T-Mobile Lets Users Score Free Phones with New Program

T-Mobile’s $5 a month Score! program will let you nab new phones for free

By Malarie Gokey January 26, 2015

Some people like to upgrade their phones more often than others, and waiting two years or even one can seem like a century. For those people, T-Mobile introduced another program called Score, which allows users to switch over to new, highly discounted, entry-level devices after just six months, or lower-priced high-end devices after 12 months.

Some phones will even be free, though the more powerful, brand-name devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5 will cost you more. Even so, T-Mobile says you’ll save up to $150 on the full price of the device if you join the Score program. However, there’s a catch: To join Score, you have to pay $5 a month for six months before the free, entry-level phone offer starts, or 12 months, if you want one of the high-end ones.

Additionally, only some phones are available on the program so far, so your choices are fairly limited. After you pay $5 a month for six months, you can get the Alcatel OneTouch Evolve 2 for free either as a prepaid customer or a postpaid customer. The phone typically costs either $80 or $109 at full price, so after paying $60 into the Score program so far, you’d still get a decent deal.

Once 12 months have passed, and you’ve paid $60 to Score, a much wider range of devices opens up to you. So far, T-Mobile will give you the Alcatel OneTouch Fierce 2, the LG Optimus L90, or the T-Mobile Concord II for free. Seeing as the phones typically range in price from $126 to $168, you’ll have saved slightly more money on these devices than the entry-level ones.

T-Mobile will also give 12-month Score customers pretty big discounts on popular devices like Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4, LG’s Optimus L90 (prepaid), as well as the Google Nexus 6. Although you certainly won’t get these phones for free, you’ll get about $150 off each one, which isn’t too shabby.

It’s unclear whether T-Mobile’s latest promotion will actually prove useful to most customers, but those who are interested in getting the latest and greatest phones on the cheap might be interested. You can read the full terms and conditions on T-Mobile’s website.

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