AT&T will pay up to $650 per line in switching costs for a limited time

For a limited time, AT&T will pay out up to $650 per line to cover costs related to switching from your current carrier. That's right, if you are ready to make the switch but the cost has been holding you back, this may be your chance to break free with little to no out of pocket expenses. Whether you want to avoid paying an early termination fee, or still owe monthly payments on your current smartphone, AT&T is willing to pay up to $650 to get your number on its network.

In order for AT&T to pay out, you will be required to purchase a new smartphone using the carriers Next payment plans. This offer can be used alongside the other existing offers from AT&T, like its new unlimited plan for DirecTV and U-Verse subscribers, or the BOGO deal on select smartphones. If you are interested in making the switch, be sure to contact AT&T or head to your local store before the promotion ends.

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Source: AT&T (opens in new tab)

Jared DiPane

Jared started off writing about mobile phones back when BlackBerry ruled the market, and Windows Mobile was kinda cool. Now, with a family, mortgage and other responsibilities he has no choice but to look for the best deals, and he's here to share them with you.

33 Comments
  • If AT&T is willing to shell out $650, that Next plan must really screw people over. Save up and pay in full. Ah who am I kidding, this is America, people will just put it on plastic with 24% APRs. Capitalism thrives on the ignorance of its people.
  • Their phones are more expensive than Verizon, tm, or sprint
  • How are they more expensive? They are identical.
  • There is no APR for Next. The only reason why AT&T is running this promo is because everyone is running it now. And they have been losing customers to T-Mobile.
  • They are losing them to T-Mo? What is T-Mo doing to get you to say that?
  • Interest-free financing for 12, 18, 24 or 30 months is what the Next plan is. You can cancel at any time by simply paying off the balance. Yeah, the AT&T 950 is $50 more than the MS version, so they're really screwing people over. /s
  • They are forcing you to buy new phones, even if your current phone is fine and works on AT&T. An iphone retails for $650. What is the cost to the carriers when they buy wholesale? I bet it's a couple hundred cheaper. Retail markups tend to be between 40 I believe. That's why Apple started offering their own payment plans. Why give that margin to the carriers? Plus the carrier will lock you in for 2 years with these plans. THat is what they really want. The 12 & 18 month plans require that you pay off the balance or buy a new phone and locking yourself for another 2 years. Paying off a phone might be cost prohibitive for some people. Plus they get to resell your old phone if you do upgrade to a new phone and make some more money on that.
  • You are not forced into anything. If you want a new phone on Next, you are going to pay for it over a 2 year period at whatever the cost of the phone is. You pay it off, its yours. You don't, your account ends up in collections.
     
