Does moving from the one plan contract to sim only ruin upgrade opportunities?

[jubei]

Hey guys,

I called three yesterday as my phone contract was up so i figured whilst waiting to decide on a new phone/contract i should just move to the one plan on the monthly sim for 23 a month which is gonna save me 11 a month over my contract.

But now i am thinking that maybe i have shot myself in the foot? When it comes time for me to get a new phone are they likely to offer me nothing upgrade wise as i have already 'upgraded' to the sim deal? When i check the three website now that is what it calls it 'you have recently upgraded' when all i did was switch to the monthly sim.

Worth calling to cancel it and stay on my contract if they allow me to?

 

[DAnDan]

Hey guys,

I called three yesterday as my phone contract was up so i figured whilst waiting to decide on a new phone/contract i should just move to the one plan on the monthly sim for 23 a month which is gonna save me 11 a month over my contract.

But now i am thinking that maybe i have shot myself in the foot? When it comes time for me to get a new phone are they likely to offer me nothing upgrade wise as i have already 'upgraded' to the sim deal? When i check the three website now that is what it calls it 'you have recently upgraded' when all i did was switch to the monthly sim.

Worth calling to cancel it and stay on my contract if they allow me to?

Is the SIM only plan a fixed contract length, or a one month rolling type deal?

If it's a fixed length contract then yes, you're out of luck. If it's a rolling type deal, then just cancel it at the end of a month, and take out a new contract (and port your number across), then you'll get the free phone as well as the contract.

Or there's the option that a lot of people have been doing recently, to stick with a SIM only plan and buy the phone on its own.

 

[jubei]

Is the SIM only plan a fixed contract length, or a one month rolling type deal?

If it's a fixed length contract then yes, you're out of luck. If it's a rolling type deal, then just cancel it at the end of a month, and take out a new contract (and port your number across), then you'll get the free phone as well as the contract.

Or there's the option that a lot of people have been doing recently, to stick with a SIM only plan and buy the phone on its own.

It's the one month one. I know I could swap to a new contract I meant lose out on upgrades as in a cheaper contract/phone for being existing customer.

 

[robfosters]

It's the one month one. I know I could swap to a new contract I meant lose out on upgrades as in a cheaper contract/phone for being existing customer.

You should be OK. I was on a rolling deal with Virgin after my £35 a month contract ended.

They have offered me a 16GB iphone 5s with 1000 mins a month, unlimited texts and a gig of data for £99 upfront and £25 a month, which I think is very reasonable. It amount to a total of £699 over 24 months.

Seeing as the phone is £549 from the Apple store, I think that's a very reasonable offer. Basically the call package amounts to £6.25pm.

 

[krooton]

There are no real 'deals', you are just subsidising the cost of the phone with higher monthly charges, buying on credit essentially.

I've moved to a cheaper sim only contact, which lets me 'upgrade' (Ie sell exisitng and buy new) my phone whenever I want, so I'm not gated by my contract end date.

Helps if you aren't fussed about having flagships at launch, pointless premium imo.

 

[jcr]

ive recently switched from a two year contract to sim only with three. im still being offered the exact same upgrade deals when i check my account

 

[jubei]

ive recently switched from a two year contract to sim only with three. im still being offered the exact same upgrade deals when i check my account

Thanks man thats cool then. Its this craving i have for a lumia 1520 thats really killing me as three dont do one lol. So i can either upgrade to like an s5 and then sell it to try to pay for a lumia. Or i can go on contract with t-mobile to get one. Bit scared of moving onto t-mobile these days as its 3g only and people always moaning about the speeds on it. I only need to be able to browse/watch youtube though.

 

[DAnDan]

It's the one month one. I know I could swap to a new contract I meant lose out on upgrades as in a cheaper contract/phone for being existing customer.

Generally the offers for new customers and upgrades are quite similar. They can offer you better stuff through retentions sometimes for upgrades, but there's no guarantee. Plus with new contracts you can haggle with the shop/network to get them down in price.

But it seems you'll be fine either way, nothing to worry about .

 

[robfosters]

There are no real 'deals', you are just subsidising the cost of the phone with higher monthly charges, buying on credit essentially.

I've moved to a cheaper sim only contact, which lets me 'upgrade' (Ie sell exisitng and buy new) my phone whenever I want, so I'm not gated by my contract end date.

Helps if you aren't fussed about having flagships at launch, pointless premium imo.

Yeah, I was considering holding out for the iPhone 6, but that will probably be at least £100 upfront and £41 a month for 1000 mins. Really doubt any extra features will be worth it. May as well stick with the 5s.

 

[A2Z]

It's the one month one. I know I could swap to a new contract I meant lose out on upgrades as in a cheaper contract/phone for being existing customer.

They don't really offer any specially amazing deals for current customers. Anything listed on their site on My3 for upgrades is terrible, compared to what they can (used to) offer on the phone.

I have been with 3 about 9/10 years now, started on a 12 month contract which included a £20 discount, it was VTT 750 and suited me perfectly. For the first few years after each 12 months, they would offer me the latest phone for free along with another 12 month contract on the same plan.

A few years ago they stopped and kept trying to get me to sign up to the One plan for 24 months, which would mean I would also lose my £20 discount. I always refused, until about 2 years ago when they basically told me that I either just carry on with the contract on a rolling montly basis, or the ONLY upgrade option was to go to the ONE plan, and I would have to pay for the phone whatever new customers had to pay....basically after years of being a loyal customer, they were offering absolutely no incentive for me to stay with them.

In the end I went on the ONE plan (2000 mins, unlimited everything else) on a sim-only, paying £13/month and bought my phone outright sim-free as that works out better with a lot more flexibility.