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I’ve been using a Samsung Galaxy S7 for 5 years. I was going to replace it in early 2020 but the pandemic hit and I didn’t bother. My complaints about the old phone are,
- Not enough storage space, and it no longer always recognizes the memory card
- Insufficient battery
I’d run out of juice on trips all the time. I carry an extra battery with me when I travel, especially on American Airlines (since many legacy US Airways planes lack power) and Southwest (which doesn’t offer power). But I wanted a phone whose charge would last longer. Since the start of Covid-19 I’ve rarely been away from a charger, so I skipped the 2020 upgrade.. and have been deleting things off the phone regularly to free up space.
So I’m planning to buy the new Samsung S21 when it comes out in a few weeks. Since I get a new phone only every 4-5 years I may get the S21 ultra. Lo and behold my Platinum Card® from American Express has an ‘Amex Offer’ from Samsung of a $200 statement credit with $1000 spend that I could add to my account.
If you’re interested then bear in mind eligibility is limited and enrollment is required in the Amex Offers section of your account before redeeming.
Pre-registering on the Samsung website (which lets them market to me and remind me to make the purchase) saves me $50 on the phone as well.
And Samsung will give me $200 as a trade-in on my old Samsung S7, which is five times what AT&T was willing to offer for it last year (newer phones get bigger trade-in amounts than that).
Added to the $200 back from American Express I’ve got $400 coming back to me and a $50 discount. And by buying the phone outright I’ll get Amex purchase protection from my Platinum Card. That seems better to me than making payments on the phone through AT&T – although buying it from Samsung rather than my service provider means foregoing the opportunity to earn 5 points per dollar with my Ink Business Cash® Credit Card which I use to pay my monthly bills.
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card of course is a no annual fee card that currently has an incredible offer to earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, and which I can transfer to airline miles or hotel points by first moving to one of my annual fee Chase Ultimate Rewards cards. My AT&T bill also includes home television and internet, too, earning 5 points per dollar.
AAdvantage e-shopping is offering 10x miles per dollar on Samsung purchases right now as well.
Cannot understand people walking around with poor design Android, I get it if you can’t afford an iPhone but seriously it will make your life a lot easier
Also get $50 Accessory credit ht:DD
Code YOURGALAXY1RESERVEWA
2% top cash back at samsung.com. there’s another $20.
Have the phone shipped to a no sales tax state like Delaware or Oregon and save even more. If you have any friends or family ask them for a favor. You can then have them ship it to you or pick it up in person if you are in an adjoining state.
This is the same game that department stores like Kohl’s, Macy’s, and JCPenney runs on people. They keep obscene price tags on their goods while giving customers various avenues to stack discounts/rebates off of MSRP. It’s a psychological game to get customers believing that they’re getting a bargain. The reality is, even with a $450 “discount” you’re still paying $1000+ for a smartphone that will be obsolete by 2026 anyway. That’s just ridiculous.
Come on, Gary. Please don’t use that TPG logic on us.
I think Google Fi has a better deal on this phone right now.
Rakuten has 10% back at Samsung on phones
Android phones are decent (and many have great hardware), but cannot imagine anyone [entertaining the idea of] spending $1000 for an Android phone. Apple iPhones are pricey but definitely worth big premiums. If Amex offered a $200 rebate on iPhones, there would probably be a stamped and probably over 100,000 takers in the first day.
Have you ever looked into Google Fi for a carrier? It works in over 200 countries. The new S21 is compatible.
https://fi.google.com/about/phones/
Have the phone shipped to a sales tax free state like Oregon or Delaware address if you know someone there. Saves you 10% or more in sales taxes.
Gary, you’ve given plenty of good tips – here’s one back:
Take a look at the Moto G Power android phone, it is pretty impressive and @ $200 on Amazon. (5000+ ratings @ 4.6)
They advertise 3 day battery life, but I get about 4 days. Display is good, camera is good, calls work like they should.
Don’t think I’ll ever go back to paying 3x the price for Samsung or Google phones with 1/2 to 1/3 the battery life of this Moto phone.
Just buy the Pixel 5 – you save more than the $450. Plus you unfiltered OS without bloatware and awesome assistant.
That’s a lot to pay for sharing massive amount of data with Google for freeeeeeee.
At least Apple will somewhat respect your privacy. My privacy has a price.
Gary – will you get the Amex bonus if you do the trade-in? Samsung gives you the trade-in discount up front IIRC, lowering the cost below $1000.
@Abey and @Luke Vader, your comments are hysterical. Spoken like people who have never actually used Android or a good quality phone.
so, with all your traveling you prefer AT&T as your carrier? Do you have a specific plan with them?
thanks,
That probably shows that this is primarily a travel blog. AT&T gives you 800$ for an Iphone 8 trade in. Buy a used Iphone 8 from ebay. That’s around 200$. Trade that one in with AT&T and you’ll save 600$ plus you can keep your S7 as a backup phone or sell the S7 for additional $. Of course if you do a trade in with AT&T you will be locked in for another 30 bill cycles and the Google Fi offer might be indeed better. That’s all assuming you are on an unlimited post paid plan.
The Samsung S21 series have the same issue as S7, no microSD slot. So you are stuck with flash memory built into the device. The differences between the S21 and S20 are minimal. The best device from Samsung, with minimal cost, is the S20FE. Discounted pre-Xmas for $349. S21 Ultra to S20FE is a savings of at least $650. Makes the $200 back from Amex Platinum seem very foolish!