Has anyone enrolled, or done extensive research, in/on the Samsung upgrade program for its new QLED TV’s? It seems like an interesting option for those who want the latest and greatest tech.

Not a good deal. Pass on it. You have to surrender the TV and they give you "up to 33% credit", which means you may get less than 33%.

Unless I missed something, I don’t see anything about returning the original TV. It even mentions that you can’t be caught selling TVs obtained through the program or you will get in trouble, which seems to lend support for the fact you don’t give them back.

http://www.samsung.com/us/tv-upgrade...nd-conditions/

You definitely have to give it back. Another poster found the fine print saying so but I don't have it on hand.

Who pays for the return?

I’m struggling to find anything that even mentions a return. I posted in the Samsung Community Forum, so I hope to find more details there.

I'll repost this and maybe he can chime in and seen if he figured it out. I know this program has some major asterisks and it can be canceled or changed at any time.

According to their site, you get to keep your old tv: http://www.samsung.com/us/tv-upgrade/

I sent an email to them asking about this, below is the response they gave. You keep both TVs. I ordered a Q7FN and since they're the same price everywhere, I got it through Samsung because I may or may not take advantage of this in 2 years. At least the option is there.

"Thank you for contacting Samsung E-Commerce!

Appreciate your interest in Samsung products. I see that you are concerned about the Samsung TV upgrade program. If you buy a TV through Samsung financing on Samsung website or Shop Samsung app and have opted for TV upgrade then you can upgrade your TV after 24 Months and can purchase a new qualifying TV under the Upgrade Program for which you will receive a credit of up to 33% of the cost of your current TV. You can enjoy the latest Samsung TV and keep your current one. Besides, I would request you to please go through the link given below once to better understand about the upgrade terms and conditions
*I can't post a link so... samsung.com/us/tv-upgrade/terms-and-conditions
Hope you are satisfied with the given information.
Please let us know if you have any further queries, we would be happy to help you ahead.

Have a wonderful day ahead!!"

It makes sense. You have to buy a TV of equal or more value and it has to be offered. So you really only want to do this if you plan to step up to a more expensive set later on. I worry about what will be offered, might be buying a wall, litteraly.

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It would be an interesting way to fill up your master and guest bedrooms with nice TV’s too

If you have a Samsung account and go through the ordering process you get to a How Would You Like to Pay page. Here Samsung Upgrade and Samsung Financing are exactly the same. Same price, same terms, same 36 month 0% APR. I don't see why you would ever choose Financing over Upgrade.

I have spent the last 4 days trying to get clarification on this program, so I wanted to pass on what I've learned.

Essentially this is a way to get the latest Samsung TV at 33% off, every 2 years. It's a pretty good deal if you want to stay up on the latest Samsung technology and don't mind making monthly TV payments. Oh, and yes, you get to keep all the TV's, this is not an exchange program.

Here's how it works:

Hypothetical Scenario
1. You finance a qualifying TV for $3,000 through the Samsung website (your monthly payments would be $83.33, no interest for 36 months)
2. After paying 24 months, you notify Samsung that you want to upgrade. At this point you've paid $2,000, and still owe $1,000.
3. Samsung credits you 33% of the original amount ($1,000) which is applied to your current balance, paying it in full. That TV is yours to keep.
(repeat steps 1-3 indefinitely)

If you have any questions, let me know and I'll trying to clarify further.

That's it. Like the old Verizon New every 2 iPhone trade-in except you keep the TV. Sounds good to me. I'll get a 8k in two years.

On Samsung's website, just now saw the 2 year upgrade program. You can purchase a TV, finance it throught them for 3 years at 0% interest, then in 2 years you are eligible for an upgrade to a new TV. If you choose to upgrade, then will apply a 1/3 credit (1/3 of the original purchase price) towards the purchase of the new TV. Then the 2 year upgrade program starts all over again. Does anyone have any experience with this? Thoughts?

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I always pay for my toys in cash, I don't like to finance anything and have a monthly payment, regardless of 0% interest.

I am actually interested in this myself. I posted about 6-7 months ago, but I don’t think anyone had done this.

I think it’s pretty cool in theory because I believe pricing is the same as big box retailers. It just gives someone the option to upgrade to the latest model every couple of years for 33% off. It would be handy if you have you have spare rooms/man caves that you eventually want to furnish with TVs. Also spreading the hit to the bank account over a few years isn’t always a bad thing.

