Next upgrade fee
  • Customers of Next Up are privileged to get the first shot at the scarce ATT smartphones that come with the latest operating systems.
  • Free phone shipping with options for faster delivery
  • Access to the latest products on the market when they are released
  • Incentives Such as being able to have privileged AT&T Next Up customer offers and promotions.

So for an additional $5 to $15 per month, AT&T Next Up offers fairly reasonable yearly smartphone upgrades as well as some other additional benefits for customers who decide to stay loyal to AT&T. If you want to be able to access new devices that are launched every year, Next Up can ultimately save you money in the long-run.

Is AT&T Next Up Worth It?

Whether AT&T Next Up is worth it of course depends on how frequently you wish to upgrade your smartphone.

If you replace your phone every 3 years, Next Up is not going to be very beneficial to you. At that rate, it would be cheaper to wait for 24 months and then upgrade. But for the people who want new technology every year, especially those who frequently upgrade their devices, Next Up can be very useful.

If we did not opt for Next Up, it would be $0 more not to upgrade versus $240 to $360 in Next Up fees to upgrade annually. However, there are those smartphone fanatics who will always want the latest device every time it is out on the market. Next up for power users, therefore, is the ability to achieve cost savings as well as easier annual updates.

This brings us to the AT&T Next Up program: Think about your own experience of upgrading your smartphone and then decide if you could save money by using this program. It is the most flexible option in upgrading from AT&T.

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