Cheapest way to get an iPhone 6S or plus?

[FrugalSaver]

I've ridden my 4s as long as I can. Been on cricket for a while.

Any creative recommendations?

[Jags4186]

You could sign up for the citi ATT card which gives you $650 towards the purchase of a new phone. You'd have to activate on ATT and keep the line active for 15 days to receive your rebate.

https://www.citi.com/credit-card-details/citi.action?ID=citi-att-access-more-credit-card

[fiftyincher]

Ditto above. Just got an S6 Active this way. The cost of the phone counts towards the $2000 minimum spend. So it's basically a spend $1400 in 3 months spend plus the $95 card fee and the one month of ATT service.

[humbleMouse]

Buy a 5c on craigslist for $200 or less.  They run just as fast as the 6 and are smaller thus easier to hold and use.  I used to have a 6 and it broke.  I bought the 5c and think it's a way better phone.

[McLane89]

Smart phone newb question. After the one month of att use can the phone be used with any carrier? Thanks.

[Daley]

Smart phone newb question. After the one month of att use can the phone be used with any carrier? Thanks.

http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB414532&cv=820

[singh02]

I usethe website swappa and them only buy a phone in mint or like new condition from a seller with a lot of reviews and at least a few pictures.  The 6 plus will of course be the better deal.

There are many benefits to an iphone, including access to the apple store which I've found helpful as I'm not the most tech savy person and don't want to be currently.

If you're open to an android phone a nexus 6 or an samsung note 4 (the note 5 just came out) are even better deals on swappa.  Both these are phablets (comparable in size to the 6 plus).

[cube.37]

How much of a hit to credit score do you get when opening and closing a credit card within 3-12 months (before another annual fee)? Currently have a great score (800+ due to mortgage payments), but don't want it to go down too much since I plan on setting up another mortgage for an investment home in about 1 year.

[geekette]

I've been churning the last several months and mine's gone up and down a few points (FICO score courtesy of Barclay Bank).  It's actually up 6 points from my start in March, so I'd say it's not a problem.

You can often get them to transfer your credit line to another card that doesn't have a fee, so your available credit won't go down.

[Friar]

Or do what I did and get a job that gives you a phone. ;)

[James]

I just applied for the citi card to get the $650 off a 6s, we will see how that goes...


I did find out you can unlock the phone before activating it, so you don't need to keep service for 60 days. But you have to unlock before you start service or they will make you wait 60 days.


So it will be $95 for the card fee and $45 for the activation fee on AT&T. Not sure what the cost will be for 15 days of service that is required, but can't be much, and hopefully I can just cancel and get a full refund after 15 days. (I don't plan to use it at all during those 15 days) So that would be a $650 phone for about $140. Planning to replace my phone with this one, replace my daughter's phone with mine, and sell my daughter's phone on ebay which will be more than enough to cover the $140 cost, so the whole process will be a neutral transaction financially.

[gimp]

Work there, use employee discount. Or work somewhere that gives you a company phone, even better.

[Dee18]

James, how do you get the phone unlocked?

[James]

James, how do you get the phone unlocked?

Here is the page:
https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/

[FrugalSaver]

Does it have to be unlocked to use it on cricket?

[Davids]

Cheapest way is to wait a few years when IPhone 9 is out then I am sure iPhone 6S will be a bargain.

[elaine amj]

Thanks to this thread, I researched like crazy...and we were approved tonight for the AT&T CC. Once we get the card and the link, we will order the phone. We were prepared to pay about $250-$350 for a used iPhone 5S (32/64GB). Right now, we are planning to get the iPhone 6 64GB which is exactly $649 (the iPhone 6S is about a $100 more so I don't think it is worth it).

COSTS:

-          $95 annual fee
-          $15 activation fee
-          $45 monthly plan (can cancel after 15 days); 300MB, unlimited talk & text
-          Taxes, fees, shipping, service (about $40)
-          Possibly additional fees added to the monthly plan (up to $10?)

Total cost: $195 - $205

THINGS TO KNOW:

-          Get the phone unlocked (by AT&T) before it is activated
-          Must keep service for 15 days
-          AT&T will also do another hard credit pull (plus the hard pull for applying for the Citi card)

Based on everything I can see, it will be worth it.

