3 Ways to Save Big on the Newest Smartphones

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The last half of each year usually brings with it a handful of the latest flagship cellphones from some of the biggest manufacturers. This year will be no different.

The Samsung Galaxy Note20 was just recently released, while the new iPhone 12 and Google Pixel 5 are expected any day now.

Of course, this hasn’t been just any old year, and while you may need a new phone, it doesn’t quite seem like the best time to be paying a premium price for one. Here are a few tips that could save you big money on your next new phone.

Be willing to switch carriers

There really isn’t another way around it. If saving on a new big-name cellphone is a priority for you, you’re going to have to switch carriers, and you’re more than likely going to have to go with one of the major carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon.

The Big Three want as much business as possible, and they offer huge deals for new customers that oftentimes can get you a new flagship phone for free.

In fact, it’s pretty rare for carriers to offer deals to existing customers. When they do, the deals are often nowhere close to as good as their deals for new customers.

Be ready to trade in your current phone

Switching carriers alone can often get you big savings, but for max savings, you might have to trade in your current device.

This means that your current phone should hopefully be in good working order, and not too old. You will not necessarily be getting just the value of your trade-in taken off the new phone’s price. In fact, you might be getting much more in savings than the current value of your phone.

Currently, for example, you can trade in an eligible device when switching to AT&T and get up to $1,000 off the hot, new Samsung Galaxy Note20, which means you could get the base-model Note20 for free.

Look for BOGO deals

Besides trade-in deals, the other most common offering for new cellphones is BOGO (buy-one-get-one) deals.

Sure, these don’t require that you trade in your old phone, but they do require that you activate two lines with your new carrier. These deals are clearly targeted for those on multi-line or family plans.

Most of the time BOGO deals will require you to purchase one phone at full price (paid via monthly payments) to get a second of the same phone free, or discounted up to the price of the base model of that particular phone.

Verizon currently has a BOGO offer for the Samsung Galaxy Note20. You can purchase any of the Note20 or Note20 Ultra phones to get up to $1,000 off a second Note20 or Note 20 Ultra.

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