  • I'm on Next and paid for my phone outright. Where do you see Next screwing people over?
  • If you paid for it outright you don't have next. You are just paying for the actual phone line. Next is the financing of the phones and bring able to trade it in etc.
  • ROTFL.  Don't say stuff like this in public.
  • I still think tmobile has the best options. It's too bad they do to cover everywhere. I watch Netflix and stream all the music I want for free. Two lines, $100. ATT used to have a monopoly on the best Windows Phones, but that has changed since MS let's you buy unlocked.
  • Has T-Mobiles coverage been improving or is that marketting hot air?  I considered them a few years back but coverage was poor with many small holes in dips and valleys.  Couldn't get it at my house even though the map said it was covered. 
  • Being a T-Mobile USA user AND a W10M user is a seriously challenging proposition. T-Mo's coverage improved dramatically with a new LTE band (12 - 700MHz) they installed in many of their existing towers. I can tell you the difference is massive, and areas that used to cut off (parking structures, elevators, pockets between towers) no longer do when you have the right device and are in an upgraded area. The problem is you must have a phone that a) has Band 12 and b) uses Band 12. In the W10M world, that's a limiting proposition. For example, the 950 has LTE Band 12 but it doesn't work on T-Mobile (firmware support, methinks). As of now, the discontinued T-Mobile & unlocked Metro PCS variants of the 640 plus the Alcatel Fierce phone are the only W10M devices that can access Band 12. To make an ATT/GoPhone 640 work on Band 12, you have to do the unbranding / ROM flash process. In other words, it's a very murky deal. I suspect in a year or two, this won't be an issue - but the network upgrade was rather recent, and previous to the upgrade, it didn't matter if a phone had/used Band 12 or not for T-Mo --- so there's this transition period where T-Mo and device manufacturers are pushing/installing Band 12. iPhone 6, for example, doesn't have it. iPhone 6s does.    
  • Their coverage improved dramatically with a new LTE band (12 - 700MHz) they installed in many of their existing towers. I can tell you the difference is massive, and areas that used to cut off (parking structures, elevators, pockets between towers) no longer do when you have the right device and are in an upgraded area. The problem is you must have a phone that a) has Band 12 and b) uses Band 12. In the W10M world, that's a limiting proposition. For example, the 950 has LTE Band 12 but it doesn't work on T-Mobile (firmware support, methinks). As of now, the discontinued T-Mobile & unlocked Metro PCS variants of the 640 plus the Alcatel Fierce phone are the only W10M devices that can access Band 12. To make an ATT/GoPhone 640 work on Band 12, you have to do the unbranding / ROM flash process. In other words, it's a very murky deal. We ended up moving off T-Mo to ATT; between the employer group discount and the DirecTV combined billing discount, it was only $9 more/month on ATT. Not worth the headache and limited device selection to access Band 12.
  • T-Mobile still not good in Brooklyn
  • In LA, I've noticed that coverage did improve. There are still issues if I drive out of the city, like when I go to Vegas. I rarely lose phone service but I occassionally lose internet service. Considering how rare this happens, I think T-mobile is a good choice.
  • Can you use an app for music streaming and is the bitrate limited?
  • Yes, you can use an app - though the number of music services supported vs. the apps currently available on W10M is going to be a problem. Bitrate is not limited on music.
  • I'll have to talk to Tmo in the near future about W10 music app that are supported. The majority of my data is music related, 90%, and am currently forcibly not streaming to stay within limits on Cricket.
  • They video is at 480p, which Netflix on a phone still looks great. The service has to support adaptive streaming. The 3 that I can think of off the top of my head they support: Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go. You can easiliy turn it on and off via SMS, so if you had the need for a 1080p binge watch, you can toggle it.
  • T-Miserable may have the best options but they have possibly the worst customer service of the Big 4. "The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory" -Aldo Gucci  
  • Your statement is clearly a bizzarro world joke.
  • People can hate T-Mobile and sprint all they want, but competition always puts the consumer in a favorable position.
  • Shame they don't pay existing customers up to $650 per line for sticking around....
  • Hahaha Love It!!!.This
  • Strongly considering this.
  • The fact that the 950 it is a higher spec phone and actually supports glance is the real kicker. I can live with the specs on the icon but I REALLY miss glance.
  • This might be what I needed to switch from Verizon.  We have a family plan with 2 Windows Phones, 2 iPhones, a feature phone, and 2 tablets that all proved too cost-prohibitive to switch before.  I'll be heading into AT&T to do some pricing and see where we land. 
  • They require that you trade-in your current phone. I just bought a 950 XL. I wonder if I can trade-in my old 920, get a new phone form them, sell that phone, then continue using my 950XL?
  • Re: Tuxedo323,
    "The bitterness of poor quality is remembered (and is visibly self evident to the discerning) long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory". This is a well known fact.
  • uh hell no, used to be with att and we told them we were looking for lower rates. we were told repeatedly no. so we took the phones literally to the other side of the road to gci. cut my bill in half. i will admit that is some shinny bait , just not liking how most bait starts to stink after awhile.
  • Thanks for the tip, signed up last night and new 950's will be here in a few days. Going to save $60 a month on the bill and get better phones on top of it.