DH is on a Rogers plan right now for under $60/month. We plan to switch him to a pre-paid data only plan that will cost only about $120/year. He will use a VOIP app for phone/text. This is going to save us a bundle!!

[FrugalSaver]

Why not just cancel the card before you have to pay the $85 annual fee?  I've never had a card charge me that fee until the 1st anniversary comes up

Thanks to this thread, I researched like crazy...and we were approved tonight for the AT&T CC. Once we get the card and the link, we will order the phone. We were prepared to pay about $250-$350 for a used iPhone 5S (32/64GB). Right now, we are planning to get the iPhone 6 64GB which is exactly $649 (the iPhone 6S is about a $100 more so I don't think it is worth it).

COSTS:

-          $95 annual fee
-          $15 activation fee
-          $45 monthly plan (can cancel after 15 days); 300MB, unlimited talk & text
-          Taxes, fees, shipping, service (about $40)
-          Possibly additional fees added to the monthly plan (up to $10?)

Total cost: $195 - $205

THINGS TO KNOW:

-          Get the phone unlocked (by AT&T) before it is activated
-          Must keep service for 15 days
-          AT&T will also do another hard credit pull (plus the hard pull for applying for the Citi card)

Based on everything I can see, it will be worth it.

DH is on a Rogers plan right now for under $60/month. We plan to switch him to a pre-paid data only plan that will cost only about $120/year. He will use a VOIP app for phone/text. This is going to save us a bundle!!

[elaine amj]

Hmm..I usually get charged the annual fee pretty quickly. This one is not waived the first year (unlike most of my CCs) so I doubt it's going to be too easy to avoid it. We'll see - we do some churning and usually keep cards about 10 months (cancelling before the 2nd year annual fee kicks in).

[FrugalSaver]

Finalized my application for the at&t card today.  most odd cc experience I've ever had.  Once I finished online it told me my application needed additional info and if I called, it would expedite the process.  That was at 11pm last night.

I called.  They were closed.

I then called around noon this morning and they put me on hold 4 separate times for 2-3 minutes each time while they "checked on a few things".

They then needed me to hang up so they could call me.

In theory, this was all for security purposes, but I've never had a credit card activation be so unusual. 

I should have the card in about a week.

[elaine amj]

I should have the card in about a week.

What phone are you planning to get?

I'm thinking we'll get the iPhone 6 64G. The 16G is ridiculously small - no way would it be sufficient. I would have been fine with 32G but they unfortunately don't offer it anymore.

DH just told me that he has decided that he will use the new phone. My initial plan was to leave it at home for the kids and I to share. He said we will still share it, but he's not leaving it at home every day for someone to steal. Wish us luck in sharing the phone with him! All of us have always disliked using his Galaxy because he has all kinds of annoying settings (to save battery, he has it go to standby after just 1 min or so, he habitually turns off the screen rotate, keeps the phone very dim, etc etc) plus he LOVES to delete any apps he considers "useless" to save space (without asking any of us if we still want it). Otherwise, it makes complete sense to share it with him. Kids just want it for their games and such (he rarely touches his phone at home in the evenings) and I only need it when we travel for photos and travel apps (he rarely uses his phone on vacations).

Although now he is asking about getting the iPhone 6S instead. But I am not convinced a faster processor, better camera, newer OS is worth $100. On the good side, it should last longer (before it is obsolete) but I haven't seen a smartphone last much longer than 3 years anyway. My iPhone 5 lasted 2.5 years and then just completely died. Although thinking about it...my DH's Galaxy S2 is 4 years old now. That said it is completely clunky and the GPS hasn't worked properly in almost 2 years now.

[sol]

Cheapest way is to wait a few years when IPhone 9 is out then I am sure iPhone 6S will be a bargain.

Cheapest way is "theft" but I'm pretty sure that's not the kind of answer OP was looking for.

[Dee18]

Please post if you have successfully gotten the phone unlocked prior to activation....seems like there is lots of wiggle room in ATTs language for them to not do that. Thanks all!

[James]

Please post if you have successfully gotten the phone unlocked prior to activation....seems like there is lots of wiggle room in ATTs language for them to not do that. Thanks all!

Worst case is either wait 60 days for an official unlock or get it unlocked unofficially, which I have done for free in the past and know you can get done by paying a couple bucks also.


