Results 1 to 13 of 13
  1. #1
    I have been with SprintPCS using same phone for about 4 years. I am
    ready for a new phone. I am thinking of changing carriers and getting a
    new phone that way.

    I contacted SprintPCS and asked about leaving. They told me I was
    elgible for a $150 "credit" on a new phone if I purchase a new phone
    and sign a new 2 year agreement?

    Question: how is this any better than going to the SprintPCS web site,
    buying a phone and signing up for a new 2 year agreement to get that
    $150 "instant savings". Did the CS tell me the wrong thing...do I have
    to sign a new agreement?

    Am I missing something? Does SprintPCS have some other sweeter deal to
    retain current customers? I have been relatively happy with them, but
    if this is the best they can do, I may jump ship.

    Thanks




    See More: Upgrade Program???




  2. #2
    Bob Smith
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???


    <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > I have been with SprintPCS using same phone for about 4 years. I am
    > ready for a new phone. I am thinking of changing carriers and getting a
    > new phone that way.
    >
    > I contacted SprintPCS and asked about leaving. They told me I was
    > elgible for a $150 "credit" on a new phone if I purchase a new phone
    > and sign a new 2 year agreement?
    >
    > Question: how is this any better than going to the SprintPCS web site,
    > buying a phone and signing up for a new 2 year agreement to get that
    > $150 "instant savings". Did the CS tell me the wrong thing...do I have
    > to sign a new agreement?


    No, the rep told you the same deal that's offered on the website.
    http://pcshandsetupgrade.sprint.com/

    Now, if you just want to commit to a one year agreement, you can get a $75
    credit off the price of your new phone.

    >
    > Am I missing something? Does SprintPCS have some other sweeter deal to
    > retain current customers? I have been relatively happy with them, but
    > if this is the best they can do, I may jump ship.
    >
    > Thanks


    Well, it all depends on what plan you are on now. What plan do you have now?

    Bob





  3. #3
    John Richards
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    [email protected] wrote:
    > I have been with SprintPCS using same phone for about 4 years. I am
    > ready for a new phone. I am thinking of changing carriers and getting a
    > new phone that way.
    >
    > I contacted SprintPCS and asked about leaving. They told me I was
    > elgible for a $150 "credit" on a new phone if I purchase a new phone
    > and sign a new 2 year agreement?
    >
    > Question: how is this any better than going to the SprintPCS web site,
    > buying a phone and signing up for a new 2 year agreement to get that
    > $150 "instant savings". Did the CS tell me the wrong thing...do I have
    > to sign a new agreement?
    >
    > Am I missing something? Does SprintPCS have some other sweeter deal to
    > retain current customers? I have been relatively happy with them, but
    > if this is the best they can do, I may jump ship.


    The handset upgrade deals for existing customers are not all that
    different for the different carriers. So, unless you want to "jump ship"
    every two years, the answer is no, you're not missing anything.

    --
    John Richards






  4. #4

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    So the only advantages of doing the "PSC hand set upgrade" are :
    - you get to keep your phone number
    - you don't have to pay the activation fee

    I think everything else is the same as going to a SprintPCS store and
    just signing a new contract. Is this true?

    (BTW I currently have a 450 anytime/2550 n&w shared min. family plan
    with 4 phones with nights 8PM-7AM. I have only gone over the 450 min a
    few times during the last 4 years)

    I have been talking to some other carriers. I have found that some
    stores can offer you better deals than other ones, even though they are
    the same carrier. Does this happen with SprintPCS stores too?

    Thanks




  5. #5
    Bob Smith
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???


    <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > So the only advantages of doing the "PSC hand set upgrade" are :
    > - you get to keep your phone number
    > - you don't have to pay the activation fee
    >
    > I think everything else is the same as going to a SprintPCS store and
    > just signing a new contract. Is this true?
    >
    > (BTW I currently have a 450 anytime/2550 n&w shared min. family plan
    > with 4 phones with nights 8PM-7AM. I have only gone over the 450 min a
    > few times during the last 4 years)


    What price are you paying, and what additional options are on your account?

    >
    > I have been talking to some other carriers. I have found that some
    > stores can offer you better deals than other ones, even though they are
    > the same carrier. Does this happen with SprintPCS stores too?
    >
    > Thanks


    No, it shouldn't. The only source at SPCS that can offer different plan
    prices is the retention department through Executive Services.

    What carriers are offering better deals at their stores, than from their
    website or by calling CS?

    Bob





  6. #6

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    >What carriers are offering better deals at their stores, than from their
    >website or by calling CS?


    I have been to two local immix wireless stores in my town. They were
    both offering the same plan, but one store "said" they would offer a
    better deal on the phone and they would wave the activation fee.