When you get new phones for yourself and the family, same applies or do you take advantage of financing them monthly through the plan?

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I buy the phone outright, but I wouldn't really consider that a toy. These days having a cell phone is a necessity sadly.
I would have to study the Samsung plan you posted about, but somehow someway it's a benefit for them or they wouldn't offer it. It could be that they aren't making as high percentage off of you each time, but they are basically pre selling you a tv by ensuring themselves that you are going to buy another one in 2 years.

The most interesting part of the whole deal is that they cut you 33% credit back for your old TV however they don't take the TV back, you keep it. Although, they said that the old tv should not be resold, I guess that is up to you to decide.

Reading the fine print, some interesting issues arise. Firstly the no-resale of the original or the upgrade tv.

Next, it is not to your advantage to pay any extra over the minimum.

Then, is the 33% upgrade credit still subject to the monthly payment if you elect to upgrade after 24 months, or is that outstanding balance amount wiped away?

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From the way I read it, your outstanding balance is credited back up to 33% of your original financed amount 30 days after you purchase a new tv using a Samsung upgrade. (This means if you upgrade at 26 months vs 24 months, you would get less than 33% credited back because you don’t owe the full 33%).

This is the way the transactions would flow from my understanding. I am going to use $3000 as a purchase price for the example

Year 1: $3,000 (Buy TV)
Year 3: $1,000 (Balance after 2 years, No new TV)
Year 3: $4,000 (Balance after 2 years, plus new tv purchase)
Year 3 + 30 days: $3,000 (Balance of new TV only)

I don’t understand why some say this is a bad deal? As long as you opt to upgrade at exactly 2 years - you save 33% on the price you paid. Not to mention 0 interest. I too hate having debt but to save 33% that sounds great...

How is that a “bad” deal?

Well, I think you said it with "I too hate having debt". I think people find it taboo to hold 0% debt as it usually is an instrument to entice consumers to overspend on technology that they cannot truly afford. For all the financial savants out there, it makes sense to take on 0% interest debt, sometimes.

I think the downside is that most likely you will have to buy the TV at the highest price in order to get the deal as well as enticing you to upgrade more frequently. In turn, you 33% back to go buy another TV at, most likely, the highest price point most likely. If you wanted to do this, I think staggering your purchase (if Samsung keeps the deal up there) by 3 months just in case Samsung delays a future launch and you can get in at a lower price, maybe.

IMO, "bad" deal, no. "unwise" deal, most likely.

Prices are inline with big box retailers, so you can get a cheaper price through Samsung upgrade if you wait. However you could probably get it cheaper through Greentoe or Buy Dig.

I think the appeal for 0% for me is that I get to keep that cash in the bank in case it’s needed for something else. Coming up with less than $100 a month for a top of the line QLED is less painful than dropping $3500 at one time. I guess that feeds into your point that 0% can cause one to buy a higher priced set than they normally would.

I’m a big tech fan and my tv gets used often not only through casual daily use, but also through movie and/or video game nights, I host regularly.

I could see the appeal of upgrading in a couple of years to an 8K model and moving the older model into another room or gifting it to a family member. It would basically treat your TV like a small utility bill, giving you the latest tech and not being as concerned with buying extended warranties as you know you would have a new TV within a couple of years.

I want to caveat this with I’m young, single, and have no kids. I make a decent living for my age and the area I live, so I have a little disposable income for stuff like this. I know this model is not the best or most practical for many people.

Oh I know those feelings. It really comes down to financial beliefs. ie spender vs saver.

I think the stereotype is generally if you are financing something, most likely you cannot afford it.

There are plenty of people who load up that BBY Credit card for 0%.

Seems potentially good or great. 36 payments, zero interest, 12 payments forgiven if you upgrade in 2 years AND you keep both TVs.

What’s the downside? (Outside of a hard credit inquiry)

None, it just makes you want to buy a new TV in 2 years, which you may or may not need or want.

I have a feeling the FALD system and HDR will be worlds better in 2 years. So maybe for one purchase cycle I could try it out.

Same here, gonna buy low end Hisense this year. And next year buy a Samsung Q80R Level. Pay it off $44 a month for 2 years then switch to whatever’s on the market then. Just waiting for HDMI 2.1 the Q80R or Q8FN are widely regarded as the best TVs in their class, but they only have 40 Zones I expect in 3 years they will have 400 Zones or more.