Back in June, Best Buy ran a single day promotion that allowed iPhone 4 and 4S owners to upgrade their phones to the iPhone 5. The company told USA Today that it was the most successful day ever for its trade-in program and as a result, Best Buy plans to launch the campaign again on Friday, June 21.

Customers will be able to trade in a working iPhone 4 or 4S, earning a credit of up to $150, which can then be put towards the purchase of an iPhone 5, which is priced at $149.99 for the 16GB version. The discounted price includes a $50 instant rebate that will last until the end of the promotion, on June 29.

best_buy_iphone_5
Prices include a two-year contract with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. Phones that carry a trade-in value over $150 will have the remaining value applied to a gift card, and the credit applied will depend on the phone's condition. Trade-ins over $150 cannot be applied to a higher capacity iPhone.

The promotion, which will begin on June 21 and last for nine days, is only good in Best Buy Stores or Best Buy Mobile locations.

Top Rated Comments

Anti-Lucifer Avatar
161 months ago
People can get more by selling their old phones unlocked.

Right now an unlocked iphone 4s is $340is used. A persin could buy the cheast iphone 5 and still have some money for other stuff.

You're the exact type of person who just reads what is the price on the internet and assumes everyone can get that same price OR MORE.

When you see it priced that high, it does not mean any joe blow or jane doe can sell theirs for that price as well. That's the misconception of these sales on the internet; used prices that are just ridiculously high and yet forum members post messages saying "hey, look, it goes for this price online so you are a fool to sell it for any less!" -

You do realize it takes a lot of effort to sell used. Sure amazon or any other buy back online will take it for more but this is not always the case and having bestbuy do this promotion makes it a safe and easy way for EVERYONE to get a new iPhone.

There's really no point in the USA to buy an unlocked phone either. You still pay monthly premiums AND most of the time you are on a contract. If you go out and buy an unlocked phone WITHOUT a contract you are just dumb or have too much money to throw around. Take the 2 year contract and get the phone discounted up front. Otherwise you just pay even more with the non-contract phone.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lylyluvda916 Avatar
161 months ago
People can get more by selling their old phones unlocked.

Right now an unlocked iphone 4s is $340is used. A persin could buy the cheast iphone 5 and still have some money for other stuff.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tiger8 Avatar
161 months ago

There's really no point in the USA to buy an unlocked phone either. You still pay monthly premiums AND most of the time you are on a contract. If you go out and buy an unlocked phone WITHOUT a contract you are just dumb or have too much money to throw around. Take the 2 year contract and get the phone discounted up front. Otherwise you just pay even more with the non-contract phone.

Ever heard of Straight Talk? Net10? T-Mobile? Contracts are so 2 years ago (pun intended). Some of can do math.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kingtj Avatar
161 months ago
Huh? Not so much ....

First of all, it doesn't take THAT much effort to sell used, over the net.
Yeah, it's not as convenient as just handing your old phone to some Best Buy rep. and getting an instant credit -- but you pay dearly for that convenience.

I have no problem with these kinds of things being offered ... but no way I'd do it!

The price you see the used phones going for on eBay really IS a pretty accurate indicator of what they're selling for. The trick is to look at the average selling prices of the COMPLETED auctions though -- not just the ASKING prices of auctions in progress (which often have no bidders yet).

People keep forgetting that there's a healthy market for unlocked phones not bound by any contracts, because only these can easily be used with the cheaper, second-tier carriers like Straightalk, Virgin Mobile or Cricket Wireless -- where monthly fees are as low as $45 or so for unlimited text and talk, plus some sort of data package.

I agree that it doesn't normally seem to make any sense to buy a new unlocked smartphone at full price. But that really is the price the phone sells for, new. When you do a 2 year contract and get the phone for a lot less money up-front, you're going to wind up paying for it eventually anyway.


You're the exact type of person who just reads what is the price on the internet and assumes everyone can get that same price OR MORE.

When you see it priced that high, it does not mean any joe blow or jane doe can sell theirs for that price as well. That's the misconception of these sales on the internet; used prices that are just ridiculously high and yet forum members post messages saying "hey, look, it goes for this price online so you are a fool to sell it for any less!" -

You do realize it takes a lot of effort to sell used. Sure amazon or any other buy back online will take it for more but this is not always the case and having bestbuy do this promotion makes it a safe and easy way for EVERYONE to get a new iPhone.

There's really no point in the USA to buy an unlocked phone either. You still pay monthly premiums AND most of the time you are on a contract. If you go out and buy an unlocked phone WITHOUT a contract you are just dumb or have too much money to throw around. Take the 2 year contract and get the phone discounted up front. Otherwise you just pay even more with the non-contract phone.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thefourthpope Avatar
161 months ago
I'll happily sell my 4s on craigslist and buy whatever Apple calls the new one (presumably 5s). Squaretrade is great for that kind of thing.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fanaticalism Avatar
161 months ago
So, you give them an iPhone 4S, which cost up to $949 (64GB + AppleCare), and in return you get "up to" $150 and a contract with an evil company that will cost you thousands of dollars?

WHERE DO I SIGN UP?

Can I get them to spit in my face, as well?

----------



You sure do like to assume.

T-Mobile doesn't force subsidies on you like AT&T and Verizon do.

Buying full price with T-Mobile = lower monthly bill.

Buying on contract with AT&T/Verizon = higher/subsidized bill.
Buying full price with AT&T/Verizon = higher/subsidized bill.

I still have the 2009 phones I got with AT&T. I'm still paying the higher/subsidized monthly prices. I don't want to get "new" phones with them and end up in a contract. That works out for me, because I can now switch my lines to T-Mobile.
People should learn how to read. You get a minimum of the $150 price which is what they are selling the i5 for. If your phone is worth more, you get the difference on a gift card.

The no contract plan w/ T-Mobile is a valid option for those who travel in and out of the states frequently and like most, service is contingent upon location. Difference with TM is, that if you live in a rural area, quality of service suffers. If you purchased the device, and cancel service, you must either pay in full, or return the device to the carrier.

People paint with such broad strokes, it's almost comical.

----------

I was interested in this until



I'm done with 16 GB phones. I'll never go back. Plus I have vzw unlimited, so no more subsidies for me!

The 32GB i5 is $250 so if your device has a higher trade in value, you put that towards whatever you want.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Another Vehicle Brand Gaining iPhone Car Keys Support

Tuesday October 28, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to bring support for its digital car key feature to Jetour vehicles, according to evidence uncovered on Apple's backend by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. Introduced in 2022, Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done by holding an Apple Watch or...