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Galaxy S24
2-Jan-24 11:13pm
#1
MrBean
GameTZ Gold Subscriber 400 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Gold Global Trader (7) Has Written 1 Review

$50 bonus sign up went live - https://shopsamsung....

Finally parting ways with my Note 20. Also my upgrading my wife's S20. Both going to the Ultra.

I'm OK giving up the microsd (not really), but giving up the MST is the real kick in the balls. I'm still amazed no one else is using this tech (I thjnk Samsung has a patent on it). Oh well, have to rely on NFC now.

Tried the Fold 5 as well, wasn't for me. Maybe a couple more generations and I'll convert.

Anyone else jumping in?
3-Jan-24 2:45am
#2
SwiftJAB
GameTZ Subscriber Triple Gold Good Trader

I signed up for the bonus earlier today, but it'll really depend on what the trade-in values are. My S21 is still very capable for my needs. Certainly interested in what they plan to introduce this year.

3-Jan-24 12:27pm
#3
SublimeFan
300 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Gold Global Trader (7)

On a S22 Ultra, no need to upgrade at this time for me, but excited to see what they roll out.
11-Jan-24 9:22pm
#4
Xena
Gold Good Trader Global Trader - willing to trade internationally Has Written 2 Reviews

i just paid off my S21 last year, i'm not looking to upgrade any time soon
17-Jan-24 6:00pm
#5
MrBean
GameTZ Gold Subscriber 400 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Gold Global Trader (7) Has Written 1 Review

Typical crap show of a crappy ecomm experience trying to buy the phones today but... Ordered my wife and I s24 ultras. Was amazed they gave me $600 for my old Note 20 Ultra!
17-Jan-24 6:47pm
#6
SwiftJAB
GameTZ Subscriber Triple Gold Good Trader

Pulling the trigger on the S24. With bill credits and a 36/mo payment plan, I'm only paying the tax. My wife just scored an iPhone 15 for free without any trade in, so we're locked into Verizon for the next 3 years anyway. If you're on Verizon and have been for a while, check out your offers (https://myvpostpay.v...) I recently got $60/mo off my bill (4-lines) by just clicking a couple of buttons. Combined with the discounts I get on subscriptions, I'm paying like $26/line.

18-Jan-24 7:35am
#7
sinnie
GameTZ Subscriber 600 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Global Trader - willing to trade internationally

Ultra is the only one with the Pen, correct? I am an Apple person but my husband is in dire need of a new phone. I think he's still using one of the last Galaxy Note's and it barely charges. He just don't wanna give up the pen.

18-Jan-24 8:59am
#8
SwiftJAB
GameTZ Subscriber Triple Gold Good Trader

Yeah, the Ultra has the pen

18-Jan-24 5:00pm
#9
sinnie
GameTZ Subscriber 600 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Global Trader - willing to trade internationally

I'll have to see if we can get some sort of deal. I won't have a trade in and we don't wanna change our plan at T-Mobile because it's a stupid good grandfathered in deal. So I might just have to pay full price.

19-Jan-24 11:36am
#10
SwiftJAB
GameTZ Subscriber Triple Gold Good Trader

Canceled my order through Verizon and reordered through Samsung to get a better deal. Used my AAA discount, a referral code (5% off), and snagged the free Galaxy Buds FE to get a better deal. If you have access to a .edu email address, you can get EPP pricing, which is supposed to be much better.

19-Jan-24 12:52pm
#11
MrBean
GameTZ Gold Subscriber 400 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Gold Global Trader (7) Has Written 1 Review

@SwiftJAB I get employee pricing through Microsoft. I've done some comparison with Military/AAA/edu ... it's all pretty damn close.

The worst part is, their eccom platform, is a GIANT turd.

Legit, use different browsers on different machines (desktop vs mobile) and you'll get different prices.

I've come to learn to compare all before purchasing, and refreshing at least 3x at check out. It's absolutely maddening.

I watched my buddy go through it with the S24, and he can't get back to the original discounts he had ... now it's charging $100 more.
23-Jan-24 12:24pm
#12
longhornsk57
Quadruple Gold Good Trader

I'm wanting to get an Ultra. Best deal I've found so far is my T-Mobile with an S9 trade in.

