Few questions about changing plans

[manelgm]

Hi,

I'm on a  grandfathered plan (province calls, canada texts, 1gb data, 90 days, 90$) and have autopay (6$) and loyalty (3$) rewards currently.  Seems like PM is offering a very similar plan, but a bit better: province calls, international texts, 1.5gb 3g data, 90 days, 90$.

1- The message that says "This cost of this plan is higher than your current available funds. 
You will need to make a payment to your account to complete the plan change." confuses me. Do I have to pay for this in advance? I'm on autopay, I would expect the payment to be done at my next renewal...

2- Will my loyalty rewards be kept at the original date? (ie. if I was due for my 2nd year reward next payment, would I get the increase and then be at 6$ off?)

3- Is the 3G data speed slower than the old plan's data? Currently, I get an "LTE" symbol on my phone when I activate data. If so, how much slower, is it considerable?

4- Will this new plan also be grandfathered once it is no longer available? From previous experience with PM, I would assume yes...

Thanks

[wetcoaster]

Very comprehensive reply from @JDT!

Just throwing in there that LTE light ("3G" speed) is totally adequate for most applications exept data heavy gaming and HD streaming.

[manelgm]

Awesome, thanks! As I thought, just wanted to make sure.

So in the end, I have to decide if I prefer 500mb more or LTE (since intl text is not important to me). Considering I have never used all my data in a cycle, it's probably not worth the change for me.

[mimmo]

@JDT could not have stated it any better 🙂

[JDT · Accepted solution]

1. If you elect to change plans immediately (i.e. click "top up"), you have to pay the amount of the new plan now, and thereby lose any time you have left in your current plan.  If you don't need to change immediately, it's best to "future-date" your plan change (i.e. click "change on your next renewal date), so your plan will change over on your next scheduled payment date and you won't have to pay anything immediately.  This way, you don't lose what you have already paid for.

2. Your loyalty date should not change if you change your plan.  It is calculated purely based on when you joined PM, and has nothing to do with which plan(s) you have had since joining.

3. If you have a grandfathered plan, you are currently getting LTE.  If you switch to the plan in your screenshot, you will switch to 3G (it's actually slowed-down LTE), which is slower than what you have now.

4. If you switch to a new plan, and that new plan is eventually no longer offered, then yes, it will be grandfathered for you.