Verizon phone plan up -- any tips for renewal

[Ranger111]

First of all, my wife is not going to switch from Verizon. Not going to happen. So no chance to try any other plan.

Currently on an Edge plan, with the phones all be paid off at the end of the month....it's around $190 for three phones and 10GB of shared data with unlimited talk and text. Rarely, have they ever gone over the 10GB.

Wife went back to the store where she originally initiated the plan and was told that with the new plans she would save a few dollars a month, but to make it cheaper she should buy new phones (currently have IPhones, 5s). She was told she would get a "newer" model of the 5s and while there was a charge of $35 for each phone to move all data etc. from old phone to new phone, he would only charge her $35 for all three phones.

It sounds a bit suspect to me -- especially the cheaper to buy new phones bit. But, I don't know. Anyone know anything about this.

Looking on the Verizon Web site, it looks like she can get 18GB of shared data for three phones with unlimited talk and text for $140 a month, which is significantly cheaper than she has now. And, the Verizon site says nothing about having to buy new phones...

Are the web site prices generally cheaper than the brick/mortar prices?

Thoughts?

 

[MillauFr]

Why not switch to a Straight Talk plan that uses Verizon towers for $45 per month?

 

[Flutter-butter]

Check out www.whistleout.com to compare cell phone plans. Total Wireless and Boom both work on the Verizon network at a fraction of the price.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

Last time we renewed with verizon we waited for our state fair hoping for free phones. The deal at the fair is always the best annual deal. I grilled the salesperson and he finally agreed that ordering on line was the way to go. We were able to get Samsung Galaxy's 4s for free, and I was told there would be no activation fee. I fought that one for a while when the first bill came and ended up getting a monthly credit that worked out to be more than the fees.

Fast forward to today. Our phones are now out of contract and are no longer able to hold a charge. I have reviewed the on line specials (wish I had jumped on the black friday deal) and I will go to Costco in January (we are already members) to see if they can do better for me. It is my understanding that they have similar deals to those on line but offer specials on different makes of phones or give a Costco gift card with sign up.

We stick with verizon, no matter the cost, because no other provider works in the rural areas my husband travels to. I know all the other providers say they work in the same places, but that is not our experience. We don't see the point of paying less for a service that won't work where we need it to the most.

If you are not ready for a phone upgrade, I think it is absolute nonsense that your wife was advised new devices would cost less. That is just absurd. I would also not bother with using the stand alone stores but do your purchase on line. You'll get a better deal and can always go into the store for service if you need to after you pay less to get what you want.

 

[tvguy]

They have greatly simplified the process, our contract just expired. They have 1 piece of paper in the Verizon store that explains everything and all your options. Our current phones are 2 years old, so we saw no need to change phones, the pricing structure is pretty straight forward and pretty close to the same now with every provider.
Everything really is up to how you use your phone and where and if there is service. While my personal phone has always been with Verizon (okay, I was Pactel, who got bought by Airtouch who got bought by Verizon), we seem to switch every 2 years at work. ATT, Sprint, T Mobile, we always end back with Verizon at work because they have the fewest dead zones.

 

[amcnj]

If the phones are still functioning without issue, why get rid of them? If you are going to have them paid off this month, then your bill will drop starting the following month. If you are committed to new phones, I would check the store and online and see who is offering what deals. In the past, the end of the year used to bring some good deals on phones, but of course what might happen this year is anyone's guess.

Otherwise, if it is just a plan change you are interested in, again check what the store is offering versus online and determine if it will really save you much of anything.

 

[wenrob]

I know nothing about Verizon but "newer iPhone 5s" makes no sense at all. They would be the same. Sounds like he wants to sucker you into a payment plan for phones and get rid of old inventory at the same time.

 

[havaneselover]

I know nothing about Verizon but "newer iPhone 5s" makes no sense at all. They would be the same. Sounds like he wants to sucker you into a payment plan for phones and get rid of old inventory at the same time.

Seriously, didn't the 5S come out in 2013???

 

[Ranger111]

Original poster again. I am sort of working through what my wife told me last night, and she was not exactly clear on details.

The "new" phones to replace the old 5s models we have now would be the SE -- which from my readings has 2GB of RAM vs 1GB on the 5s, but I really don't see where we need that anyway.

Again, wife is not going to leave Verizon -- no matter what other carriers use the same network (she and my daughter both spend a lot of time in areas that are covered pretty much ONLY by Verizon -- she is not going to trust a secondary carrier even with the same network).

As far as I know, wife does not really want a new phone, she was just told "things would work out the same or a little better that way" in terms of price. Again, as mentioned "HUH?"

Well, she claims to have some sheet of paper somewhere at her office that explains it better, hopefully she will bring it home and I can go from there. Maybe it is the sheet TVGUY mentioned....

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Why not switch to a Straight Talk plan that uses Verizon towers for $45 per month?

At least in our area, Straight talk doesn't work nearly as well as Verizon. They have a lower priority on their towers and the connection is unreliable at best. A phone does you no good if you cannot use it.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Original poster again. I am sort of working through what my wife told me last night, and she was not exactly clear on details.

The "new" phones to replace the old 5s models we have now would be the SE -- which from my readings has 2GB of RAM vs 1GB on the 5s, but I really don't see where we need that anyway.

