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vdawgs22

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 18, 2012
118
15
Cnet posted in their trade in article, and I've seen elsewhere

"If you have Magenta Max and are trading in an iPhone 12 Pro Max you'll get $790 back from Apple, with T-Mobile kicking in an additional $500 through bill credits for a total savings of $1,290."

The tmobile rep I just spoke to told me you either trade in to apple or tmobile but if you trade into apple there is no additional $500 credit.

Is she wrong? can anyone confirm or deny the particulars of this offer? I'm torn between which trade-in offers to go with because tmobiles are so confusing.
 
Yeah. For this trade in, going through carrier directly is the best as far as savings. $1,000 off an 11 Pro Max. 😱
 
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It was explained to me via reddit, to trade in via Apple and T-Mobile will apply the credits. Magenta Max is $500 credit. $200 for non max plans.
 
Yeah. For this trade in, going through carrier directly is the best as far as savings. $1,000 off an 11 Pro Max. 😱
Going through apple, you'll get up to $1,290 which is more than $1,000. Up to $790 through trade-in with Apple, plus $500 bill credits from T-Mobile.
 
If you look on apple’s site the terms for this are pretty clear. Buy the phone at Apple and trade in an old phone with Apple and they will send you a promo code to get $500 in credit from tmobile over 24 months. If you trade in an iPhone 12 Pro Max that’s a total of $1290 in credit ($790 for the trade and $500 additional from tmobile)

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I just read the fine print on Apple’s website. You can get an extra $500 from T-mobile via a promotion code that will be emailed to you. If you are trading in a 12 pro max it’s the best deal.
 
bummer, i have no interest in switching to a magenta max plan as i'm happy with my current t-mobile one plan, so looks like i'm out of luck to get additional discounts

edit: i would get 200 dollars spread out over 24 months if i choose to activate a t-mobile iphone. which i think i will do 🤷‍♂️
 
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bummer, i have no interest in switching to a magenta max plan as i'm happy with my current t-mobile one plan, so looks like i'm out of luck to get additional discounts
Using the same deal discussed above, you receive $200 instead of $500 from T-Mobile if you keep your current, non-Magenta Max plan.
 
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Tmobile rep is wrong.. As long as you do carrier activation through T-Mobile from Apple (i.e. select Tmobile instead of carrier-free), you will get a) whatever Apple's trade-in value is, credited back to your original payment method and b) you then get an email with a promo code to enter at promotions.t-mobile.com to claim the $500 credit (if you are on or switch to Magenta Max) or the $200 credit (other plans). Note that the TMO portion of the credit ($500/$200) is in the form of monthly bill credits over 24 months -- if you leave TMO before then, you dont get the rest of the credits. However -- the Apple trade-in does not require an EIP with T-mobile, so whether you pay in full or finance through Apple, you still get those T-Mobile credits as long as you stay with T-Mobile.

ALSO -- yes, you can do the trade with T-Mobile, and they are offering up to $1000 off towards purchase of an iPhone 12 or 13 -- BUT -- that requires a 30 month EIP and comes in the form of 30 monthly bill credits. Again, if you leave before the 30 months, you lose those credits (and you still have to pay the balance of the EIP). If you pay the EIP off early, the credits stop as well. (think if you plan on upgrading again next year)

Keep in mind they aren't putting money back in your pocket for your trade -- they are making you work for it one month at a time. With the Apple trade-in, you're getting $790 refunded back to you within a month or so, plus the added bonus of the Tmobile bill credits. With the T-Mobile deal, its all in bill credits designed to make sure you dont leave.
 
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Here's my calculation:

Trade-in: -$790.00
T-Mobile credits: -$500.00 (switch to magenta plus) or -$200.00 (keep current plan)
New phone: $1,099
New AppleCare+: $199
Total: $8 (switch to magenta plus) or $308 (keep current plan)

Magenta plus: $23 * 24 = $552 for 2 years compared to current plan (3 lines T-Mobile ONE)
Total: $560 (switch to magenta plus) or $308 (keep current plan)

To me, sweet spot is trade-in through apple and keep current plan. Basically upgrading for $308.
 
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Here was my calculation through Apple, and staying on my current Magenta plan:

New 13 Pro: $999
Refund to my card from Apple on trade of 12 Pro: -$640
Net Cost before TMO Credits: $359
Net Cost after TMO Credits (-$200)/24 Months: $159
 
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So in order to get any discounts, do I need to switch my 5-line ONE Plan ($140/month) to Magenta Max?!? And what is the difference other than that it's more expensive?

Seriously considering switching from T-Mobile, but I don't know which carrier is better...
 
So in order to get any discounts, do I need to switch my 5-line ONE Plan ($140/month) to Magenta Max?!? And what is the difference other than that it's more expensive?

Seriously considering switching from T-Mobile, but I don't know which carrier is better...
It’s $500 if you have or switch to Max. It’s $200 for any other plan.
 
Don't make the mistake of confusion when instead it's the lack of lube they use! All their crap now revolves around having magenta max and whatever crap. From recent experiences you may get about half of what they are offering not being on max. Example: I got a z flip 3 by trading in a s9 for free ....... but once I called back in to confirm this deal it was 500 off because no max plan.

T-Mobile is slowly becoming scummy like the rest
 
So in order to get any discounts, do I need to switch my 5-line ONE Plan ($140/month) to Magenta Max?!? And what is the difference other than that it's more expensive?

Seriously considering switching from T-Mobile, but I don't know which carrier is better...
Biggest difference would be 5 phones with 40GB hotspot (each) 200Gb of hotspot) & 5G data with No data cap. You can stream 24 hours of 8K on YouTube and not care. Lol
 
Has anyone gotten the promocode?
 
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