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This post’s co-author is Wangbo. The deal is not at its best value right now. If you are not in a hurry, you can wait for the best time to jump in, YMMV. Don’t underestimate this deal: one phone, if used well, can easily generate a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars a year in rewards. These low-cost phones may be pretty brick-like (most do not even support NFC), so don’t expect to use them as your main phone; just use them for deals.

  • Purchase and activation deadline: 2020/12/31; redemption deadline: 2021/01/17.
  • You need to place the order before year-end; if you still want to jump on it, pay attention to the timing.
  • Note: the SIM card can be activated without buying the phone. If you won’t have the phone in time, it’s recommended to activate the SIM card first.

Ongoing plans:

  • You can renew a $10 plan on TracFone’s official site, which helps make sure you can successfully receive the referral reward

You can enter a referral code once on the website and once in the app:

  • RJZO-6CB9、ISPY-56C2、HKTU-4DAD、JGCK-1E39、FHBP-A906、DLMZ-B3CA

[2021.1 update] According to DP from WeChat reader Gary, even if you activate after 12/31 (as long as the purchase was before 12/31), you can still redeem the gift card reward. Redemption deadline is 01/17, so don’t miss it. This SIM card can also be used with Simple Mobile’s locked iPhone SE2.

DP: for the Amazon TracFone phone promotion, I ordered on December 12, but shipping was delayed until January 9. After activation, I submitted the reimbursement on January 10, and received the $100 reimbursement on January 11. Conclusion: the requirement to activate before December 31 is not that strict.

[2020.12 update 8] You can renew a $10 plan on the official site (in the Basic Plan section), which helps make sure you can successfully receive the referral reward. As a backup SIM, after the $10 is used up, the referral reward is enough to keep it going for an extra 5 months.

[2020.12 update 7] Based on reader V1ctor’s reminder, the promotion requires purchase and activation before 12/31, and redemption must be completed before 01/17. So you still have time to buy it now. If you want in, don’t miss it; you can get a $100 gift card plus $50/$80 in service credit (refer).

  • Path: My Dashboard->My Rewards->open My Dashboard->find Enter Code to redeem
  • You can enter the code on both the website and the app to get $100 in service credit
[2020.12 update 2] Some readers’ SIM cards show as invalid when redeeming the gift card. The current DP mostly comes from SIMs purchased with the Amazon $20 gift card plan, but it is not 100% invalid. If this happens (including plans purchased on the official site), first send the gift card application page details together with:
  • Screenshot of the order record (if you’re worried the phone amount is under $100 and customer service won’t accept it, you can tweak it a bit—you know what I mean; it’s just a screenshot)
  • SIM S/N and a screenshot (the full S/N must be entered)
  • Phone S/N and a screenshot

Send all of this together to TracFone customer service email [email protected]. HT: reader ED. Customer service will generally reply within 1-2 business days with one of the following:

  • Most reps will confirm it directly and give you the code to redeem the gift card
  • Some reps will reply that it is under review, and later send another email with the redemption code
  • A few reps think Amazon’s $20 gift card plan does not meet the terms and will not allow redemption, YMMV (so far there has only been one DP)

Based on the DPs in WeChat groups and the comments section, the vast majority (almost all) successfully got the gift card code. If customer service refuses redemption, you can ask Amazon Chat for a refund on the plan, then promptly go to TracFone’s official site and buy the cheapest plan. You can also resend the email to TracFone with a different email address, similar to HUCA by phone.

If you really don’t want the hassle, you can return everything to Amazon together with the phone, or complain to customer service that you did not receive the TracFone reward; customer service may refund you directly without requiring a return, YMMV.

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[2020.12 update 5] I wrote it wrong last time. After taking a closer look, this 5000 points is worth $50. Thanks to reader We Co for the correction. You can also watch videos and do activities to earn points.

