We know AT&T is planning on completely doing away with traditional two-year contracts, but that leaves a good bit of confusion over what happens to customers who wouldn’t be approved for device financing but would normally be approved for the contract option. It looks like the carrier will be taking a page from T-Mobile’s playbook and will offer a down payment option with their Next 12 payment plan to take care of customers that don’t have the credit for normal Next finance plans.
The Next 12 with Down Payment will require a customer to put 30% of the device’s retail cost down, then split the remaining balance over 28 months. After 12 months, roughly 60% of the device will be paid off, and the customer will be eligible for an upgrade just like on the other Next 12, Next 18, or Next 24 plans.
This down payment functions almost like a deposit that AT&T sometimes requires for customers, although it seems like it should come out around the same price as a two-year contract. AT&T currently asks $684.99 for a Galaxy S6, and 30% of that comes out to around $205, not including any sales tax in your state. The remaining balance should roughly come out to 17 bucks on your bill each month, which hits right around what a two-year contract would do to your bill.
The new Next option should go live on May 28th, just in time for AT&T to ax two-year contracts. The carrier is also planning on upping the limit of devices on Next on an account to 15 lines.
Any AT&T customers sad about losing two-year contract options, or are you happy that they’re embracing what T-Mobile started?
source: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: AT&T implementing 30% down payments with Next program on May 28th
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