Best Back To School Deals 2018

As the start of the Christmas season creeps ever closer to October, so too does the "Back to School" season creep ever closer to graduation day.

Case in point, today both T-Mobile and Verizon launched new Back to School deals, even though we're not even halfway through July. I mean, most high school students started their summer a few weeks ago, and college kids won't start the next semester for another month and a half.

Regardless of the promotional moniker, the deals T-Mobile and Verizon are offering are pretty stellar:

T-Mobile Back to School

At T-Mobile, you can get a free or heavily-discounted smartphone if you purchase a smartphone and a new T-Mobile line. The best deal is on the Samsung Galaxy S9, which is a straight buy-one-get-one-free offer.

If you buy an LG G7 ThinQ or LG V30, you get a $750 credit to put towards another LG device, including the two aforementioned flagships as well as the LG G6, LG Aristo 2 Plus, the LG K30, or the LG Stylo 4. If your second device is less than the $750 credit, then you forfeit the rest of the credit.

The best T-Mobile phones to spend your money on (July 2021)

Additionally, if you buy a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus or a Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, you get a $720 credit which you can put towards another S9 Plus or S8 Active.

These BOGO offers are available right now at a T-Mobile store or on its website. To take advantage of these deals, you need to add a T-Mobile One line and purchase the devices through the interest-free Equipment Installment Plan. You'll get the rebate money back via 24 monthly bill credits.

Starting next week, July 20, you'll be able to get the Samsung Galaxy S8 for only $199 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 for only $399 (once again via 24 monthly bill credits after adding a line and a device through the EIP).

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Verizon Back to School

Verizon's deals are similar to T-Mobile's, in that you add a new Verizon line, buy a new device, and get another for a hefty discount (or even for free). However, unlike T-Mobile, Verizon is a bit sneakier about how much credit you get from each device.

Verizon buyer's guide: The best Verizon phones for every budget

Luckily, you have us to do the grunt work. Here is the breakdown:

Buy a Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus, or Galaxy Note 8, and get $800 off another S9, S9 Plus, or Note 8. Also comes with free memory card equal to the size of the internal memory of the device purchased.
Buy an LG V30 or LG G7 ThinQ and get a $750 credit to put towards another LG V30 or LG G7 ThinQ. Mix and match to get the best deal.
Buy a Google Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL and get a $650 credit to put towards another Pixel 2 device.
Buy a Motorola Moto Z2 Force Edition, get another of the exact make and model free.
Finally, Verizon lists the Samsung Galaxy S7 as part of the deal but doesn't give any restrictions for it. This is likely an error but go to a store and see if you can finagle a free phone out of its mistake.

As with the T-Mobile deal, you must open a new line with Verizon in order to be eligible for these rebate offers and those rebates will come as monthly bill credits over the following 24 months.

Click below to get these deals!