    Frank




  7. #7
    Jim Seymour
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    In article <[email protected]>,
    [email protected] writes:
    > So the only advantages of doing the "PSC hand set upgrade" are :
    > - you get to keep your phone number


    Go to a new carrier and you get to keep your number, too.

    > - you don't have to pay the activation fee


    Relatively minor, no?

    >
    > I think everything else is the same as going to a SprintPCS store and
    > just signing a new contract. Is this true?

    [snip]

    Looks that way, doesn't it. As I just noted in another thread: To
    me, sometimes SPCS doesn't make a lot of sense. They'll risk losing
    a long-term customer over a handset discount they'd give a new
    customer. This is what comes of letting bean-counters run the show.

    Don't get me wrong: I basically still like SPCS. And I want to stay
    with them. But if either my or my wife's phones dies before I'm
    eligible for a handset discount, I'll probably jump ship. *shrug*

    --
    Jim Seymour | "There is no expedient to which a man will not
    [email protected] | go to avoid the labor of thinking."
    http://jimsun.LinxNet.com | - Thomas A. Edison



  8. #8
    C M
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    Frank,
    Why don't you send an email to SprintPCS ecare?
    You did not mention how much you are paying for the 450 minutes
    including the 4 lines and any other extras you are getting.
    Send sprint an email (they are pretty fast in responding), tell them
    that you have been a customer for 4 years. You can probably get the
    handsets with $150 credit each (I am not sure if it is going to be
    instant rebate or mail-in since you were under the previous upgrade
    program) but you would have to sign a 2 year agreement.

    If you could let us know your current cost of your plan etc. we may be
    able to tell you if you could get a better plan/deal.
    Being a loyal customer for 4 years gets you loyalty %discount, signing
    for 2 years gets you Free Nts and Wkends at 7pm plus you will get pcs to
    pcs free. But the current Family F&F plan is $70 for the first 2 lines
    and $10 per additional add-on. Which means you will be paying $90 for
    your 4 lines but you get 800 minutes.

    Be polite when you write to ecare. They may give you a very good plan.
    Plus everything will be in writing.
    Good luck.

    [email protected] wrote:
    > So the only advantages of doing the "PSC hand set upgrade" are :
    > - you get to keep your phone number
    > - you don't have to pay the activation fee
    >
    > I think everything else is the same as going to a SprintPCS store and
    > just signing a new contract. Is this true?
    >
    > (BTW I currently have a 450 anytime/2550 n&w shared min. family plan
    > with 4 phones with nights 8PM-7AM. I have only gone over the 450 min a
    > few times during the last 4 years)
    >
    > I have been talking to some other carriers. I have found that some
    > stores can offer you better deals than other ones, even though they are
    > the same carrier. Does this happen with SprintPCS stores too?
    >
    > Thanks
    >




  9. #9
    Tim Smith
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    In article <[email protected]>,
    [email protected] wrote:
    > So the only advantages of doing the "PSC hand set upgrade" are :
    > - you get to keep your phone number
    > - you don't have to pay the activation fee


    You also keep your current plan. If you went in and just started over,
    you'd be limited to the plans they now offer.

    For example, I'm on a Free & Clear plan with two lines. Normally,
    unless you use pretty much the same amount of minutes each month, the
    Fair & Flexible plans are better, but I use *waY* under even their
    smallest plan, and that puts me in the one place where the F&C is as
    good or better than F&F. The nearest F&F plan to mine would give me 300
    more minutes for $5 less (but since I have never used even 10% of my
    minutes, the minutes don't matter to me), but sharing Vision now costs
    $5/month more than it did when I signed up, so it's a wash. I would go
    ahead and switch, even though I don't need the minutes (might as well be
    covered in case I ever have an unusual month and do need to talk a lot,
    after all).

    However, and I can't be sure because of the confusing pricing, I *think*
    they've split out some things that were included in my $10/month
    unlimited Vision plan and made them separate add-ons, and so to match my
    existing Vision plan with the current offerings would cost a lot more.

    --
    --Tim Smith



  10. #10
    Tim Smith
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    In article <[email protected]>,
    [email protected] (Jim Seymour) wrote:

    > In article <[email protected]>,
    > [email protected] writes:
    > > So the only advantages of doing the "PSC hand set upgrade" are :
    > > - you get to keep your phone number

    >
    > Go to a new carrier and you get to keep your number, too.
    >


    How well does that work out? I recall when number portability was first
    mandated, there were a lot of glitches. Has that been smoothed out? If
    you switch carriers, how long does it take for your number to be moved?

