While inflation’s been squeezing wallets dry, the cost of communication is one thing that isn’t shy of rising too. Now more than ever, saving money on your phone bill is a big deal. If you’ve got old devices in your closet somewhere, that’s a value you’re not tapping into.
Cricket Wireless is rolling out a new trade-in system powered by Asurion, the popular device insurance company. If you’re a new customer or have been with them for a while, you can now bring in your old phone and use its value directly to pay for your service. There are no gift cards required and no expiration dates in using your earnings. If you’re interested, here’s everything you need to know to get started.
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Cricket and Asurion want your scrap phones
If you want to trade in your old device under Cricket’s new program, you either walk into an authorized retail store or visit the official portal online. The website option is obviously the more convenient route for most people. But for situations like this, it’s best to be there in person where someone looks at your device in real time.
You’ll avoid the back-and-forth of shipping delays or condition disputes that can happen online. However, it does come with the catch of waiting in line if there are loads of other people who also want to trade-ins.
This program was created with the customer in mind. This isn’t a gift card plan, but something that goes directly to helping Cricket customers lower their service payment in an easy way. At the end of the day, we all want to save money and that’s what we’re helping do for our customers.
Shailendra Gujarati, Chief Marketing Officer at Cricket Wireless.
If you decide to use the website, you only need to enter your device brand and model, as well as answer some close-ended questions to know if it qualifies for a trade-in. For example, what carrier the device was last locked in to, if it can turn on without needing to be plugged in, and so on.
To be clear, you can trade in a device that was previously used with AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or even an international provider. It doesn’t have to be a phone that was originally activated with Cricket.
But to actually complete the process and receive the credit, you must currently be a Cricket Wireless customer. The credit will only be applied if you have an active account tied to the number you provide during the process.
Your phone may not be worth the value you think it is
Asurion provides an estimated value of your device when you fill their online trade-in form and qualify. You also need to provide information about yourself to receive instructions on how to ship your device. In case you try to be tricky, they will do another round of checks to match the device you presented earlier with what’s in front of them.
They have the right to adjust the proposed value or even terminate your application completely. If you do pass, credits usually reflect in 1-2 billing cycles. Contact Cricket or Asurion if it takes longer.
I gave Cricket’s program a try and offered up my lightly used iPhone 13 with 128GB storage to see what kind of value I’d get. The process itself was smooth. I went through the online portal, entered the device details, randomly selected the last carrier I used with the phone, and described its condition as accurately as possible.
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After a quick eligibility check, Asurion gave me an estimate of $126. That number felt a bit low, considering the iPhone 13 is still a solid device. It’s fast, still gets iOS updates, has many desirable features, and has decent resale value elsewhere.
On Swappa or Apple’s own trade-in program, you could get up to $200, depending on the storage and condition. But at least, you know that the money goes straight to your account and will cut down your next phone bill.
