I posted this is in the online orders thread, but figured it may be of more use here. For those of you seeing the online upgrade discounts ie. $229 for 1 year contract when you go to upgrade online, it is due to your corporate/employee discount. Of course you can order online, but the good news is that if you want your phone today, you should be able to receive the exact same price in stores! I just picked one up for $229 on a 1 year contract.
Here are some tips as one store I went to I had a terrible experience, and another went more smoothly. When you go in, I would not even mention the price. Just walk in and tell them you want the phone upgrade on 1 year contract and be patient while they ring everything up. It should ring up at the right price automatically assuming you are eligible for this discount. You can always decline or say something when they give you your total price and ask for payment. If you inquire about the price before that, they may look at you like you're crazy and automatically turn you away, tell you to go order it online. Anyhow, below is a recount of my experience if anyone is interested.
The first store I went to, I mentioned I wanted to upgrade with 1 year contract. As he was processing the order, I asked him if he could verify the price, and he said $319. I said I had a corporate discount on my account and when I checked online the price was $229. He did not believe me and said there is no way that is possible. He said he would try and the discount would apply automatically if this is possible. He messed around a little, scanned the box, but finally said that I was wrong and that there was no way that he was going to giving me that price. He told me that even if it shows it online, that the price will go up to $319 at the final checkout page, which is not true.
I decided to go try another store since one user on here reported success. Initially they told me I was crazy when I said the 1 year contract is $229. However they actually processed the upgrade to the payment stage and again told me it would show up if there is a discount. It took them about half an hour, but finally said total with tax was $243. The dude seemed stunned and kept talking about how great of a discount that was for the 1 year contract.
In the end I walked out the door with a new HTC Thunderbolt that I thought was going to be $90 more than I actually ended up paying. Good luck.