Frustrating process so far, I was under the impression I could order the phone right away, they said they would email a link to order the phone once you are approved. They didn't so I called, and they didn't seem to understand the process on their end at all. Citi said I needed an AT&T account first and gave me a number to call to set that up, but the number just went back to Citi... So I guess I wait a week for the card and then I can log into the online account to order the iphone. (I guess it would be impossible to use the card to order the phone if I don't have the cc number yet also) I didn't have any issues with the application itself though, no phone calls etc needed.


I am planning to get the 64gb iphone 6s. To me it is worth the extra. In my view going with the 6s instead of the 6 gives an extra full year of expected life to the phone, and a year of smart phone life is worth at least $100, but YMMV...

[FrugalSaver]

Please post if you have successfully gotten the phone unlocked prior to activation....seems like there is lots of wiggle room in ATTs language for them to not do that. Thanks all!

Worst case is either wait 60 days for an official unlock or get it unlocked unofficially, which I have done for free in the past and know you can get done by paying a couple bucks also.


Frustrating process so far, I was under the impression I could order the phone right away, they said they would email a link to order the phone once you are approved. They didn't so I called, and they didn't seem to understand the process on their end at all. Citi said I needed an AT&T account first and gave me a number to call to set that up, but the number just went back to Citi... So I guess I wait a week for the card and then I can log into the online account to order the iphone. (I guess it would be impossible to use the card to order the phone if I don't have the cc number yet also) I didn't have any issues with the application itself though, no phone calls etc needed.


I am planning to get the 64gb iphone 6s. To me it is worth the extra. In my view going with the 6s instead of the 6 gives an extra full year of expected life to the phone, and a year of smart phone life is worth at least $100, but YMMV...

my understanding from talking to them yesterday is I will have to receive the credit card before I can actually activate it.  Confusingly, once I got off the phone, I received an email saying my account is activated.  Doesn't mean much though without the physical card. 

I should have the card in the next 7-10 days so I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.

[Gray Matter]

Or, you could just get one the way I did this morning.  I went to my car to run errands and discovered it was unlocked (oops), reeking of alcohol, seat laid back, and an iPhone 6 sitting on the seat.  I'm guessing some drunken Halloween partier couldn't find his way home in the dark given his addled state and spent the night in my car (we live near a college campus).

We dropped the phone off at the local police station, because I thought an iPhone was too steep a price for our CarBnB (though DH thought it was a reasonable fine for drunken debauchery).

[elaine amj]

Frustrating process so far, I was under the impression I could order the phone right away, they said they would email a link to order the phone once you are approved. They didn't so I called, and they didn't seem to understand the process on their end at all. Citi said I needed an AT&T account first and gave me a number to call to set that up, but the number just went back to Citi... So I guess I wait a week for the card and then I can log into the online account to order the iphone. (I guess it would be impossible to use the card to order the phone if I don't have the cc number yet also) I didn't have any issues with the application itself though, no phone calls etc needed.


I am planning to get the 64gb iphone 6s. To me it is worth the extra. In my view going with the 6s instead of the 6 gives an extra full year of expected life to the phone, and a year of smart phone life is worth at least $100, but YMMV...

My understanding is that you get the link via email AFTER you get the card and activate it. Getting excited! (and still debating between the 6 and the 6S. You make a good point).

[elaine amj]

Please post if you have successfully gotten the phone unlocked prior to activation....seems like there is lots of wiggle room in ATTs language for them to not do that. Thanks all!

I spent a lot of time reading reports from Flyertalk about the phone. From the data points they reported, you should go online and get the phone unlocked BEFORE you activate the phone. If you need phone support, you can always tell them you are travelling outside the country and need it unlocked. After it is unlocked, you activate it and keep the plan for at least 2 weeks (you have to pay for the whole month). Cancel before the month is up.

[James]

Please post if you have successfully gotten the phone unlocked prior to activation....seems like there is lots of wiggle room in ATTs language for them to not do that. Thanks all!

I spent a lot of time reading reports from Flyertalk about the phone. From the data points they reported, you should go online and get the phone unlocked BEFORE you activate the phone. If you need phone support, you can always tell them you are travelling outside the country and need it unlocked. After it is unlocked, you activate it and keep the plan for at least 2 weeks (you have to pay for the whole month). Cancel before the month is up.

