I did in store , there was no activation fee.
some people pushed hard and got fee back if there was one. the import point, you need to wrap everything in 1-3 days. Set up auto pay is a critical step, then call verizon 800 and speak "I want to pay off", to the option, and confirm pay off. then, call of chat to cancel
Another way is to port out the number to another carrier or you can even sell your new number to someone.