Heads up, Verizon Wireless customers, because today your carrier made some changes to its upgrade eligibility policy that you'll want to be aware of. Verizon says that customers will now be eligible for an upgrade at the end of their 24-month contract, a move that the big red carrier says will help subscribers to better plan for their upgrade dates. The first Verizon customers that will be affected by this change are the ones whose contracts are scheduled to end in January 2014. Verizon notes that, if a customer wants to upgrade to a new device before his or her eligibility date, buying at full retail price is always an option.
The second change announced today relates to Verizon's New Every Two program, which officially ended in January 2011. Any customers that are still holding on to their New Every Two credit now have until April 15 to use the discount before it expires.
Finally, Verizon says that its customers can still share upgrades with another person on an account, but only if that customer is buying a device in the same category. For example, a phone upgrade must be used on a new phone. Subscribers will no longer be allowed to transfer an upgrade from a mobile hotspot or tablet to be used on a new phone.
All of the changes announced by Verizon today can have a pretty big impact on a customer's upgrade plans, especially for those subscribers that've been clinging to a New Every Two credit ever since the program was given the axe two years ago. The change that is likely to affect the most users is Verizon's decision to move upgrade eligibility to the end of a customer's 24-month contract. While the move will make it easier for most folks to figure out when their next upgrade is, I'm sure that there will be more than a few Verizon subscribers that won't be thrilled about the longer wait for upgrade eligibility. Verizon's full statement on today's policy changes is available at the link below.
Via Verizon Wireless