Rewards can be used to redeem:

  • Redeem a $20/m plan (unlimited talk, text + 1G data). Assuming we buy the $10 basic plan ($1 SIM) from the official site and enter the code on both the website and app, it seems possible to get 5 months of plan, effectively using it for half a year. If you redeem a limited plan, it seems you can use it even longer.
  • Occasionally you can redeem Walmart eGC
  • It seems possible in the future to redeem device purchase vouchers

Whether as a backup SIM for porting out (see the Port-away elements here) or for daily use if you need it, it’s pretty good. Welcome everyone to share your DPs!

  • Feel free to use our referral code. Try different codes on the website and in the app; maybe you can get the bonus twice:

RJZO-6CB9、ISPY-56C2、HKTU-4DAD、JGCK-1E39、FHBP-A906、DLMZ-B3CA

If a code shows as invalid, it means it has been used up—try another one. If all the codes in the post are used up, use the ones in the comments.

Note that points need to be Pending for 2 months before they can be redeemed.

If you need to buy a plan and SIM card on the official site anyway and stack the referral bonus, TopCashback is currently offering 12% cashback.

[2020.12 update] During the holiday shopping season, the Moto G7 Play is priced at $99.99. Being even 1 cent above that is still a very solid deal (the promotion terms require a phone priced at least $100).

However, there are quite a few DPs on Slickdeals showing people successfully got the reward with this phone. If you want to try, go ahead, YMMV. If TracFone does not give the Mastercard gift card reward, just request a return from Amazon.

For the SIM card and plan, you can consider:

Why we recommend this plan: you can effectively come out ahead by $5+ and get an extra month of time, which may be just enough to catch other good port-in deals, such as the Visible deal or the Cricket deal and the Google Fi deal. After ordering, you'll receive Amazon's promotion details, which say that each renewal gives you a $20 gift card (the promotion ends on January 17, 2021, so you only get one $20 gift card):

Once service is activated, we apply a promotional credit to your Amazon gift card balance every month your cycle renews. You'll be charged 3 days before your next cycle starts.

Checkout is $115.98 before tax. After subtracting the Amazon gift card and Mastercard gift card rewards, the actual out-of-pocket cost is $10.98 before tax (for two months of use). After tax, it's $20-$25. One phone + two months of flexible port-out eligibility + assorted signup bonuses is a pretty good deal overall.

[November 2020 update 2] According to a reminder from reader HJ, you can go directly to TracFone's official website to buy the monthly plan for only $15/m, which lowers the overall cost by another $5. The rest of this post has been updated to use this option. [Note: the SIM card and unlocked phone must be Amazon items sold by Amazon, and you must be able to print an invoice.]

Example purchase: a $160 unlocked phone. Combined with Amazon Shop with points 40% (up to $50 off), screenshot from reader V1ctor

The final checkout is $18 after tax, which is already very good:

If you buy a phone priced at $120, you can just maximize the $50 benefit and, after deducting the plan cost, effectively get the phone for $0 after tax. For example, Moto E | Unlocked | 2/32GB | 13MP Camera | 2020 | Blue (current price $120)

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[The following is the article from October 28, 2020]

A quick note up front

Generally speaking, KUKU thinks we need to keep multiple phones on hand for deal-chasing:

  • At least one iPhone (for Apple Pay promotions and Apple Card)
  • A good Samsung Android phone (multi-app use, Samsung Pay, Google Pay/Play, etc.)
  • A backup Android "brick" phone (for various trade-in promos and secondary-line port-out promos)

If you don't have them, don't go straight to the official site; you can also buy phones cheaply:

Especially on Android, multi-instance apps make it a killer tool for chasing deals.

This post introduces a cheap way to get a useful Android "brick" phone. This deal was launched for Prime Day, and we didn't write about it right away because it didn't seem strong enough. But after testing, we found it's actually pretty good. Especially when combined with Amazon's various promotions, you can get a phone at an ultra-low price.

