Among a flurry of reports leading up to Verizon Wireless’ iPhone 4 announcement earlier this month, a slide leaked suggesting two popular perks would soon be dissolved by the nation’s top carrier. Verizon has since confirmed that as of Sunday, January 16th, its early upgrade policy and its “New Every Two” program have each been discontinued moving forward. New Every Two gave customers up to $100 toward the purchase of a new handset every two years in an effort to promote contract renewals. Similarly, subscribers bound to two-year contracts had been allowed to upgrade their handsets after just one year of service in exchange for signing new two-year agreements. Both perks are now unavailable to new subscribers, and current customers will lose their benefits within 24 months. Those currently enrolled in the New Every Two program will be eligible to receive the related benefit when their contract renews, however they will not be re-enrolled in the program. A similar policy is in effect for subscribers currently eligible or soon to be eligible for early upgrades.

Image source: Eric Hauser

Some bad news is emerging for Verizon Wireless subscribers this evening, and the timing couldn’t be worse. Just ahead of the imminent wave of next-generation Android devices, 4G phones and the highly anticipated Verizon iPhone, the carrier is rumored to be ending two programs that countless customers have enjoyed in recent history. The first is the early upgrade policy, which allowed subscribers on two-year contracts to upgrade their devices after just one year of service. The second is Verizon’s New Every Two program, which gave customers up to $50 every two years to apply toward the purchase of a new phone. Both of these policies are set to come to an end on January 16th, according to what is alleged to be a leaked screen capture of Verizon Wireless’ training manual. New Every Two is simply kaput, says the slide, but the early upgrade policy will apparently stick around in a trimmed state — subscribers will be eligible for an early upgrade after 20 months of service on a two-year contract.

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An internal Verizon Wireless document details changes to both its Test Drive program and New Every Two (NE2) program. Effective February 15th, 2009, Verizon will be discontinuing its Test Drive Program. The program allows new customers to try out Verizon’s service for 30 days risk free. If the customer chooses to port his/her number to another carrier and terminate service with Verizon, Verizon will waive the wireless access and usage charges for the minutes used. A nice deal for customers who want to try out Verizon and not incur a big bill. Customers who sign up for new service on or after February 15th and cancel or port their number will no longer get a free pass and will have to pay all wireless access and usage charges. Hit the jump for details on the soon to be lowered New Every Two discount and the full slide detailing all the changes.

Also effective on February 15th are changes to the popular, if not confusing, New Every Two program that encourages customers to sign up for a 2-year contract renewal by offering an additional discount on a new handset. Customers with a monthly calling plan that is $79.99 and greater currently enjoy a $100 NE2 discount on a new handset. Under the new plan, that discount will fall to a meager $50. Likewise, customers with a monthly calling plan of $34.99 to $79.98 will see their NE2 discount fall from the current $50 to $30. The take home message here is this: if you you are potential new customer or a current customer eligible for NE2 and want to get the best value from what Verizon Wireless has to offer, then get yourself down to a Verizon Wireless store before February 15th.