Are Black Friday iPhone Trade-In Deals Worth It?

What the carriers are offering right now

Black Friday is Nov 27, 2026, but the deals started early. Here's what's public as of Nov 14:

• T-Mobile (announced Nov 3, most offers live since Nov 5): an iPhone 18 Pro "on us," or up to $1,200 off any iPhone 18 Pro model or iPhone Duo, when you trade in an eligible phone in any condition on its Experience Beyond plan. On Experience More the ceiling is $930.
• AT&T: its Black Friday page lists the iPhone 18 Pro at $0 with a trade-in, and up to $1,200 off the iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo. MacRumors reports the iPhone Duo offer comes in tiers. The full $1,200 needs the Premium 2.0 plan and a trade-in valued at $230 or more, and it drops from there: up to $930 for a trade-in worth $130 or more on Extra 2.0, down to $350 for one worth $35 to $129.
• Verizon: Forbes lists up to $1,200 off the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Verizon's own Nov 5 holiday announcement leads with something else: an iPhone 18 Pro with no trade-in required on its Simplicity plan. Check Verizon's site for the plan and trade-in it requires.

Carriers change these often. T-Mobile's fine print says its offers are for a limited time and subject to change, so read the terms on the day you order.

How a $1,200 trade-in is actually paid

Nobody hands you $1,200. You finance the new phone over 36 months, and each month a bill credit cancels out that month's payment. T-Mobile's fine print uses a 256 GB iPhone 18 Pro at $1,199.99 as its example. That's $33.33 a month for 36 months, wiped out by a matching credit.

According to T-Mobile's terms, that holds as long as three things stay true:

• You keep a qualifying plan. The $1,200 offer needs an Experience plan listed at $100 a month or more with AutoPay. The $930 offer needs one at $85 or more.
• You don't pay the phone off early. Credits end if you do.
• You don't cancel. Credits stop and the rest of the phone's balance comes due.

AT&T's page describes the same structure: an eligible plan and a trade-in are required, and the price shown is what's left after credits over 36 months. There are small upfront costs too. T-Mobile lists a $35 device connection charge due at sale, and AT&T's page says sales tax is paid at purchase.

Cash today next to 36 months of credits

T-Mobile's own example of a qualifying trade-in is an iPhone 15 Pro. Our cash offer for a 256 GB unlocked iPhone 15 Pro in Good condition is $380. On the phone alone, $1,200 in credits wins easily, as long as you stay long enough to collect them. The last column shows how long that takes.

Trading in a Galaxy instead? If the carrier accepts it, the math is the same. A 256 GB unlocked Galaxy S24 Ultra in Good condition gets $365 from us, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra price guide has every size and grade.

So the trade-in isn't where these deals cost you. The plan is.

The real price is the plan

This part is our math, not the carriers'. A $1,200 credit spread over 36 months is $33.33 a month. If the plan the deal requires costs more than about $33 a month above the plan you'd otherwise choose, you're paying for the "free" phone yourself.

Here's an example with two published prices. T-Mobile's top offer lists plans at $100 a month or more, which was the one-line price of Experience Beyond when the plan launched. Verizon's Nov 5 announcement advertises its Simplicity plan at $45 a line with Auto Pay. On one line, that's a $55 gap, or $1,980 over 36 months, against a $1,200 credit. Per-line prices drop on family plans, so run it with your own numbers: the plan the deal requires, minus the plan you'd pick without it, times 36.

When the carrier deal is the right call

• You're already on the qualifying plan and expect to stay three years. You're paying for it either way, so take the credit.
• Your phone is cracked or old. T-Mobile's top offer takes an eligible phone in any condition. A 256 GB unlocked iPhone 15 Pro with a cracked screen gets $205 from us. That's nowhere near $1,200 in credits.

When cash is the better move

• You're on a cheaper plan or prepaid, and the deal means moving up.
• You may switch carriers within three years, or you want to own an unlocked phone outright. Leave early and the remaining credits are gone.
• You're switching carriers anyway. T-Mobile's announcement says people who bring their number and open a new line on Experience Beyond get the same offer with no trade-in. Your old phone is then yours to sell.
• You have more than one old phone. Trade one in and sell the rest.
• You're not buying a new phone, or you're buying it somewhere else. If that's Apple, its trade-in credit works differently: see what Apple changed on Nov 12.

Still deciding whether to upgrade at all? Our iPhone 15 Pro vs 18 Pro guide works out what the jump really costs after you sell.

If you sell for cash

Get the cash number first, so you know what you'd be giving up for the credits. Our quote is locked for 14 days, which leaves time to see the final Black Friday offers before you ship. The label is free.

Every phone is inspected within 24 hours of delivery. It goes through diagnostic software that tests every function, plus an IMEI check for blacklist and lock status. Battery health has to be 85% or better for Flawless and 80% or better for every other grade.

• Your grade matches: you're paid instantly once it passes inspection, by Zelle, PayPal, Venmo or Apple Cash.
• We find something different: you get a revised offer with the full test report and 3 days to decide. Say no and we ship it back free.

For every storage size and grade on one model, see the iPhone 15 Pro price guide or the iPhone 16 Pro price guide.