Renewal and Device Upgrade Question

[MathGirl42]

Ok since I have been reading that some VW customer service reps are giving different info than others, I figured I would start out asking here.

Currently I am on a Nationwide 450 min plan. My contract expires in a couple days and I was planning on getting my regular device upgrade with renewal (I now see that things are changing in that regard). From what I have read, existing customers can still keep their old plan with the old "subsidized" device upgrades but it isn't advertised on the site and we have to ask for it, is that correct?

I have read some articles highlighting that the change to paying full retail for the phone isn't such a bad thing in the long run, but I am skeptical that applies to my personal case and am nervous about hidden fees. Here are my details:

I am the only one on my plan. 1 line, 2gb data (plenty for me), 450 minutes (plenty for me), 1,000 texts (plenty for me)

I pay $30 for the data portion and $39.99 for the voice portion and $10.00 for the texts. I do not have a "line access fee" that I have seen mentioned (it shows as $0.00 on my plan information and bills). So overall, I pay $79.99 (plus the normal tax/fees etc that add about $10, I also pay $8 a month for device protection but I also get an employee discount through my work that is $8 so it zeros that out essentially) and my monthly bill is $90.xx

It seems like with the new plans, my only option would be to go to the 3gb data plan (I am over 1gb monthly but always under 2) which seems like it would cost a little more?? I can either pay $552 up front for the galaxy s5 I was looking at or pay $23 a month plus $45 for the plan, plus $20 for the "access fee," plus $9 a month for the device protection. (23+45+20+9 = $97) not including any of the regular tax/fees (but also not including my employee discount which I hope is still being offered - (it was 20% off the plan charge for BlueCross BlueShield employees, so I assume in this case 20% off of the $45, so it would be $9 in this case which would zero out the device protection charge and bring it down to $88 -before taxes/fees)

Are there other hidden fees I should know about with either option?

[mama23dogs]

Yes, in the future you will probably have to buy phones at full price, or the Device Payment plan.

Look at the price of service separately.

there are no hidden fees, but you do pay sales tax on full retail value of the phone.   The discounted upgrade has a $40 fee.

[MathGirl42]

It is hard not to think of the two together since it is the joint cost of having a phone and service.

So if I stay with my current plan, is there still a phone subsidy to upgrade my device? That is what people are getting conflicting answers on. If so, what is the discount price for a Galaxy S5 (or where can I go to view the discounted price for other smartphones as well)? In order to really tell if it is a better deal to switch plans, I need to know the answers to these questions.

[Weth]

You are doing the right thing calculating out the best deal for you. The only thing to consider is the up front costs with the upgrade vs. no up front costs on the new payment plans.

In your example, if your new phone's subsidized upgrade price is $199 and the upgrade fee is $40, you are really adding $10 per month to you overall cost. So to compare better, your $79.99/month current plan would be equal to $89.99/month on the new plans for the same phone.

[mama23dogs]

Verizon is keeping it very quiet and allowing 2 year contracts under the table....or so the rumor goes.  I don't know what the criteria is.

Im trusting your name isn't just for show (two thumbs up) and you have done all the math.

Selecting a phone and figuring out which payment method works best with which plan should keep you busy tonight.