Samsung is paying big bucks for your old phone when you upgrade to the S25

By John Alexander Published March 19, 2025

Out with the old, in with the new. It’s a spring cleaning mantra, but also a pretty good practice when upgrading to one of the newest, best smartphones. Right now you can not only get regular trade-in credit on the top three best Samsung phones (the S25 series) but also get up to $900 in enhanced trade-in credit. This deal, which lasts through March 30, could save me $600 if I give up my Pixel 8 Pro. Tap the button below to play with the system yourself or keep reading to see our analysis of what you could get, as well as more info about the fine print on Samsung trade-in credits.

SEE YOUR TRADE-IN VALUE

First of all, let’s look at the basics about what you could get from Samsung. With no trade-in at all you can save up to $300 on your new phone. For example, you save $100 on unlocked 256GB version of the standard Samsung Galaxy S25, taking it down to $760 from $860. We see that this is a real deal, too, as Best Buy's S25 offer requires you to lock in the phone to a carrier to get the same price.

Next, what if you have a trade-in? That’s where it gets tricky. Samsung will give you money back if you have an eligible phone or tablet. The best brands to use for trade-in credits with Samsung are Samsung, Apple, and Google products as there are clear markers about what you’ll get in return for those products. Note that each phone gives a different amount of credit. My Pixel 8 Pro fetches $350 for a standard Galaxy S25 as well as the Galaxy S25 Plus, though some devices will get different amounts from the two. Storage of the purchased (or traded-in) phone does not seem to matter. Meanwhile, it could save me $600 on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

What’s your phone or tablet worth in trade-in credit? Tap the button below to check for specific products, but here’s a chart for some of the most popular phones and tablets of today:

As you can see, some devices ramp up steeply in trade-in credits depending on what phone you’re buying but others stay relatively flat. It’s always a bit interesting to see that the value of your device depends on what you’re buying.

Finally, take care to make sure your device is in good condition or you could get $0 from your trade-in. Samsung considers a device to be in “good condition” if it turns on, has a working charging port and battery, and has no cracks — though there is a special button to get the value of a cracked phone. You’ll also need to remove all activation locks from your phone, remove your accounts from it, and factory reset the phone, plus make sure it is not on a banned list. Additionally, I checked the Samsung trade-in fine print to check for any quirks; make sure there is no “bulging” of the screen or phone body near the battery, as that indicates the battery may be swelling and can get your phone rejected. If everything looks good, you can safely trade-in your device for a new Samsung S25 line phone via the button below:

SEE YOUR TRADE-IN VALUE