Apple’s latest pair of headsets have been available for some time now — and they’re both terrific devices, as evident from our iPhone 7 review and iPhone 7 Plus review. Thankfully, the most recent offers from carriers can save you some money on Apple’s latest and greatest smartphones. Read on to see how you can get a new iPhone 7 at a discounted rate — or even for free.
Verizon
Your best bet for saving on a new iPhone through Verizon is to either switch to the carrier or, if you are already a Verizon customer, to add a new line to your account. The company is currently offering up to $650 per line in the form of a prepaid Visa card when you sign up for a new plan and trade in your current device.
You can get an estimate of how much your current phone will be worth online by checking out Verizon’s trade-in page and entering your carrier, device, and model. You’ll ger a rough estimate on the spot; the actual value of the phone isn’t finalized until you ship it in.
After you order your new iPhone, Verizon will send you a box for you to ship your trade-in device in, and you will then be able to claim your offer. Upload a copy of your final bill from your current carrier and Verizon will give you up to $650 via a prepaid Visa card if you have an outstanding balance. This is enough to cover the cost of your brand-new iPhone 7. If you don’t have an outstanding balance with your previous carrier, you will still receive a tidy $350.
Sprint
Sprint’s promo is similar to Verizon’s in that you need to purchase an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus in order to quality for the offer, but Sprint will throw in an additional iPhone 7 completely free. Through the company’s current promotion, if you buy a 32GB iPhone 7 at $27 for 24 months or a 32GB iPhone 7 Plus at $32 for 24 months and then add a second line, you’ll get another 32GB iPhone 7 for free.
Note that this offer requires you to have two lines on your plan: Either switch to Sprint and sign up for two plans (one for your first iPhone 7, and a second for your free iPhone) or, if you have a Sprint plan already, purchase a new iPhone 7 and then add a second line to receive your free one. As a bonus, you will also be automatically enrolled in Sprint’s iPhone Forever plan, which will let you upgrade to the newest iPhone after 12 lease payments.
AT&T
AT&T is offering its own “buy one, get one” deal similar to Sprint’s, with one catch: The company will give you a 32GB iPhone 7 for free when you switch to AT&T and have a monthly subscription to DirecTV, which is its live-TV streaming service. To get the offer, you must have both phones on AT&T Next.
To get the free phone, you must purchase a qualifying wireless service for $50 per month or more for the first line (a second line can be added for as little as $20 per month) and have a DirecTV service that starts at $30 per month. The monthly bill credits start within three billing cycles, and after you’ve earned a total of $650 in credits, another iPhone 7 will be yours for free.
Keep in mind that each of these promotions basically tie you into a 2-year contract, in which the $650 price of the iPhone 7 is distributed over the course of 24 months or so. If you leave your contract early, any free credits disappear and you’re on the hook for whatever portion of the phone hasn’t yet been paid.
One final note: If you’re going with a trade-in, read all the fine print before you sign off on anything, double-check that trade-in credits can be used in combination with other offers, and remember that the carriers have the final word on how much you’ll get for current phone.