What's currently the best deal available assuming I have a .edu email?
23-Jan-24 12:57pm
#13
SwiftJAB
GameTZ Subscriber Triple Gold Good Trader

The best deals are going to be through carriers that are locking you into 36-month payment plans/discounts. Samsung's trade-in values aren't that great for an unlocked phone. I don't know what the exact edu discount is, but it's 30% or less (most likely less)

23-Jan-24 1:19pm
#14
MrBean
GameTZ Gold Subscriber 400 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Gold Global Trader (7) Has Written 1 Review

SwiftJAB wrote:
The best deals are going to be through carriers that are locking you into 36-month payment plans/discounts. Samsung's trade-in values aren't that great for an unlocked phone. I don't know what the exact edu discount is, but it's 30% or less (most likely less)
Negative, deals directly through Samsung are far better - at least on launch. Post launch, the field levels out.

I got $600 trade-in for my four year old Note 20 Ultra, double the storage for free, free buds2pro, and an additional $100 off. None of the carriers can compete with that.

Oh, and Samsung direct, you can get discounts via edu/affilates/AAA/etc. It shaved off another $200 for me.
23-Jan-24 1:29pm
#15
SwiftJAB
GameTZ Subscriber Triple Gold Good Trader

Totally go through Samsung website for the freebies, but the trade-in deals are far better with carriers. With Verizon, you would have got at least $800 for the Note 20 Ultra, $1000 if you were on one of their newer plans. Heck, I'm trading in a Note 8 with a cracked screen and getting $800. Yes, it's bill credits, but I have other lines that are already on a 36-mo bill credit cycle so I don't mind it.

23-Jan-24 2:00pm
#16
MrBean
GameTZ Gold Subscriber 400 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Gold Global Trader (7) Has Written 1 Review

Yeah I refuse to get sucked into that 3 year crap. It was such a dick move that they went from 24 to 36. I learned my lesson on that and won't ever do it again.

Still, that's interesting to hear they were giving that much on the N20U, damn!
23-Jan-24 2:45pm
#17
longhornsk57
Quadruple Gold Good Trader

Well T-Mobile is giving $1,000 off for trade in on an S9. Ya it locks me for 2 years but I have an insane deal with them that I'm not going anywhere else.

I already have a watch 6 and buds2 pro so I'm going to try to see what Samsung can do but that tmo trade in looks to be the best so far.
23-Jan-24 3:43pm
#18
SwiftJAB
GameTZ Subscriber Triple Gold Good Trader

longhornsk57 wrote:
Well T-Mobile is giving $1,000 off for trade in on an S9. Ya it locks me for 2 years but I have an insane deal with them that I'm not going anywhere else. I already have a watch 6 and buds2 pro so I'm going to try to see what Samsung can do but that tmo trade in looks to be the best so far.
Not sure about TMo, but Verizon's trade-in deal applied to purchases made on Samsung.com. They show the estimated trade-in values right on the page where you're selecting your device.

23-Jan-24 4:04pm
#19
John
GameTZ Gold Subscriber GameTZ Full Moderator 450 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Gold Global Trader (13)

MrBean wrote:
I'm OK giving up the microsd (not really), but giving up the MST is the real kick in the balls. I'm still amazed no one else is using this tech (I thjnk Samsung has a patent on it). Oh well, have to rely on NFC now.
I know what you mean. When I finally gave up my Galaxy S3 watch with MST to go to the newer Watches, it was sucky. It was a few years ago, so there were still quite a lot places that had the old credit card swipe machines. I'd go to use my watch and they were like "Oh, sorry, we don't support Apple Pay or whatever" and I'd be like "Watch this!" and hold my watch up -- and it would work. They were always like "What the heck!??". They'd call over other employees going "this guy just paid with his watch" -- to which the nearest employee would go "Couldn't have -- we don't take Apple Pay!" smile

Good times.

These days, almost all of them have finally converted though, so it is rare that it would matter much any more. (I still, once on a while, get someone that hasn't seen anyone pay with their watch though -- which is always kinda fun -- but not like the old days when they just couldn't believe it worked.)
23-Jan-24 7:27pm
#20
longhornsk57
Quadruple Gold Good Trader

Actually after seeing the OnePlus 12 specs, I am leaning towards that as my next device it seems to be better in every way. Bigger battery, brighter display, 100W charging etc.

Also less expensive.
23-Jan-24 11:18pm
#21
MrBean
GameTZ Gold Subscriber 400 Trade Quintuple Gold Good Trader Gold Global Trader (7) Has Written 1 Review

100w? Gdamn. I was pretty bummed with Samsung on this... My main chargers are now all 150s and yet I can't utilize for my phones.

Galaxy S24