Auto Cashback Phone Deals

Competition has never been fiercer than it is right now in the world of mobile phones – which means that there have never been as many different deals on offer as there are now to make us choose a particular retailer, phone manufacturer and network. Automatic cashback deals are just one of those deals – and not to be confused with Redemption Deals.

What is an Auto Cashback Deal?

These are offered by many mobile phone retailers touting for your business. They offer you a contract in the usual way – free phone, so many minutes, texts and data allowance over a particular period of time, and in return, you will receive a designated amount of money paid automatically to you in instalments.

Naturally, the more expensive the phone, and the more you pay each month will dictate how much money you will get back, but different retailers are offering different deals so it pays to do some homework to see which is the best offer.

You will know upfront how much you will receive; it has nothing to do with how many minutes, texts or data you use, so if you go over your allowance you will have to pay extra for that as you would normally have to, so if you are a heavy user it may be worth paying more each month and getting unlimited usage.

How is an Auto Cashback Deal Different from a Redemption Deal?

A Redemption Deal will pay you the difference between your monthly contract price (which is usually set at a low tariff) and how much your monthly network bill is. In principle, this is an excellent deal because you can use your phone as much as you like without having to worry about the cost because you are safe in the knowledge that you are going to get it back.

However, (because there is always a however!), in order to claim this money, you have to remember to send your monthly bill to the registered office of the retailer – and they have got to receive it. That may seem obvious – of course, they’ll receive it if you send it, but there has been some negative press about the number of these that have got ‘lost’ in the post, and because you send it to the office rather than being able to take it to your local outlet, you have to post it.

The answer to that is, obviously, to pay for guaranteed delivery - but that costs a lot more than regular postage.

You have to be organised, too. If you don’t send your bill within a designated timeframe (sometimes quite tight), then you fail to qualify for your payment.

Which Deal Should You Choose?

This depends upon what kind of person you are, as well as the retailer that you choose. If you go for the Auto Cashback scheme, you are guaranteed to get the amount that was agreed when you take out your contract without you having to do anything  more (as long, of course, as you choose a reputable retailer that is not likely to go the wall any time soon).

If you choose to go down the Redemption route, you could stand to make a lot of money – as long as you fulfil the criteria.