Missing Your BOGO Credits?

​One of the biggest problems we see on these forums goes something like this: "I bought two phones and they were supposed to be BOGO, but I'm being charged for the second phone." It's a simple problem, but the reasons are complex. This article can help figure out what happened and what to do about it.

What are BOGO credits?

BOGO stands for "Buy-One-Get-One." The deal is that you pay monthly installments for a phone on one line, but if you buy a phone on an additional line, you'll receive credits every month that cancel out the installments on that line. If you get the credit every month for the phone, it will be free at the end.

How do you get BOGO credits?

BOGO credits are added by a computer when you buy phones under the right conditions. If you don't see credits on your bill for the phone, 99% of the time, you didn't qualify for them. Let's start digging and see what happened.

1) Has it been over two billing cycles since you bought the phone?

It usually takes 2-3 billing cycles before the credits start. Once the credits start, you'll get credited back for those first few months. So if it's been less than three bills, just wait.

2) Did you pay off the installment plan early?

Some people get the two phones, pay off one phone, and think they'll keep getting a free phone. If you pay off or cancel the "buy" line, the credits will stop on the "free" phone. 

3) Did your account get suspended for non-payment?

BOGO credits require the account to stay in good standing. If your account is suspended because of an unpaid bill, even for a minute, all credits may stop and won't come back. So pay your bill.

Now that we've gotten those out of the way, we need to look into the terms and conditions of the promotion you were offered. You can look up all the deals AT&T has offered for the year by searching att.com/support for "bogo" and the year. For instance, BOGO 2019 is here. 

4) Did you add a new line?

Almost all BOGO deals require you to add a new line in order to qualify. Upgrading an existing line, transferring a line from prepaid to postpaid, transferring a line from another service that uses AT&T like Cricket, those don't count. If you didn't add a brand-new line of service for at least one of the phones, you don't qualify. The majority of BOGO deal failures seem to fall here, because the customer didn't add a line.

5) Which phones did you buy?

With BOGO deals, you're always required to buy two specific devices, like a Samsung S10 or an iPhone XR. Even buying a different storage capacity (like the 32GB instead of the 256GB) can disqualify you. Check the terms of your BOGO carefully to make sure you bought the right phones.

6) Do you have TV or Internet through AT&T?

This isn't always a requirement, but it's rare when AT&T doesn't require adding additional services to get a BOGO deal. If the terms and conditions say TV or Internet is required, then you would need to already have or buy new TV and/or Internet service with AT&T at the time of buying the phones. DirecTV Now wouldn't count.

In short, if you're in the market for a new phone and want to take advantage of a BOGO, follow these steps:

• Read the terms and conditions of the BOGO on the website or the in-store promotional materials.
• Double-check to make sure you're getting the right phone, adding a new line, whether you need to have AT&T's TV or Internet.
• Make sure you wait two billing cycles
• Pay your bill on time so you don't lose the credits.

If you do all that, enjoy your free phone.