Another AT&T new activation fee waived, $20 saved.

There are few things I get excited about spending money on.  One of them is the latest iPhone.  This is one of my purchases I don’t feel bad about since there’s so much I use my phone for.  I use my phone to take pictures, for GPS map guidance, to listen to podcasts, to send emails, and much more.  I was one of those people who stayed up until midnight on the west coast to be one of the first to preorder the new iPhone 7 Plus when it first became available. 

We continue to stay with AT&T Wireless because their service coverage is excellent in our area.  I am thankful that my company reimburses me $100 towards our cell phone bill every month.  I also enjoy paying for the bill with my Chase Ink Cash business credit card that allows me to earn 5x points on the payment.  This is because I am on call for my company regularly and need excellent cellular coverage.  I would consider cheaper cell phone providers such as Republic Wireless, Cricket Wireless and T-Mobile if my company did not cover our cell phone bill.

When I ordered my new phone, AT&T offered (now expired) a $650 bill credit paid out over 24 months if you turn in a used and working iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, or 6s Plus.  This offsets a huge chunk off the cost of a brand new iPhone 7 Plus which retails at $869.  I gave my used iPhone 6 Plus to my uncle as a gift and he was very happy to receive it.  To get the $650 AT&T credit, I ended up buying a used iPhone 6 on Amazon Marketplace for $320 and then trading it in at the AT&T store.  This still allows me to save $330 ($650 - $320) over the course of 2 years, and should bring our cell phone bill down to right about $100 (paid for by my company). 

Whenever you activate a new phone on AT&T, they like to charge you a sneaky “upgrade fee.”  This year the fee was $20.  Two years ago it was $40.

I imagine most people who get their cell phone bill don’t question the balance and just pay it off.  Or they may see the $20 fee and then shrug their shoulders and pay it off.  Not me: 20 bucks is 20 bucks.

As soon as I saw the fee on my bill, I knew I had to call AT&T to ask them to remove it.  I simply dialed 611 on my phone, then spoke with the customer service representative on the line.

ME:  “I have been with AT&T Wireless for several years and just recently purchased a new iPhone.  I just noticed a $20 upgrade fee on my statement and I would like to have that fee waived.”

REPRESENTATIVE:  “Thank you for being a loyal AT&T Wireless customer.  I will be happy to credit your account an amount of $20 to offset the upgrade fee.  We value you as a loyal customer.”

My account immediately showed the credit:

That was it, a simple 2-minute phone call to save $20.

To top it off, AMEX Offers now has a promotion on my Premier Rewards Gold card where if I spend $100+ on your cell phone bill, I will get 1,000 Membership Rewards points, up to 3,000 extra points.  

This means the next 3 bill payments will go on my AMEX Premier Rewards Gold card!