Wireless Carriers Are Offering Awesome iPhone 6 Trade-In Programs

If you were blown away by Tuesday’s iPhone 6 announcement and are anxious to place your pre-order, then I have even more exciting news for you: new iPhone 6 trade-in programs from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile may give you enough money to pay for your new iPhone and also pad your wallet a little bit.

If you are a Verizon customer, the company is offering a $200 gift card in exchange for working iPhone 4, 4S, 5, 5S, and 5C models. AT&T hasn’t announced the details of its buyback program yet, however, the company said it would do so by September 12, when the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are available for pre-order. Sprint is offering its customers a credit up to $300 for older iPhone models. T-Mobile’s program may be the most attractive, offering to match all major buyback programs and also kick in an extra $50.

It seems that carriers are starting to realize that customers like upgrading their phones every year, and offering incentives like trade-in programs are a great way to keep your customers loyal. The first thing I always do when a new iPhone is announced is compare buyback rates across different trade-in programs such as Gazelle and Amazon. Considering the horror stories I’ve read from customers sending their phones into Gazelle and Amazon, I’m more inclined to ship my phone off to AT&T if I’m guaranteed to get a fair deal.

If you are thinking about trading in your iPhone, don’t forget to remove your SIM card, wipe the device, unlock it (if possible) and disable Find My iPhone!