Trade-Ins

Hello and thank you for providing this forum. I recently purchased an iPhone 13 Pro for full price--even though I have been an AT&T customer for decades and I am supposedly eligible for an upgrade. No price break! The in-store rep said some people buy a good used phone for $100-$200 just to trade it in for $300-$500 credit (my old one is a 6s, only a $35 trade-in value). However, I am finding nothing through AT&T where they would actually credit me that amount. Highest is around $100. I went back to the rep and told him this... he said the trade-in prices I am seeing online are just what AT&T profits, but that I would actually be given hundreds of dollars in credit if I bought (somewhere?) and traded in a newer model.

My gut is telling me this rep is not steering me right, but he claims (off the record) that tons of people do this. He said I have 30 days from the date of purchase of my new phone to decide if I want to trade something in. But... I'm not going to find and buy a used phone for a couple hundred dollars just to have AT&T tell me the trade in value is $45. The only good deals I've seen are for business customers. Meanwhile, my new $1,000 phone is still sitting in the box because I'm afraid to activiate it and ruin my chances of getting any credits or a good contract. I am also an educator and should supposedly receive a monthly discount for that--supposedly.

Clearly loyalty for decades to AT&T means nothing to them (also have Uverse). So ready to switch to another carrier. Any guidance on this would be appreciated!