Top Deals from Verizon’s 2020 Black Friday
Remember the Black Friday buzz from a few years ago? “Free iPhone 12!” and “Half off a new Samsung!” banners were everywhere. It sounded amazing, but it also felt a little confusing. What did “free” really mean, and was there a catch?
We’re taking a close look back at the Verizon 2020 Black Friday event because past promotions are the best blueprint for future sales. The deals Verizon offered then created the playbook for how they structure major offers today, from the requirements to the fine print.
This guide decodes those offers so you know what to look for. We’ll break down how “free phone” deals work and the truth behind trade-ins, turning confusion into confidence for the next Verizon holiday savings event.
What Verizon Was Really Selling in 2020: 5G and Unlimited Plans
Ever wonder why the biggest phone promotions in 2020 seemed to have a catch? That “catch” was almost always the same: you had to sign up for one of Verizon’s premium Unlimited plans. This wasn’t a coincidence. The carrier was rolling out its brand new 5G network, and getting customers onto plans that could actually use that faster data was their top priority.
For shoppers, this meant the discount on the phone was tied directly to a more expensive monthly service plan. In essence, the best Verizon phone promotions of 2020 were less about just selling a phone and more about guiding you toward a long-term relationship on a top-tier plan. It was the price of admission for the most attractive offers.
That long-term commitment was the final piece of the puzzle. Most of these Verizon unlimited plan deals required you to stay for 24 or even 36 months to receive the full value. While these multi-part offers were the main event, not every deal was quite so complicated.
The Easiest Deal to Get: How Accessory Bundles Saved You Instant Money
Amid all the talk of monthly plans and long-term commitments, the simplest win during Verizon’s 2020 holiday accessory deals was often overlooked. The company offered major discounts—often 50% off—on essentials like cases and chargers when you purchased a new smartphone. The best part? This was an upfront discount. Unlike complex phone promotions that paid you back over time, you saw these savings taken off your bill immediately at the register.
Of course, these phone charger deals were typically tied to a new phone purchase; they were a simple “add-on” reward for your bigger decision. It’s a great reminder that even after you’ve navigated the main promotion, there are often easy savings waiting with the fewest strings attached. This straightforward perk stood in contrast to another popular offer that year: the “Buy One, Get One” deal, which came with its own set of rules.
The “Buy One, Get One” Catch: A Deal for Two, Not for One
The “Buy One, Get One” (or BOGO) offer is always a major Black Friday head-turner. In 2020, Verizon heavily promoted this deal for flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S20. But many shoppers quickly discovered the most important rule: this wasn’t a deal for two people simply upgrading their existing phones. To get the second phone “free,” you almost always had to add a new line of service to your account. This made it a great offer for a family adding a line for a child, but not for a couple already on the same plan.
So, how did it work? The process had several key steps:
- You bought the first eligible smartphone on a monthly payment plan.
- You activated a brand-new line of service with its own monthly fee.
- You purchased the second smartphone on that new line, also on a payment plan.
- Finally, the “free” part came in the form of bill credits.
Instead of erasing the cost of the second phone instantly, Verizon paid you back over time. For example, if the second phone cost $800, they would apply a credit of about $33 to your monthly bill for 24 months. If you decided to leave Verizon after a year, those credits would stop, and you would be responsible for the remaining balance on the phone.
The main takeaway from Verizon’s 2020 BOGO deals is to always check the new line requirement. It’s the gatekeeper for the entire promotion. While adding a line was one way to unlock savings, another popular strategy involved leveraging the phone you already owned.
How Verizon’s 2020 Trade-In Offers Turned Your Old Phone into a Discount
Beyond adding new lines, the Verizon 2020 trade-in offers provided another major path to savings. The concept was simple: give Verizon your old phone and get a discount on a new one. The amount of that discount, however, varied widely. Just like trading in a car, the model and age of your phone were the biggest factors. For example, a year-old iPhone 11 was worth significantly more than a four-year-old iPhone 7, directly impacting the final price of your upgrade.
Your phone’s physical condition was the next crucial piece. To get the maximum advertised value, your device needed to be in “good” condition—meaning it turned on and had no cracks in the screen or body. This became a common requirement during the competitive AT&T vs Verizon 2020 holiday promotions. For many of the best deals, a qualifying trade-in wasn’t just an optional bonus; it was a mandatory key needed to unlock the promotional price in the first place.
This made checking your phone’s potential value a vital pre-shopping step. But these trade-in credits were rarely the whole story. For the most hyped-up promotions, like the Verizon iPhone 12 deals 2020, the trade-in was just one part of a multi-step formula. It was the entry ticket you needed to get access to an even bigger discount that often involved bill credits and specific data plans.
Unpacking the “Free” iPhone 12: The Ultimate 2020 Deal Formula
So how did all these pieces—new lines, trade-ins, and bill credits—come together for the biggest deals of the year? The most heavily advertised Verizon iPhone 12 deals in 2020 promised a “free” phone, but getting it required a very specific combination of actions. It wasn’t a simple discount; it was a formula where you had to meet multiple requirements at once.
This powerful formula was the key to unlocking the maximum discount on flagship phones. Think of it as a recipe that required three main ingredients.
The ‘Free’ Phone Recipe:
- You had to be a NEW customer switching to Verizon, often requiring you to bring your number from a competitor.
- You had to trade in a specific, high-value phone that was in good condition.
- You had to sign up for a premium Unlimited plan, not the cheapest one available.
If you checked all three boxes, the phone wasn’t actually free on day one. Instead, its cost was spread over 24 monthly payments, and Verizon applied a matching credit to your bill each month to cancel it out. Crucially, leaving Verizon early would stop the bill credits, making you responsible for the phone’s remaining balance.
This exact structure was the engine behind most of the blockbuster Verizon 2020 new line promotions, including similar Google Pixel 5 Verizon offers in 2020. The goal was clear: attract new, high-value customers and keep them for at least two years. This left many loyal Verizon customers wondering: what deals were left for us?
Were There Any 2020 Verizon Deals for Existing Customers?
But what about loyal customers? Verizon did have 2020 deals for existing customers, but they were structured differently than the flashy new-customer offers. For those looking to upgrade, the “free phone” formula was missing a key ingredient: the massive bonus credit for starting a new line. The discount for loyal customers was typically based almost entirely on the value of their trade-in device, making the final savings smaller.
For example, a new customer might have received $800 off a new phone by combining a $400 trade-in value with a $400 new-line bonus. An existing customer making the exact same trade-in would likely only receive the $400 from their old device. These Verizon upgrade deals were still a solid way to lower the cost of a new phone, but they felt less dramatic because the biggest incentives were designed to pull customers away from competitors like AT&T and T-Mobile.
However, there was often a hidden path to better savings: Verizon loyalty offers. These were special, targeted discounts that didn’t appear in the main Black Friday ads. The only way to find them was by logging into your account on the My Verizon app or website. Many customers found personalized offers waiting for them—like an extra $100 off or a better trade-in valuation—as a thank you for being a long-time customer.
Your 4-Step Checklist for the Next Big Phone Sale
By understanding how Verizon’s 2020 Black Friday deals worked, you can look past the marketing and focus on what truly matters to your wallet. As you approach the next big sale, use this simple checklist as your personal guide to find the best phone deal for your situation:
- Am I eligible for an upgrade? Check your carrier account online first.
- What is my current phone worth? Look up its estimated trade-in value.
- Does the deal require a specific plan? Compare the monthly plan costs.
- Is the discount instant or in bill credits? Read the fine print for phrases like “over 24/36 mos.”
With this game plan, you can strategically evaluate every offer, confident that the deal you choose is genuinely great for you.
