Adding a new line - do I HAVE to buy a new phone?

Question

I am in the process of adding my wife to my calling plan. Unfortunately, it seems as if I can only do so if I purchase a new phone to go along with it. I have found phones online that are much cheaper, however, and would rather buy the phone seperately. Is there a possibility that you can add a new line without having to purchase the phone? If I can get my wish, I would add my wife to the plan and buy her new phone via amazon.

Answer 1

When you add a new line, you can choose from one of 3 contract lengths - Month-to-Month, 1-year and 2-year.  If you sign a 1 or 2 year contract, you get a bonus, a discounted phone.  You can certainly add a line without buying a phone, but if you sign a contract there is no reason NOT to take the discounted phone.
If you want to get a phone at the discounted price, you need to buy it at the same time as you sign the contract for your new line, or you will be asked to pay full price for the phone.  Some third-party resellers can add a line to your plan and sell you a discounted phone, others can't or don't, you will have to check with the specific vendor.
Also, be sure to read the third-party contract, the reason they sell phones so cheaply is that they tie you into a contract of their own, with a separate ETF if you change your plan or de-activate the phone within a certain timeframe.