One Upgrade: What’s On Offer?

What is One Upgrade?

Constantly craving the latest must-have phone? You might want to consider the One Upgrade plan. For $10/month you can switch to a new phone whenever you like.

Sound good, right? But (as always) there’s more to it than that. Canstar explains:

How do I get a new phone with One Upgrade?

Signing up to One Upgrade plan is fairly straightforward, just following these steps:

1. Buy a phone in-store

Purchase a phone at any One store in New Zealand. The type of phone doesn’t matter, it could be an Apple, OPPO or Samsung, so long as you purchase it interest-free on any of One’s three Pay Monthly mobile plans: $45 5GB | $65 15GB | $80 Unlimited.

2. Add One Upgrade

Sign-up to One Upgrade in-store when purchasing your new phone.

3. Upgrade in 30 days

You can upgrade to a new phone anytime after the first 30 days of your interest-free term, for any reason you like. However, you might be charged a redemption fee, depending on the condition of your phone and how long you’ve had it.

What do I get with a One Upgrade plan?

Flexibility

One will wipe your interest free balance owing, so you can switch to a new phone of your choice on a new interest-free plan.

Latest technology

Keep up with rapidly changing technology, by starting a new interest-free plan with a new phone.

Plus, you can switch out your phone anytime during the interest-free term, no matter your phone’s current condition.

Protecting the environment

Every phone that is returned to One NZ will go through a refurbishment or recycling process, helping keep phones out of landfills.

What phone can I upgrade to?

You can upgrade to any phone with One Upgrade, as long as it’s in stock and is available on an interest-free term. It doesn’t matter if your new phone is cheaper or more expensive than your current phone.

Will I still have to pay my current phone’s repayments once upgrading?

No, this is one of the benefits of the One Upgrade plan. The remaining payments of your current interest free-term will be cleared if you do the following:

• You purchase a new phone on an interest-free term with any pay monthly mobile plan
• You return your existing phone instore (with ID)
• You pay any incurred redemption fees
• Your monthly phone repayment and One Upgrade fees aren’t overdue

What are redemption fees?

You may incur a fee when upgrading your phone on the One Upgrade plan. The cost depends on how long you’ve left on your term and if your old phone is damaged:

Note: that you must return your old phone and pay any outstanding fees before receiving your new phone. If you have lost your current phone, you’ll not be eligible for an upgraded.

Is One Upgrade worth it?

If you are somebody who likes to have an expensive phone that you upgrade regularly, then One Upgrade is definitely a good deal when compared to trading in your phone for a new model with One.

For example, One is currently offering a trade-in value of up to $953 for an iPhone 14 256GB – a model that One currently retails for $1649 brand new. This is a big difference ($696) in price for a phone that’s only a year old.

However, it’s worth remembering that unless your phone is less than six months old on a 12-month interest-free term, or 12 months on a 24- or 36-month one, it will cost you an additional $99 to swap your phone to a new model… And, primarily, the whole point of the deal is so that iPhone and Samsung fan boys and girls can upgrade to the latest models, which, as we all know, are released annually around the same time … so while you might be able to time your first upgrade within the 12-month fee-free window, your next upgrade will certainly cost you an upgrade fee of at least $99.

However, even if you hold onto your phone for three years ($120 x 3 = $360) and then pay $99 to upgrade ($360 + $99 = $459) the deal would still work out better than the trade-in deal we mention above.

But if you’re the type of person who has a mid-range phone that you only upgrade every three to four years, the extra costs associated with One Upgrade might not be worth it.

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About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar Content Producer, Caitlin Bingham. Caitlin is an experienced writer whose passion for creativity led her to study communication and journalism. She began her career freelancing as a content writer, before joining the Canstar team.