In my opinion, I think folks need to understand that the only way you're going to get upgraded to an HR54 (from, say, an HR44) at no cost except maybe shipping is if your account "qualifies," and I'm not sure that this term is clearly defined for the customer.
Essentially, instead of arguing with DirecTV, I'd recommend politely asking how your account could qualify for a discounted offer for upgrade. Unfortunately, you may have to be pawned off to Retention in order to get a clear answer (I always hate it when otherwise reasonable companies essentially make you threaten your relationship with them just to get actionable info).
Regardless, realize that this is an upgrade in DirecTV's eyes, not dissimilar from the upgrade from and SD receiver to an HD receiver. Obviously the company has a lot of sunk costs in these receivers, so you're most certainly going to get involved in another two-year commitment. And given this point, think about what your future receiver needs will be, as you might as well do all the receiver requests at once instead of parsing out multiple two-year agreements for the next few years.
