Early termination fees are now almost officially pointless. Verizon announced today that it will offer new customers up to $650 in bill credits for switching to the carrier, enough to offset the cost of breaking a contract or paying off a device payment plan, matching deals from other major carriers.
The carrier is offering up to $650 in credits to pay off the rest of your phone, or up to $350 for early termination fees alone. That applies to each line switched over, so larger families could build up a lot of credits for switching. However, customers will still have to pay off early termination fees and payment plans up front; the $650 comes in the form of a prepaid card.
Verizon joins T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T in offering credits to switchers, making early termination fees and payment plans far easier to ignore when choosing to switch carriers.
Verizon is offering $650 in credits for device payouts and $350 for early termination fees. AT&T offers $300 in credits per line, while Sprint and T-Mobile will cover any early termination fees or device payments you may still have. And T-Mobile has even offered customers of specific networks extra money for switching.