Upgrade & Trade-In Question

[PinkPhone22]

Hello,

I'm looking at the upgrade and trade in offer for a samsung phone. What I understand is this so far:

• The phone upraded TO will be kept with Verizon as carrier for 36 months
• The trade-in credit will be lost if the phone is broken through any means, requiring a new phone to be purchased out of pocket
• The trade-in credit for upgrading will be deducted from my monthly phone bill over the span of 36 months. Once completed, another upgrade and trade-in offer can be performed.
• The upfront cost to me is $35 dollars

What I'm unclear on is this:

• Is there any additional charge to my monthly bill going with this offer whatsoever?
• Is an unlocked phone purchased out of pocket compatible with Verizon?
• Can the phone have an accelerated pay-off date if I pay additional on the monthly bill towards the cost of the new phone, or is it an either/or take the deal for 36 months or pay upfront full price

If I'm off-base with any of the above points I'd very much like to know, and I'd like the three items I'm unclear on addressed. Thank you.

[SynthpopAddict]

I think you have the first part correct.

As for your questions:

1) I'd have to think the trade-in offer requires you to be on Unlimited Ultimate for your service plan, because anything I've ever seen about promotions on the website has the Unlimited Ultimate thing in the fine print.  So if you're on some other plan, particularly a legacy one which isn't available anymore with cheaper perks ($5/month instead of $10/month or more), consider carefully.

2a) Buying an unlocked phone directly from one of the well-known large manufacturers (Apple, Samsung, Google, Motorola) should be compatible with Verizon.  However, this would then be considered a BYOD.  You will notice that some Verizon features will not be available on an unlocked phone.  However, you also don't have to deal with bloatware or unwanted game installations.

2b) Buying an unlocked phone from some 3rd party source is a huge case of caveat emptor which I don't recommend.  Especially if it's some tiny retailer or an individual on Facebook, eBay, or the like.

3) If you are on a phone deal for 36 months, you have to take the deal as is.  Any kind of attempt to finagle with things is considered breaking the contract and then either your credits stop or you have to pay off the device immediately.

[PinkPhone22]

Hello and thank you for the detailed response. To point 1, I am on a legacy plan which does offer this without any apparent cost, but fine print being what it is, can be easy to miss certain addtl. fees as part of various promotions and so on.

To point 2a that is good to know, and I agree regarding point 2b and would not look into that option either.

[SynthpopAddict]

You're welcome 🙂

I'm pretty sure I saw a thread elsewhere from someone with a legacy plan saying they were or maybe were not eligible for a phone upgrade.  Makes me wonder if the system is bulk messaging everyone who is postpaid about promotions without filtering out those who would not be eligible.  If you like your current plan, I'd be leery about doing a trade-in for a new phone, as you may find yourself suddenly on a new plan costing a lot more and not being able to go back to the legacy plan.

You mentioned a Samsung promotion in your original post.  If that's the Samsung Galaxy S24+ promo currently up on the website, you definitely have to get Unlimited Ultimate to qualify.

[PinkPhone22]

Might've misspoke; it's an option available to me through Verizon regardless, just was wondering about the specifics of the program and whether it'd add any addtl to the bill. Apologies for not clarifying that!