[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] attbrandon:
I probably won't be around much after the next few days (I get my phone tomorrow) until the note 3 boards open up, so feel free as well to ask any questions if I haven't mentioned something. Also, I got back to work today after having tomorrow off and the phone will go on sale in stores Saturday. In our training video they had a massive back to the future type reference in which someone came back in a phone booth talking about how futuristic the phone is. At least at&t is trying to make it entertaining :p

1) I realize in the past that some of you have probably called to waive upgrade/ activation fees and it may have worked. Unless it's a property of your discount with at&t, the chances of you having it waived are less than 1%. I would recommend trying to get credit back some other way, like complaining about service issues at the house or something. You may not get the full 36 back, but something is typically better than nothing. At&t has blocked this capability for all of us a few months ago.

2) CHECK TO SEE IF YOU HAVE A DISCOUNT. Depending on where you work or go to school, you get discounts. Sometimes these discounts get added benefits, like an extra 150$ back if you sign up for U-verse or waived upgrade/ activation fees. These discounts are applied in two ways. One, on a family talk/ individual plan the discount is applied to what the first line has to pay for minutes plus anyone on a five gig plan. For example, family talk plan with 700 minutes (60 dollars) plus one person on a five gig plan (50 dollars) with a 10% discount would save 11$ a month. On mobile share plans it goes off any number from the top row from the brochure. like a 10% discount on a 10 gig plan (120$) would save you 12 bucks a month. These discounts can be applied one of two ways and have to be done in store. One, through email. Which is faster and instant. If you're lucky, try a retail store to see if they'll email someone other than the account holder if they have a discount. The second is through fax if you don't have an email specific to your job. This method can only apply a discount to whatever it says on your paycheck. So, if you work at a franchise like Dunkin' Donuts or something, check to see if it actually says Dunkin' Donuts or if it says the name of the franchise. This method can take up to two billing cycles to go on your bill and requires a paystub and your I.D. These discounts also typically come with accessory discounts as well for in store.

3) If everyone on your plan has a smartphone and doesn't have unlimited data, Mobile Share plans are more cost efficient than family talk plans and give you truly unlimited talk and text within the U.S.. Call up customer service and see how much data you guys use on average and move to a mobile share from there. Example: Two lines on a family talk vs. mobile share. Family talk: (700 minutes 60$ + 1 10$ + unlimited text 30$ + 2 3 gig plans 60$ = 160). Mobile share (6 gigs 90$ + 2 lines 70$ = 160). Same price, but lets look at the difference. Mobile share has truly unlimited talk and text AND includes tethering. Also, if you have a discount it will apply to the 90$ for the 6 gigs vs. the 60$ for the 700 minutes under the family talk. You start to save money vs. family talk once you hit 3 lines and above.

4) If ever adding a new line/ or just changing around your plan, don't be afraid to start out high. We have a trial policy with plans. If you start out high, like a 10 gig mobile share, and the first/ second bill with that plan shows you haven't even exceeded 6 gigs, we'll move you down and credit the difference.

5) Try to upgrade at corporate stores. Retail stores have a different commission structure in which they can mess around with your plan to change the primary line resulting in prorated charges. This is called base hopping. If you do upgrade at a retail store, you can haggle with the price of accessories to an extent compared to corporate stores with upgrades/ new activations. Just let them know that there will be repercussions if they mess with your plan when you want to keep it the same.

6) There are notes added every time you call customer service. Let us call for you if you have a chance. Otherwise, I recommend calling only twice. The first time be extremely polite and nicely talk about your frustrations. If that doesn't work, the next time be aggressive. If both don't work, you're pretty much SOL.

Any questions? I uploaded pictures of the brochures to help you with plan searching.