“Next Up” Eligible Upgrade for Mobile Phone

1.   You cannot take advantage of the iPhone 14 trade in promotion with a phone you do not own because you have not paid off all of the installments.

2.   If you read the phone promotions for trade in they all say it is" not an early upgrade offer"

3.  What you are expecting is what's called "double dipping" . You're expecting (A) to have the remainder of your iPhone 12 installments waived and (B) get $1,000 in credits on the new phone. You cannot do both.

Just to clarify "next up" early upgrade option.  You pay the extra fee every month for half of your installment life in order to return the phone to AT&T in good condition and not pay the remaining 50% of what you owe on the phone.   

  (edit)  You can then upgrade as usual, but you will pay the retail price with installments for whichever new phone you purchase. 

It works the exact same way with any service provider that allows you to upgrade early and return the phone. They waive the remaining payments, but you cannot double dip by using the early upgrade return to take part in a trade-in deal. 

Based on this result, we have received absolutely NO benefit to having paid now $90 for “Next Up”, in fact a net loss of $167 for having this installment option (i.e., to move forward with the upgrade would cost us $590 – loss of $500 credit plus $90 Next Up cost vs. not having the “Next Up” option and paying off the remaining current balance of $433.21).

You have two choices, you can cancel next up and have it removed and finish paying for the phone. And never use the early upgrade option ever again. Or you can go ahead and early upgrade, return the phone to AT&T, and pay the usual price published on the website for your next phone.

BTW, all of the promotions require you have an unlimited data plan with a base price for one line of at least $75. If you are on a metered plan, it doesn't qualify 

I’ll opt for never “Next Up” again, as there is absolutely no benefit to the additional cost if I want to take advantage of promotional upgrade offers.  Terrible program for users who want get into the latest phones early.  

Cheaper to pay off your current phone, then take advantage of the promotions being offered on the latest phones.

 ⚠️Please note that all of the promotions require you be on a qualified unlimited data plan.

Cheaper to pay off your current phone, then take advantage of the promotions being offered on the latest phones.

That depends on the promotions and the requirements. In the past, some of the promos have be buy one, get one, or required a new line, etc., and those additional requirements might not make sense for some people who want to upgrade early going forward. 

I have requested the removal of "Next Up" from the account, and have advised everyone I know who uses AT&T Mobile to not waste their money.  The good thing is I found out early, and only had to waste $90.  Lesson learned ! 

AT&T should include this disclaimer (not eligible for promotional upgrades) in the "Next Up" Plan details, not put that in with the individual promotion details. I find this somewhat deceptive.

AT&T should include this disclaimer (not eligible for promotional upgrades) in the "Next Up" Plan details,

They don't because it's not true.  

Customers can pay off their phone at any time to use it as a trade-in.  

Using next up does not block you from being able to participate in promotions.  And the conditions for participating in promotions are no different. You still have to pay off a phone 100% in order to use it as a trade-in for promotion. 

    I realize you didn't get how it works but other people do. 

not put that in with the individual promotion details. I find this somewhat deceptive.

Umm... have you ever traded in a car before you paid off the loan? 

Or sold a house before the mortgage was paid off?

    Neither is an exact analogy but the fact is you don't get the full value for something transferred into a new purchase if you don't own it 100%, because you didn't pay it off.

    The fee is an invention of T-Mobile and sprint.  T-Mobile calls it "Jump", Sprint called it "iPhone forever".   

The fee is to offset the fact that when you trade in a used phone, it's not worth as much anymore.  

It does not benefit the consumer, unless they're only goal is to upgrade more frequently and they don't care how much it costs. If your goal is to save money and get upgrades more often, then purchasing through the service provider is never going to be fiscally beneficial.