On Monday, Verizon introduced a new “upgrade fee” for those customers who buy new phones on device payment plans or at full retail. We spent a good handful of hours over the past week trashing all over the fee, because it seems like an incredibly slick move for a major wireless carrier who is always on the cutting edge when it comes to bleeding you dry at every angle. Of course, Verizon isn’t the only carrier with an upgrade fee – both AT&T and Sprint have them as well.
Speaking of AT&T, their upgrade fee was set at $15 just last August, but now that Verizon has gone with a $20 price point, they are wasting no time in matching the greed. That’s right, as of today, AT&T now has a $20 upgrade fee in place, because why not. We’re talking two days after Verizon pushed theirs live. How awesome.
The new fees are as follows, according to AT&T’s recently updated fee page:
Activation and upgrade fees for smartphones with AT&T Next – Activation and upgrade fees are $20 per smartphone added or upgraded with AT&T Next.
Activation fees for installment agreements and bring your own devices – The fee is $20.
Activation and upgrade fees for two year agreement – Fees are $45. Note: Two year agreements are available only on select devices.
Going forward, if you buy a phone on AT&T Next or bring your own device, AT&T will charge you an extra $20.
