Verizon's handset upgrade discounts for customers in a two-year contract will now only be available after the two years are up, rather than after 20 months, the carrier stated Friday. In addition, any "New Every Two" credits that customers may have built up will expire in three days.

Customers with Verizon were formerly able to start looking for and purchasing new phones at new contract prices a few months before their contracts were up. On the downside, customers had to begin new contracts early, but it also meant they had quicker access to newer phones.

Starting with customers whose contracts end a little less than a year from now (January 1, 2014), customers will have to wait out the full two years before they can get the new-contract prices on phone upgrades. Customers whose contracts end before that will still be able to get their early upgrades.

In addition to the removal of early upgrades, Verizon will also force the expiration of New Every Two credits, a program that ended in January 2011 that gave customers between $30 and $50 of credit toward a new phone in addition to the new-contract discount. If you have one left over, you have only the weekend to use it.

Verizon notes that customers will still be able to share upgrades between people on the same account as long as the eligible upgrade is a product of the same category. Upgrades will no longer be transferable to non-phones like Jetpacks or tablets, states Verizon.

Meanwhile, AT&T will continue to offer 20-month early upgrades, as well as partial discounts for those not yet far along enough in their contract for a full discount. T-Mobile likewise offers discounts as early as 12 months, and allows customers to buy a new phone and subsidize the difference between a new-contract price over 24 months of a new contract. Sprint offers early upgrades at 22 months for older contracts, and 20 months for newer ones.