Deal details

This deal comes from TracFone, a prepaid carrier brand. The company has three brand names, the other two being Simple Mobile and Total Wireless. This deal can be triggered by buying SIM cards and plans from all three brands, but we recommend the cheapest TracFone option. Full details can be found here:

The steps are simple; here's a quick summary:

  • Complete the SIM card, unlocked phone, and SIM plan purchase in one Amazon order
  • After receiving the SIM card and phone, activate the phone (which means you need to buy at least one month of service)
  • Wait 24 hours
  • Upload the invoice, the phone's serial number, the SIM card's serial number, and a screenshot of the order
  • After customer service approval, they'll mail an e-gift card ($100 Amazon or Mastercard gift card or Venmo gift card; we recommend the Mastercard gift card)
Purchase Requirement:

Purchase any $100+ Unlocked Phone with a SIM Kit and activate service with Tracfone, SIMPLE Mobile or Total Wireless before 12/31/20. Unlocked device and SIM Kit must be purchased at the same time and purchase must be made only at Amazon.
Receipt must show retailer name, date, time, receipt total, and qualifying purchase. Each receipt can only be submitted once.
Limited to one (1) submission/reward per person/email.

Purchase steps

A quick reminder of the caveats:

  • You need to complete the SIM card and unlocked phone purchase in one Amazon order (so you can print an invoice)
  • The SIM card and phone need to be items sold by Amazon.com, and they cannot be split apart
  • The payment method does not matter. You can pay with Amazon gift cards or combine this with other Amazon promotions
  • SIM card plan purchase [you can go to TracFone's official website, price $15]

Because TracFone's phone plans are the cheapest, we recommend TracFone here.

Amazon order

For the phone, if you want to spend as little as possible, you can choose:

My personal recommendation is to go with one of the Motorola models, which are better overall (prices keep changing). The lowest price was $120, and they've gone up a bit since then:
Make sure it says Sold by Amazon (red box area)

Since these are Sold by Amazon products, don't forget to stack Amazon promotions at checkout to maximize cashback. Based on Amazon's usual pattern, these phone prices may still go down, so you can wait for a lower price. We'll also try to alert you to the best time as soon as possible.

Note: the order will be split into two orders. You must make sure the SIM card and the phone are in the same order (one invoice); it's fine if the plan order gets split. All invoices must be uploaded later.

Claim Gift Card

The Moto G7 Play is pretty good. Here is what the phone looks like in real life:

Image by author Wangbo

24 hours after activating the SIM card (the next day), you can go to the official campaign website to apply for the gift card redemption. Just enter your personal information, SIM card details, and the corresponding phone information.

After that, you need to upload the purchase invoice and a screenshot of the Amazon order, then wait for the customer service email. Usually it arrives the next day.

The email for redeeming the Mastercard gift card is shown below. You can also choose an Amazon gift card, but the Mastercard gift card is recommended.

Cost Summary

Using the Motorola Moto G7 Power, which has an original price of $250, as an example, before tax you would pay ($127 + $15) - $100 = $42. After tax, you can get this phone for around $60. If you're targeted for other Amazon promotions, the purchase price could be even lower.

What to Do With the Phone Number Afterward

After you get a TracFone phone number, if you're only using it for one month, don't waste it. You can register it for:

  • A Google Voice number [do not create Gmail/GV on the same account at the same time]. GV can be used later for port-out promotions
  • Various food delivery apps (to get first-order and later discounts); you can install the apps on this phone
  • Uber/Lyft ride-hailing apps
  • Other similar products that require a real mobile number to sign up

Then go after various port-in/number-porting promotions. If there is no deal available, go straight to Visible and grab a port-in-only promotion [with a $100 Mastercard gift card reward].

Port away

First set up the account; SMS verification is required. After that:

  • The Account is the last 15 digits of the SIM card SN
  • The Pin is the account PIN you set yourself

Offer Terms

Summary

This deal runs for a long time, through December 31, 2020. There's no need to rush. If the timing works out, you may be able to get a pretty good phone by spending only $20 (the monthly cost of the phone plan).

The current deal price is not the best possible one (and most areas also have sales tax), so you may want to wait until Black Friday to see whether a lower-priced phone comes up. Of course, Black Friday deals come with risk, and you may not receive the phone before the deadline. You can also wait until your account has accumulated enough different Amazon promotions, then buy with those.

In short, weigh your options yourself.