    --
    --Tim Smith



  11. #11
    Tim Smith
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    In article <[email protected]>,
    [email protected] (Jim Seymour) wrote:
    > Looks that way, doesn't it. As I just noted in another thread: To
    > me, sometimes SPCS doesn't make a lot of sense. They'll risk losing
    > a long-term customer over a handset discount they'd give a new
    > customer. This is what comes of letting bean-counters run the show.


    That works out fine as long as the bean-counters are running the show at
    the other carriers, too. Sure, Sprint loses some customers that way,
    but they will also be gaining some customers that are leaving other
    carriers for the same reason. I think the carriers like it this way.

    Consider: suppose you are at Sprint, and I was at, say, Cingular (I'm at
    Sprint, too, actually). If we both get annoyed over handset discounts,
    and switch, me to Sprint and you to Cingular, both carriers have won:

    1. We've each paid activation fees that we would not have paid if we'd
    renewed at our old carriers,

    and

    2. We are each now on current plans, instead of legacy plans.

    Since carriers usually seem to let you change you plan without too much
    hassle, when they introduce new plans that are better than their old
    plans, people can switch. However, when the new plans aren't as good
    (from the customer's point of view), the customer can stay on the old
    plan. My guess is that this means that they all have lots of customers
    on plans that are better (for the customer) than the current plans. So,
    if they can swap out a legacy customer for a new customer, they are
    happy.

    So, from the carrier's point of view, in the hypothetical swap above,
    all that has happened is that they've each collected an extra activation
    fee, and converted a legacy plan to a current plan. They've both come
    out ahead.

    --
    --Tim Smith



  12. #12
    Steve Sobol
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    Tim Smith wrote:

    > How well does that work out? I recall when number portability was first
    > mandated, there were a lot of glitches. Has that been smoothed out? If
    > you switch carriers, how long does it take for your number to be moved?


    Not long at all.

    I ported from Verizon to an existing Sprint PCS account about thirteen
    months ago. The port was processed by Verizon within four hours (which I
    understand is supposed to be pretty typical) and the only reason it wasn't
    complete by then was that Verizon had my most recent address on file, and
    Sprint, for some reason, gave them the address where we lived when we first
    moved here (the account information must exactly match, or the port will fail).

    I called Sprint and corrected that problem and they sent over the porting
    request again, and my number moved to Sprint by the next business day.

    Just in the past week, we switched to T-Mobile so we wouldn't get hit with
    tons of overages calling Sarah's mother who had just activated a new line
    with TM. (My wife spends a lot of time on the cell phone calling her mom.)

    We ordered two new phones and a Family Time shared-minute calling plan
    through inPhonic. Credit approval took about thirty minutes, and although
    inPhonic's disclaimer said the port might take 5-7 days, our phone numbers
    were ringing through to our T-Mobile phones within 24 hours. This latest
    port was done completely over the Web.

    All of the carriers use the same clearinghouse to process ports, except AT&T
    Wireless... but now that ATTWS is part of Cingular, I'm assuming that that
    is no longer an issue.

    --
    Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
    Company website: http://JustThe.net/
    Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
    E: [email protected] Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307



  13. #13
    nolife
    Guest

    Re: Upgrade Program???

    Tim Smith wrote:

    > So, from the carrier's point of view, in the hypothetical swap above,
    > all that has happened is that they've each collected an extra activation
    > fee, and converted a legacy plan to a current plan. They've both come
    > out ahead.
    >


    Interesting theory.

    I came about the same thing when my contract expired. I wanted a forth
    phone added to my account and wanted to replace my 3 existing phones.
    Somehow they were trying to tell me that it was better to just get a new
    4 phone plan. It actually did sound better until I wrote EVERYTHING
    down and compared. It came down to perks from my old plan that made the
    difference that the CSR's failed to point out like currently, my second
    phone is free, Vision per phone is free and unlimited messaging per
    phone is free. I'd actually pay about $40 more a month if I remember
    correctly with the new plan AND be on a two year contract on all four
    phones. I asked about simply adding a forth phone to my existing
    account and was told that was not possible because my plan was too old.
    I went to a Sprint PCS store that same day and was able to add a forth
    phone to my existing account. I took the new phone discount which put
    that ONE phone on a two year agreement but that was it. I actually
    bought some better used phones later from a friends friend to replace 2
    of my other three old phones.
    I have been carrier shopping as well and every sales person from all
    carriers are really good at telling you cost and minutes included for a
    bare bones plan as stated on the glaring 24x36 inch posters on the walls
    and doors but it gets really twisted and vague when you start talking
    about the extras like messaging, internet access, roaming, pictures, etc..
    Odd that they want to do business that way and you really have to keep
    on your toes to prevent getting burned.



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