Google Fi has begun sending out emails with travel gift cards from the incredible November promotion (see: [DEAD] WOW! Get a Google Fi phone & travel gift card worth the phone’s price). I received my gift card email earlier this evening, and it turned out to be even better than expected: not only can you mix and match amounts with all of the included partners, but you do not need to redeem all of the gift card money at once. That’s awesome since it means you can redeem little by little as needed for your travels.
The email that came from Google Fi this afternoon, with the subject line, “Redeem Your Travel Gift Card(s) from Google Fi” was clear in explaining that you can redeem a partial amount now and store the balance for later or even share with a friend, emailing the gift card directly to them. Here is the key text:
Again, the good news here is that you can redeem at your own pace. While we previously knew you would be able to mix and match between AirBnB, Delta, Hotels.com, and Southwest Airlines, I had assumed that we would have to redeem the entire amount in one shot. It turns out you’ll just need to save either the email or URL in order to be able to redeem again in the future. As an example, you could choose to redeem for $300 in Delta gift cards now, a $400 AirBnB gift card next week, and then a $300 Hotels.com gift card in a few months if that’s what fits your needs. If you’re going to hold on to the balance for a while, I’d recommend keeping that URL in a very safe place.
Overall, a promotion that seemed too-good-to-be-true apparently wasn’t. Those who pulled the trigger quickly on this one got one of the best deals of 2018. That said, my experiences with Fi haven’t been overwhelmingly positive (though I should probably consider myself lucky compared to some). I love my Pixel 3 XL and the photos it takes, but I’ve found a number of instances where my T-Mobile phone has had full service and the Fi phone has had no service (and only one or two instances the other way around). That’s too bad as I wanted to love Fi. I’ll give it a shot abroad so as to compare directly with my T-Mobile phone, but I don’t intend to keep Fi long-term despite this terrific promotion (note: the jury is still out as to whether I keep the phone or the gift cards!).
Do remember this key point from the original promotion terms (thanks to reader Alex in the comments for the reminder):
“If Fi service is paused for more than 7 days or cancelled within 120 days of activation, the value of the gift card will be charged to your Google Payments account to match the purchased price of the device.”
So you’ll want to continue Fi service beyond receipt of the gift cards,
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I’m going to sign my wife up for fi on an upcoming trip. Nick, would you post your referral link? I’m a fan of your articles. Thanks.
Sure! Here you go – and thanks!
https://g.co/fi/r/6DME9M
My friends and I have not received the travel gift card email that started arriving the past few days; we all “think” we are eligible for the $1000 offer. Any idea as to who has been receiving? Order of phone activation? Is the email arriving after the third statement date? Any insights?
Believe I activated the phone on December 7th and I received the gift card email on February 21st. That’s a span of 76 days. I believe the deal originally said you’d receive the gift card 75-90 days after activation if I remember correctly (without checking the original terms right now, I believe the deal was that you had to keep the phone active for 60 days and couldn’t pause service for more than 7 days within the first 120 days and you would receive the gift card 75-90 days after activation. I could be a little off on that as I’m just going on memory). If I’m correct about that, I’d say keep an eye on your email for the next week or two.
Just wondering, what time did your order get placed?
Pretty early. I didn’t hesitate too long on this one. My order confirmation says 4:28pm, but I thought it was earlier than that.
I ordered 12:19PM, shipped 11/30, activated 12/10.
Me too having same activation date of December 9. Bill from Google Fi bill comes in on 10th of every month.
Recent Statement – Here’s a quick summary of your March 9 statement:
Your total is $29.71
This is how much you’ll be charged. Your total always consists of payment upfront for next month’s calls & texts, plus data charges for this past month.
Auto-payment is scheduled for March 20, 2019.
So getting ready to cancel the service at end of 120 days… as I wait for the bill from April 9th which will come on 10th. So I guess I will go into my Google Account and hit Cancel Service.
Did I get that right ?
Hi Nick,
I signed up and I called the customer service at Google Fi and confirmed with the representative and her manager even double checked and said I qualified for the $999 promotion, so I didn’t cancel my order since my order was right around the cutoff.
I got an email saying I have the $100 statement credit. I don’t know what to do and their chat customer service just apologies but does nothing.
I would have cancelled if they hadn’t lied to me and provided incorrect information, but now I’m stuck with an expensive phone that I wouldn’t have bought otherwise.
Help please… 🙁
Wow — that stinks. I’m really not sure what you can do in that situation.
First of all, are you sure that the $100 statement credit isn’t from a referral? There was a $100 referral bonus for a little while (i.e. you would get a $100 credit if someone signed up through your link). Is it possible you received that and will still receive your travel gift cards?
It doesn’t help you now, but in that situation I’d always recommend confirming that kind of thing via email rather than phone call so you have a paper trail.