Yeah, important to get that unlock first or you are tied into 60 days before unlocking though AT&T, which might mean paying for 3 months of service instead of 1... (there are other options for unlocking so not necessary to wait 60 days, but unlocking through AT&T would be much preferred I think)


I hear the lowest rate for no-contract line is $25 on AT&T, and I assume since it is no-contract I won't need a data plan... anyone have verification of that?

[elaine amj]

Please post if you have successfully gotten the phone unlocked prior to activation....seems like there is lots of wiggle room in ATTs language for them to not do that. Thanks all!

I spent a lot of time reading reports from Flyertalk about the phone. From the data points they reported, you should go online and get the phone unlocked BEFORE you activate the phone. If you need phone support, you can always tell them you are travelling outside the country and need it unlocked. After it is unlocked, you activate it and keep the plan for at least 2 weeks (you have to pay for the whole month). Cancel before the month is up.

Yeah, important to get that unlock first or you are tied into 60 days before unlocking though AT&T, which might mean paying for 3 months of service instead of 1... (there are other options for unlocking so not necessary to wait 60 days, but unlocking through AT&T would be much preferred I think)


I hear the lowest rate for no-contract line is $25 on AT&T, and I assume since it is no-contract I won't need a data plan... anyone have verification of that?

I went on the AT&T website and could not find any rate (for a smartphone) any lower than $40/mo.

[Another Reader]

...I thought an iPhone was too steep a price for our CarBnB...

Best line all day!

[James]

I went on the AT&T website and could not find any rate (for a smartphone) any lower than $40/mo.

Gophone service is $30, but I will have to wait and see for sure what the cheapest plan I can get. A no data plan can be had for $25, so if it doesn't need to be linked to the iphone I just purchased then I can just do the $25 plan. Otherwise I will try for the $30 Gophone plan, and if that doesn't work then the $45 300mb plan. We will see.

The offer says "activate and maintain service with AT&T for 15 days", it doesn't say you need to have a plan that is specifically for the phone you purchased...

(I just chatted online with an agent at AT&T website. She said I could order the phone, pay full price, cancel the initial line when it arrived and pay the $25 rate by just picking up a sim card. Not sure if that will work yet, we will see.)

[gt7152b]

Work there, use employee discount.

Nope, they give employee discounts for laptops and tablets but not for phones. I think it's only 30% off anyway.

[tooqk4u22]

Posting to follow - not sure this is a good deal or not.

Also, isn't this just another form of consumerism ala honda vs. bmw.....is there are reason that the $50 phones aren't good enough.

[tooqk4u22]

Just read the offer....the OP/Title lead me to think it was just for iPhone....can also be for samsung or others...

[fiftyincher]

I got a link after I activated the card. I opted for a Galaxy S6 Active fwiw. ATT bill for the one month of service was $56.57.

[tooqk4u22]

I got a link after I activated the card. I opted for a Galaxy S6 Active fwiw. ATT bill for the one month of service was $56.57.

That phone looks ideal given the case....just not sure about the memory as the OS takes up about 7GB of the 32GB.....so net 23GB.

Of course it shouldn't matter to me as my phone now as about 4GB between internal and external.

[fiftyincher]

I got a link after I activated the card. I opted for a Galaxy S6 Active fwiw. ATT bill for the one month of service was $56.57.

That phone looks ideal given the case....just not sure about the memory as the OS takes up about 7GB of the 32GB.....so net 23GB.

Of course it shouldn't matter to me as my phone now as about 4GB between internal and external.

I put a case on it and glass screen protector. I read enough about dropping and breaking the screen to worry me. My son dropped in 3ft onto concrete two days ago with no damage. I was mostly interested in the waterproof part.

[tooqk4u22]

I got a link after I activated the card. I opted for a Galaxy S6 Active fwiw. ATT bill for the one month of service was $56.57.

How long did it take you to get the card and then the link to the phone offer?

[sstants]

Idk about you guys but I just turned my old iphone in, got the rebate, bought the new iphone with a 2 year contract and am friendly with the guy at the verizon store so it all is a wash for me financially (the $0 iphone 6s). They can DEFINITELY give you discounts if you get chatty with the right people. Those prices you see online and at the apple store are not fixed.

I know I know I know I should have a more affordable plan than verizon but work subsidizes a lot of it.

