Shortly after rumors of a Verizon Device Payment Plan surfaced last week, the big red carrier confirmed that it would indeed begin allowing customers to purchase a device for full retail price and then spread that out over a 12-month period. That program is now live, and thanks to a dedicated page on Verizon's website, we've got a better idea of exactly how it works.
Verizon's Device Payment Plan is open to smartphones and tablets that have a full retail cost of $349.99 or higher. The cost of the product is then spread out over the next 12 months, and Verizon also includes a finance charge of $24, which is also divided into 12 monthly payments. Customers will need to make the first device and finance payments at the time of purchase. The following payments will be added to a subscriber's monthly bill, though Big Red does note that a user can pay off the remaining balance at any time.
Verizon says that a customer can sign up for a maximum of two installment plans at once, subject to credit approval. However, each subscriber can only have a total installment plan balance of $1000, which puts a bit of a limit on what customers will be able to do with the Device Payment Plan. For example, the $1000 limit makes it unlikely that a customer will be able to just snag two brand new phones as soon as they're released and put them both on installment unless he or she makes a sizable down payment.
There's also some good news today for those Verizon folk that are still clinging to their unlimited data plans. Verizon has confirmed to Droid-Life that subscribers with an unlimited data plan are still able hold onto that plan so long as they purchase their phone for full retail price, and the new Device Payment Plan is one way to do that. Big Red's full statement:
"Currently if an existing customer has an unlimited data plan, they can keep their unlimited data plan as long as they pay full price for their smartphone and the Verizon Wireless Device Payment Plan is an option available to them."
Being mobile nerds, the desire to upgrade to newer and flashier hardware can strike well before we're upgrade-eligible. Not everyone can afford to fork over the $500 and up price tags that full retail devices feature, though, and so that's when Verizon's Device Payment Plan could come in handy. That's especially true for those Verizon subscribers that refuse to let go of their unlimited data plans. Verizon's Device Payment Plan is now available, so if it sounds like something you'd like to take advantage of, you can give your friendly neighborhood Verizon sales rep a visit to see if you qualify.
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