iPhone 12 for $199 ain’t cutting it.

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.

Last week I went to my local Cricket store to inquire about changing service provider and all they could offer me on the iPhone was an iPhone 11.

Seriously? How can this be? This is totally unacceptable in my opinion. Any advise for me?