Again, wife is not going to leave Verizon -- no matter what other carriers use the same network (she and my daughter both spend a lot of time in areas that are covered pretty much ONLY by Verizon -- she is not going to trust a secondary carrier even with the same network).

As far as I know, wife does not really want a new phone, she was just told "things would work out the same or a little better that way" in terms of price. Again, as mentioned "HUH?"

Well, she claims to have some sheet of paper somewhere at her office that explains it better, hopefully she will bring it home and I can go from there. Maybe it is the sheet TVGUY mentioned....

I can understand her hesitation. Verizon is literally the ONLY carrier that works on our route from DD's cheer gym home, we we often travel late at night. Other carriers claim that they are the same because they use Verizon's network, but they are not. Verizon will always prioritize it's own customers over 3rd parties. The only thing i can figure with the new phones bit is that they thought she had the 4. My FIL has one and apple will not be offering support for them after the new year. Everyone with a 4 will slowly loose functionality and eventually have to replace them. The deals to do so now are better than they will be after Christmas.

 

[Ranger111]

I can understand her hesitation. Verizon is literally the ONLY carrier that works on our route from DD's cheer gym home, we we often travel late at night. Other carriers claim that they are the same because they use Verizon's network, but they are not. Verizon will always prioritize it's own customers over 3rd parties. The only thing i can figure with the new phones bit is that they thought she had the 4. My FIL has one and apple will not be offering support for them after the new year. Everyone with a 4 will slowly loose functionality and eventually have to replace them. The deals to do so now are better than they will be after Christmas.

My daughter attends Grad School in Iowa and her field work often takes her to very remote places -- with our old T-Mobile phones, she often had no coverage -- even when I went to visit her at her college, I had no coverage IN TOWN with T-Mobile. Never a problem with Verizon. Wife drives many places for work that only has Verizon -- and even Verizon is sometimes not available.

Stubborn, I still cling to my T-Mobile. I have to admit, TM coverage is better than it used to be -- especially in the past year, but still nowhere near Verizon.

 

[ISUamanda]

Verizon pre-paid plans are pretty competitive now. Still think StraightTalk is the better deal, though.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Verizon pre-paid plans are pretty competitive now. Still think StraightTalk is the better deal, though.

Only when you can get it to work. For us and it sounds like for the OP Verizon works and Strait Talk doesn't

 

[ISUamanda]

Only when you can get it to work. For us and it sounds like for the OP Verizon works and Strait Talk doesn't

StraightTalk uses Verizon towers in a lot of areas.

 

[bjscheel]

Just looking at the Verizon website, they have the "L" plan, which is 8 GB to share + another 2 GB per line for $70. Each smartphone line is $20 so for 3 phones, that would come to $130.

DH has been on Verizon for a long time. He drives all over Iowa, particularly SW Iowa, and I would not trust another company for him. We just recently added DD15 to his plan, so we had to move him from a single to the new Verizon plan. They have 2GB to share at $35. His phone is still under contract, so his line is another $40. DD brought her own phone in, so her line is $20, for a total of $95 for the two of them. When DH's phone goes off contract in April, his line will drop to $20. Therefore, I think that for you, if you have phones no longer under contract, your cost would be whatever size data plan you pick plus $20/line. If you buy new phones, I would think it would be $20 PLUS the cost of the phone divided over 24 months.

DD18 and I have Tracfones that run on Verizon towers. It is NOT the same thing. There is a hole in SW Iowa and NW Missouri for Tracfone service in which my phone (4S) does not work at all. DD18 has a 5 and she can text but not call. DH's and DD15's Verizon phones work fine. Actually, Tracfone dumbphones work in that area too, it is a smartphone issue. I plan to get onto Verizon before next track season which is when I travel in that area. Other than that, Tracfone has been a pretty good and cheap service for us, but now that we can add lines on Verizon for $20 we are going to gradually go that route.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

StraightTalk uses Verizon towers in a lot of areas.

Yes, but Verizon customers have priority on those towers. Straight Talk only gets room IF there is bandwidth, which can be limited in rural areas.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Sometimes the big box or warehouse stores can reduce the cost of new phones... but monthly rates are pretty much the same. Or just talking with the Verizon salesperson about maybe you doing that.....

One thing is to see if you qualify for any discounts.... if you work for a county or state gov, large education institute, hospital, bank or some large corporations, you might qualify for a discount on your rates.

 

[Shughart]

If it's not ok to ask this here, (and OP feel free to yell at me) but you guys all seem very knowledgeable about phone plans and Verizon. I am on my parent's plan on Sprint and my husband is on his parent's plan on Verizon. Originally we were going to get our own plan from Verizon in my name, hoping to get my fees paid by Verizon for switching (but I am leaving a plan behind, not cancelling a whole one and switching over and getting a deal on phones, with one half off. Due to massive car repairs, we are trying to save money and my husband wants to..

1. Keep his phone.
2. Move his line to a new plan.
3. Add me onto the plan when my phone is paid off with Sprint.

Does anyone know how much it is to start up a new contract/plan without buying a new phone? We were planning on doing the 4GB medium plan for both of us. Just trying to estimate what our start up cost would be.