I’m curious if anyone has had a similar issue, or if there’s a work around.

Longtime customer (6+ years, biggest plan) and I wanted to switch from an iPhone XS Max that has battery and earpiece issues to an iPhone 11. The new customer porting over price is $299. I’ve only upgraded through Cricket once in 6+ years (way past the 180 day waiting period) and had usually just bought a new or used unlocked phone.

I signed in, picked out my phone, and it’s $599.99 + $25 upgrade fee. An unlocked iPhone 11 in a variety of colors from Apple is $599 without the trade in on the XS Max or the 8 plus I have. Chatted with customer support and they told me that existing customers are not eligible for that price. Meanwhile, on my Verizon account, I can add a second line ($19 more per month for unlimited than Cricket) and get my choice of an iPhone 11 for free or $500. Or I can save $25 over Cricket and get an unlocked one from Apple.

What gives? Is Cricket done for? I’ve been content with their service, even though it has had some issues once in a while. It was nice to have one phone Verizon and one Cricket because on the few occasions one didn’t have service or was slow the other one was fine. I just paid my bill yesterday, but I’m about to switch carriers over this nonsense.