[Dead] Have a Pixel 2 or Pixel 3? It’s time to trade up.

The Google Store is currently offering amazing trade-in value for many older variants of Pixel phones when you trade towards a new Pixel 4a 5G. The absolute best deal is if you trade in a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL as you can get up to $320 in value for your trade. I know that many readers here likely bought Pixel 3 phones in that crazy Google Fi deal a couple of years ago and thus may have a phone to trade (that was a slamming deal in the first place!). If you do, it might be time to trade up. And stay tuned for a nice little stack at the end to do $50 better.

The Deal

• The Google Store is offering excellent trade-in value for older Pixel phones (particularly the Pixel 2 / XL and Pixel 3 / XL) toward the purchase of a new Pixel 4a 5G. These increased trade-in values are oddly not available toward the Pixel 5. The best deals are for Pixel 2 and 3 owners who get:
  • Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL 64 GB: $235
  • Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL 128GB: $240
  • Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL 64GB: $300
  • Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL 128GB: $320
• Direct link to the Pixel 4a 5G in the Google Store
• Link to more info from 9to5Google

Key Terms

• To get full trade-in value, your trade-in device must be free of screen cracks and water damage
• Must factory reset your phone before sending it in
• If your phone doesn’t meet the condition you indicated you may get less value
• See full terms at the Google Store

Quick Thoughts

Many readers may remember that we wrote a very popular post two years ago today: Google Fi was offering travel gift cards worth the full price of the phone you purchased. The sale only lasted for most of a single day. In my case, I bought a Google Pixel 3 XL for $1,000 and Google gave me $1,000 in travel gift cards (customers could mix and match denominations of their choice from AirBnB, Hotels.com, Delta, and Southwest Airlines). I used that $1,000 in gift cards on trips we were booking anyway, so it sure felt like getting the phone nearly for free.

If you did the same thing during that sale, it is hard to ignore the current trade-in values that the Google store is offering for those Pixel 3 phones (note: not the newer 3a) if you buy a new Pixel 4a 5G (unlocked). This deal is so good that my wife upgraded last night and so did Stephen Pepper and his wife — even though I don’t think any of us felt like we necessarily needed a new phone. The deal is just too strong to ignore, particularly if you value having an unlocked phone and like the Pixel family — at the very least, you’re locking in a better trade-in value toward your next phone than what you’d likely stand to get from the Pixel 2 or 3.

I placed an order for that new Pixel 4a 5G for $499.99 and Google is offering $320 back for trading in the Pixel 3 XL. Essentially, I already got $1,000 in gift cards with the phone 2 years ago and now they’re offering another $320. That’s nuts!

The way this deal works is that you’ll pay the full retail price of the Pixel 4a 5G up front and then Google will refund you for the trade-in value of the phone you trade after you mail it in (within 30 days of receiving your new phone). My net cost on the new phone will therefore be $179 (plus tax on $499.99). That’s a great deal for a brand new 5G phone that has most of the same software features as the Pixel 5 (and shares the same camera and processor as the flagship Pixel 5). Note that if you’re on Verizon, I think that variant of the phone is $100 more because of additional hardware for Verizon’s 5G network.

Those with a Pixel 2 will also get excellent value for their phones ($235 or $240 depending on the storage size). Considering that I mentioned in my earlier post that I bought a used Pixel 2 for $100 for a different trade-in deal at T-Mobile (for another Pixel 4a 5G), Google is offering tremendous value compared to the market price for these older phones (note that T-Mobile will give you $250 for the Pixel 2 or Pixel 3 phones, but T-Mobile splits up the trade-in credit over 24 billing cycles whereas Google is giving it all to you upfront and you’ll own the new phone outright from the get-go). I like the fact that the phone is totally unlocked in this case, giving you more freedom down the line.

And it gets a bit better yet!

Thanks to a user at Slickdeals for pointing this next part out: if you are a Google One subscriber on the 2TB plan ($9.99/mo) or higher, you get the benefit of 10% back in store credit on Google Store purchases. If you’re not yet a Google One subscriber on the 2TB plan, it only takes a few minutes to go to Google One and subscribe to that plan for $9.99 (see the post on Slickdeals for full detail). I did this last night and then went directly to store.google.com and added the Pixel 4a 5G with the trade-in deal to my cart. As noted above, you pay $499.99 up-front, so at checkout I paid $499.99 plus tax and it showed that I will receive $49.90 in Google Store credit in 30 days.

I set a calendar reminder to drop my plan back down in 30 days. Hopefully, I’ll only get charged $9.99 one time (I got charged today, the morning after ordering) and I’ll get ~$50 in credit.

I don’t know whether they may adjust that down after crediting me back for the trade-in (though, come to think of it, it’s possible that I’ll receive the store credit before they credit me for the trade). Best case scenario, I’ll get $50 to spend on a toy like an extra Chromecast or Google home mini for $9.99 up front. If they adjust it down to like $18, c’est la vie. If I end up getting charged $9.99 twice, it may have been all for naught. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I’ll note that I put the purchase on the Chase Ink Cash card both because I’m working on a minimum spending requirement and because that card offers purchase protection against damage or theft for 120 days, so I don’t have to worry about my cell phone insurance situation for a few months.

Bottom line

The trade-in value being offered here for Pixel 2 and 3 owners is excellent – especially for those readers who essentially already got a full rebate on the purchase price on that deal two years ago. My wife has been using the Pixel 3 XL and had no immediate interest in upgrading it (in fact, the screen on the Pixel 4a 5G is a tad smaller and she wasn’t thrilled about that), but getting a brand new phone with 3 years of updates that will likely hold at least the $179 we’re paying in trade-in value for at least the next couple of years seemed like too much to pass up. Getting 5G and some of the software features of the Pixel 5 (like “hold for me”) are icing on the cake. This deal obviously beats the T-Mobile trade-in deal for Pixel 3 owners. If you’re a Pixel 2 owner and you’re not adding a free line at T-Mobile (see this post), then this deal is better than the T-mobile trade-in given that the T-Mobile trade locks you into T-Mobile for 2 years. I’d much rather have the unlocked device and trade-in value up front if you’re not also getting the $250 credit for the free line.

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