Verizon enters the carrier war with waved activation fees and trade-in deals

Its no secret that competition among U.S. mobile operators has been steadily heating up, with T-Mobile lighting many of the fires through its “uncarrier” announcements. At one point even AT&T felt the need to retaliate, offering customers up to $450 just to switch over from Magenta. Now Verizon has launched a couple of new promotions, but they’re not exactly what have previously been rumored.

Is The UnCarrier to blame for Verizon and AT&T running different promotions lately? Perhaps. But regardless of who’s to blame thank for this, the stiff competition between US carriers is a great thing for you, the consumer. The latest ones come by way of Verizon, which recently kicked off a couple of limited-time deals in hopes of luring customers in. For starters, Verizon’s offering a $100 in-house gift card for any smartphone “in good working condition appraised for less than $100,” though you could get up to $300 for a more valuable handset. Additionally, Verizon’s also waving its $35 activation fees on new lines during the next few days — which, when combined with the recycling promo, could end up saving you a good amount of cash. The trade-in offer will be running through March 31st, while the other is set to be valid until February 17th.