Speaking of that, did you not get an email confirming you were eligible for this? Did you meet those terms? Two days after the phone shipped, I got an email with the subject line, “Next steps for your travel gift card from Google Fi”. Here were the key details from that email:
——
After 75-90 days on Google Fi, you will receive another email with your travel reward link if you have satisfied the other terms and conditions of the promotion. You’ll be able to redeem travel gift cards with Airbnb, Delta Air Lines, Hotels.com, and Southwest Airlines, and enjoy Fi where your travels may take you.
These are some of the important terms and conditions (below) you’ll need to satisfy to receive your gift card.
• Activate your phone within 15 days of device shipment and remain active for 60 consecutive days following.
• If you’re new to Google Fi, you will need to transfer your personal number to Fi from your current carrier. Your number must have been created prior to 8/28/18 12:00 AM PT.
• You will receive your rewards link in 75-90 days, but if you cancel your Fi service prior to 120 days or pause your account for more than 7 days, you will be charged the value of the gift card.
• There is a limit of one promotion per person.
• You can access the full terms and conditions here and refer to general FAQ about the promotion here.
—-
If you have that email, I’d use it to follow up with Google. You could also try seeing if they can pull the recording of your previous call, but I’m honestly not sure it’s going to get you very far.
can the redeem amount be used in a single retailer or need to spread out? Your example had “$300 in Delta gift cards now, a $400 AirBnB gift card next week, and then a $300 Hotels.com gift card in a few months”. Can you choose 2X $500 Hotels.com instead? The link option seems to be limited at $500 each. AirBnB/Delta is with incremental options up to $500 whereas Hotels.com and Southwest can enter manually but limit at $500.
FYI for other people reading, after I received my gift cards I merged my account with another Fi subscriber (joined their group plan). This saves $5/month on the plan. Technically I believe this cancels my original account. I chatted with Fi support, asking if now I will be charged for the phone and the rep said as long as I remain in the group plan until the 120 days is up, there will be no charge
Regarding switching back to another carrier. I’ve been mostly happy with GoogleFi coverage, but I’m REALLY impressed with their transparent pricing. Why go back to a carrier like Verizon at twice the price, with its bogus “administrative fees” and upgrade charges?
I try not to patronize businesses whose model includes hiding fees and nickel-&-diming me, like “urban amenity fees” at hotels and BS charges from wireless carriers.
Enable the “enhanced network” function on your Google Fi enabled phone. It’ll use an always-on VPN to encrypt your data and more seamlessly transition between wireless networks. So you should have better connectivity. Downside: battery life will likely suffer.
[…] tip to Nick at FM to reader […]
I have the opposite experience with signal in San Diego. Tmobile signal was good in midwest but terrible at work in San Diego. Switched to Fi and it’s noticeably better.
It’s sorta sad if T-Mobile works and Fi doesn’t . Even with antennas they sent me I can only text from my house reliably. I don’t know how Fi works , network , etc. Maybe someone can fill me in, but I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks other networks are better. However I do love using it in Mexico and the data in hundreds of countries is sufficient to be useful. Sorry for getting off topic. I’m the dumbass who didn’t take advantage of this for the phone. I take solace that I did take advantage of the Cathay first class fare from Hanoi. Thanks for posting that one guys. Im in Saigon and Trump is coming to meet me in Hanoi on the 27th.
I’ll pick up the Cathay flight on the 3rd. I actually think it was worth traveling just to get custom clothes made.
I couldn’t find a custom suit over $300. Got to have something for weddings and funerals.
[…] tip to Nick at FM to reader […]
Heads up for everyone. AirBNB gift cards can only be applied to your account BEFORE you make bookings. For example if you have a booking that is not fully paid, you can not use a new GC for that. If you utilize the pay half up front, pay half later option with AirBNB, you can not use the gift card for the second half of the payment. Yes, this is the equivalent of getting a Nordstroms GC and (after the fact) being told you can’t use it to purchase socks or shoes. Yes, this is ridiculous. Yes, this is true. Trust me I have been round and round with those clowns about this.
Airbnb doesn’t allow you to change your payment method after booking. Period. You can’t pay the deposit with one credit card and the balance with another card or another source.
Reminder of the promo terms – “If Fi service is paused for more than 7 days or cancelled within 120 days of activation, the value of the gift card will be charged to your Google Payments account to match the purchased price of the device.”
We still have to stick with Fi until April.
Good point. I’ll add that. As I read the terms, you don’t necessarily have to keep the phone at this point though — just service as best I can tell.
Still, I’m not going to gamble on that…I do plan to keep service for the 120 days. Adding that now…
Yeah I definitely do not want to screw up this ‘rebate’