When your up for an upgrade do you have to change your plan. We love the plan we hae right now and want to keep it. But two of the phones are eligible for upgrades on February 11th. Also is it possible to do the upgrade online instead of going into a store? Thanks
You do not have to change your plan when you upgrade. Your contract gets extended but that is all. I upgraded my wife's phone last fall and they didn't even ask what plan I was on. I have an expired plan which I wanted to keep which is what I suspect you want to do. I suggest you go into a store or authorized agent to upgrade. If there is a problem, solving it through an online agent is no fun.
If they change it, go back and complain to the store manager, then the General Manager, then the Area Manager until it gets resolved. But no, they shouldn't be changing a plan without informing you. What phones are you looking at?
Well I am waiting for the LG Scoop to come out. I am a heavy txter but I do not want a smart phone. My sister is looking at either the LG wave, one of the colored music LG phones that are out, or a razor.
No, you cannot upgrade online. You can pick out the new phones online ot go to a store for a touch and feel of the phones and then call the toll free number listed. The in store prices and the online prices are often different. If you do call make sure you get the online price as they sometimes change and the sales reps will quote a higher price. You will have to extend your contract for two years to get the good price on your upgrade phones. You do not have to make any changes to your current plan and the rate you are currently paying stays the same.
note: buying smartphones require you to switch to smartchoise rate plan technically, but otherwise and in most cases upgrading wont effect your rate plan
We are currently on a smartchoice plan. My mother has the moto q. She bought that in December. The two phones we bought when we first joined alltel are the ones up for an upgrade.
No it doesn't. Only if you get it at a discount (subsidized) with the exception of Blackberry. If you buy it retail or on eBay there is no requirement for a smartchoice plan.
I really want a smart phone but have been avoiding the upgrade because I thought I had to upgrade to a smart choice plan. How is there a way around that with a retail or Ebay phone? Won't Alltel just bump up my plan once they realize I have a 'smart phone'?
The simple answer is no. I have a friend with a Q on Alltel that he bought from eBay. He does not have a SmartChoice plan and it has been nearly a year. You can add a data plan if you wish, but you don't have too--except with a Blackberry. You have to have a data plan with a Blackberry.
The expanded answer: Smartphones purchased at less than retail price, from Alltel (or authorized agent), after Feb 07, REQUIRE a SmartChoice plan. So if you purchase any smartphone at full retail, or get one from a reseller not affiliated with Alltel, or have a friend give you one - well in that case you don't have to have a SmartChoice plan. However, if you want to use it's data features, the SmartChoice packs are usually smarter and cheaper than a regular plan with the smartphone data plan added to it.
Thanks for the replies. I called an Alltel rep today and at first she told me I had to have a smartchoice plan, regardless if I bought a phone through Alltel-either full retail or discounted, received one from a friend or another source other than Alltel. I told her I had no need for the smart choice plan, that I only wanted the phone for syncing calendar capabilities. After a very long time on hold, she told me that as long as I didn't buy the phone through Alltel at the less than retail price, I would have to take the smart choice plan when I swapped esn's but then could cancel the smart choice plan. She also said that even if I had a BB I could still cancel the smart choice plan...... interesting....guess I will have to see how they really handle it if I ever do upgrade. She did say to add smart choice it would make my plan go up 25 per month.
She had no idea what she was talking about. As long as you are not purchasing a smartphone under contract, there is NO need to be put on a smartchoice plan. Changing the ESN would have absolutely no effect on this. So you could get the phone not under a contract, then call in and do an ESN change and NEVER have to change your plan. However, the data plan would cost you $29.99/month. If you have a blackberry, it follows the same restrictions as any other smartphone. However, if it is purchased NOT under contract it can be activated on any plan, but WILL require a blackberry feature, which costs between 40-45 bucks/month.
I have another question. When I am upgrading my phone can I put the new phone on my bill for next month. ex: I want the lg scoop next thur when it comes out can I upgrade but put the $100 ($59.99 with a $40 rebate so it is $100 upfront) on my bill for the next month. Or when i am upgrading do i have to pay that up front?
Actually, up to $200 can be service billed per month - but not on the Scoop, or at least not YET. You can preorder it on the website, but that site does NOT allow service billing. Until this phone is officially released, it can't be service billed.
I wouldnt be buying the scoop until Feb 14th. Alltel emailed me and said it would be available locally on the 14th. So I could charge it to my account then. Would I need to pay the $40 mail in rebate amount at the time of purchase though?
lol You send in the first page of your bill (I recommend the one you get after getting the phone), the boxtop with the barcodes, the sales recipt, and the rebate form itself (I'd make copies of everything but the boxtop so you have a personal record) and mail it to the address on the rebate form (usually El Paso, TX).