[James]

Posting to follow - not sure this is a good deal or not.

Also, isn't this just another form of consumerism ala honda vs. bmw.....is there are reason that the $50 phones aren't good enough.

Isn't the $50 phone consumerism? Shouldn't you be fine with the free handoff your uncle was going to throw away?


It's all a sliding scale. No, the Iphone 6s is not "mustachian", but getting it cheap and without contract comes pretty damn close...

[fiftyincher]

I got a link after I activated the card. I opted for a Galaxy S6 Active fwiw. ATT bill for the one month of service was $56.57.

How long did it take you to get the card and then the link to the phone offer?

I'd guess a week or so to get the card. The link for the phone offer was on the my account page on the Citi website shortly after I activated it I believe.

[elaine amj]

I will have to look for the link. We finally got our card yesterday (about 1.5 weeks after applying) and I had thought the link was going to be emailed to us.

Having a major debate with myself between the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6S. The iPhone 6 is already going to cost me about $200 with this CC deal (including all fees, taxes, etc). The 6S will cost me about $100 or so more. We do plan to hang on to this phone for as long as possible (DH has been using his Galaxy S2 for 4 years now and he's finally given up). So we won't be upgrading for a very long time.

Been studying the 6S and it is possible that the newer features (especially the 3D touch) will become more important in the next couple of years at which point, it might be well worth paying extra for the 6S.

While we don't necessarily need the latest and greatest, we like our tech and I do get annoyed when I can't use any apps I want (I use a Blackberry and it's something I live with every day). In addition, my two teen kids will be sharing this phone too (DH will use it daily, I will use it on vacations, and the kids can use it in the evenings) and it is somewhat important to me that my kids can also play with whatever apps they want.

[geekette]

One thing to note, especially with kids in the picture, is that the 6S has some new features that make it pretty water resistant.

[elaine amj]

One thing to note, especially with kids in the picture, is that the 6S has some new features that make it pretty water resistant.

Hmmm...that IS a nice feature :) Anything to help with durability.

I once busted a phone when I was out cycling, it poured, and I forgot that I had it in the back pocket of my cycling jersey (was too focused on my extreme misery). Thank goodness I was due for an upgrade then!

[reader2580]

Has anyone successfully bought an iPhone 6S or 6S+ from AT&T and gotten it to work on Verizon?  Verizon is actually less expensive per month than AT&T for a single phone and I really need the coverage of Verizon.  I have read that you need an already activated Verizon SIM and then the iPhone will work.  I have no idea how to get an activated Verizon SIM if I can't use my AT&T iPhone to activate an account.

My employer currently provides me an iPhone that I also use for personal use since texts and voice are unlimited.  Rumors are that my employer will be getting rid of company phones and just giving employees a stipend for employees to get their own phone.  Unfortunately, the stipend will likely be quite a bit less than what it costs for a phone.  If I wasn't working I would just get a cheap prepaid plan, but I really need the coverage for work.

[sisto]

Well, I just did the online offer on the link and was approved. It says I'll have my card in less than a week. Merry Christmas to me with a new phone.

[StacheEngineer]

@elaine mj, IMO get the 6s for two sets of reasons. First, if you are using it for the next 4 years, you will pay amortized an extra $25/year for the 6s which is very worth it for something used everyday. Second, having upgraded from a 4s to 6s recently, the new CPU, 2 GB of ram and much faster Touch ID were very worthwhile upgrades and will ensure the future-proofing of the device.

[FrugalSaver]

It's been 10 calendar days since I was approved for the card but haven't yet received it. I should have it any day now and then I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.

[sol]

First, if you are using it for the next 4 years...and will ensure the future-proofing of the device.

Seriously?  Four years?  Is anyone here actually using a 4 year old smartphone?

The iphone 4s was released four years ago.  That was five iphones ago.  Is anyone still using one of those that they got within a month of the initial release date, when it was the brand-spanking-newest phone in the world?  I'm skeptical.  This market moves too fast.

I'm happy to get two years out of a smartphone, three if I'm really babying it and by then the OS is likely to be at least three generations out of date and half of the new apps in the marketplace won't work. 

Anyone expecting to get 4 years out of a new phone is living in a fantasy world.  Amortize your phone purchase over 24 months and then pray you don't drop it before then.