How to payoff installment plan with a trade in allowance credit

If you've entered into a trade-in deal which provides you trade-in credits over 36 months the only way to pay off your phone in order to unlock it is to wait until the credits start, pay it off online without help of customer support, directions below.

The credits can continue for 36 months unless you cancel service on that phone line, suspend the line, or change to a non-qualifying data plan.

So for example if you've purchased an $800 phone and you're expecting $800 in credits, credits start on the third month so you get $66.66 to catch up.  You could at this point pay off the balance of the phone which would be $733.34.  

Just because you pay off the balance early does not mean that the credits are accelerated. You have to stick out the 36 months

So is it possible to pay off phone with projected credited total? or they expect you pay it off in full and you will see credit every month? 

they expect you pay it off in full and you will see credit every month? 

They "expect" you will pay it off in installments over the 36 months. If you pay off early, then you will still get the credit each month until the 36 months is over. 

So is it possible to pay off phone with projected credited total?

No. 

As described, you pay off the remaining balance, which is reduced by 1/36th of the total cost each month.  

or they expect you pay it off in full and you will see credit every month?

As long as you remain eligible, the trade in deal allows you to keep getting credits for the remainder of the 36 months.

For example you buy a phone that cost $800. You have to make 36 payments. Halfway through your payments you want to take your phone on vacation with you and use a local SIM card. You owe $400 as printed in your online account. In order to unlock the phone and use it you have to pay off the $400. You will still get credits of $22.22 every month for the remainder of the 18 months as long as you don't suspend service, cancel service, upgrade the line, or make any other changes that would make you ineligible to receive credits like reducing your plan to a metered plan.

Wrong! Once you pay off the phone you lose any and all future credits. It is in the contract you signed. 

@oxlouiexo You are right in that losing credits when you pay off the phone is what is supposed to happen. What is detailed above seems to be an undocumented workaround, though I’ve never seen confirmation from anyone who has followed those directions and continued to get trade in credits.

@oxlouiexo 

Wrong! Once you pay off the phone you lose any and all future credits. It is in the contract you signed. 

Its not in the deal (contract) that you signed that you  lose credits on the trade in deal.  

But you have to pay off yourself online, and must maintain service on that line.  

If upgrade, cancel, or even suspend service credits will cease.  Even changing the phone number has been known to terminate credits even with the phone not paid off.  

    The trade-in deal is different from previous deals.  And it is different from some of the current deals which are offering a phone at a deep discount with no compensation. For example the $5 iPhone deals with no trade in.  Those deals are void if you pay off the phone.

If you refer to the wording in the deal it does say that paying off the phone may terminate credits.   Not will.  

Don't try this with Verizon because they don't care they absolutely will terminate credits, but their phones are unlocked anyway.  

    According to AT&T employees who post anonymously on Reddit it is in their  paperwork that paying off a phone on the trade-in deal does not terminate credits.  But if you monkey with the line it will.  

"The device must remain on its installment agreement for the entire termin order to get all the bill credits. Typically if you upgrade the device or pay it off the agreement early, the bill credits may cease". 

This seems like a case by case issue so your best bet is to call a professional.

Your best bet is to leave the phone on the installment plan through the length of the agreement. If you think about paying off the installments, you should consider whether your reason for paying off is important enough to potentially lose the remainder of the promo credits.