After a brief delay while Google investigated some sort of component quality issue, the Pixel 9a is ready to arrive and tempt you. While we already know the full starting price is $499, we assumed there would be plenty of deals at launch to make this reasonably-priced phone even more reasonable.
When the listings go live on April 10, the best Pixel 9a deals are going to be through Google Fi, but most retailers are going to offer gift cards or credit for unlocked buyers. The carriers do not appear to be doing much (outside of Fi), although we’ll update that once they all make their pricing official official.
Free Pixel 9a at Google Fi: The Google Store is promoting a free Pixel 9a through Google Fi that happens by way of monthly bill credits over 24 months. In other words, you’ll need to buy the phone through Google Fi, finance it for 2 years, and keep service active with Google Fi in order for this to work. This is for new Google Fi customers only, so if you were thinking of switching, this wouldn’t be a bad time to do it.
Google Fi $200 off: Since the free phone was only for new customers, Google Fi is also offering a $200 off deal for existing customers. To get $200 off the Pixel 9a at Google Fi, you’ll get the discount at checkout, but you will also need to keep a full service plan active for 120 consecutive days or you would be charged for that discount. This is the best price on the Pixel 9a without needing to lock-in for multiple years.
Pixel 9a for $99 with $400 trade-in: The Google Store is promising up to $400 off with trade-ins to apply towards a Pixel 9a. With that discount, you would pay as little as $99. The top trade-in will come from a Pixel 8 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro and the $400 value will be refunded back to the card you bought the 9a with, so you’ll pay $499 upfront and then see a refund after you trade in your old phone.
$100 Bonus Credit at Google Store, Amazon, Best Buy: If none of those deals above sound good because they require contracts or carriers you don’t want to use or trade-ins you don’t have, the simplest deal is going to be one that gets you $100 in credit to spend at various retailers. The Google Store is offering a $100 credit when buy a Pixel 9a that can then be spent on other goods from the Google Store. At this current hour, Best Buy has unlisted their Pixel 9a pages, but we expect them to also include a $100 Best Buy gift card. Amazon is almost guaranteed to do the same with a $100 Amazon card.
AT&T offers $2.99/mo deal and free Pixel Buds A-series: AT&T is one of the only carriers actually running (so far) a deal and it gets you a Pixel 9a for $2.99/mo. Of course, that’s a price based on a 3-year contract with bill credits happening every month to cover the cost. This price is for new and existing customers as long as they have one of AT&T’s current unlimited plans. To further sweeten the deal, AT&T is tossing in a pair of Pixel Buds A-series, which were introduced in 2021.
Verizon isn’t running a deal: Verizon will sell you the Pixel 9a, but they aren’t running any deals on it. You’ll pay $13.88/mo for 36 months if you finance it (that’s a 3-year contract) or $499 at full retail. The only deal here is that with a new line, you could get it for free with a trade-in.
