Burger King is giving away free smartphones

Burger King wants its customers to use its new branded mobile app for Android. It wants this so bad, the fast-food company is giving away Android smartphones. This promotion is quite a bit more advanced than the usual “Jungle Book” toys or “Star Wars” glasses giveaways. You can’t just roll up into the drive-through lane at your local BK and get a deep-fried Galaxy S3 dropped into your bag next to your Whopper. The offer is available online and it does have some strings attached. The free phone requires a new or upgraded two-year agreement with AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon. This comes with all the usual rigmarole of signing up with a cell service provider, including possible credit checks, activation fees, early termination fees, and deposits.

Burger King has a whopper of a deal this week. Starting Monday, the fast food chain will be offering about two dozen free smartphones free with two-year contracts with AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. The phones include the Moto X, the Samsung G4, the LG Optimus G Pro, the HTC One M7 and the Motorola Droid Mini. All those models sport 16 MB of memory. The others range from 8 MB to 32 MB. Customers can get access to the phones on bk.com/android using the promo code FREEPHONE. Burger King will get the word out with a national coupon drop and in-store signage. Samuel Heath, director of revenue management and pricing for BK, says the offer is aimed at current Burger King customers. “We wanted to make sure we took care of all the people who come to Burger King,” he says. “You forget sometimes that only half the people have smartphones.” Once a customer gets a new phone, they’ll be asked for their email and will be encouraged to download Burger King’s new app, which will display coupons and other special offers. Those who take advantage of the offer won’t be required to download the app, though. Heath declined to say how much of a financial hit BK was taking with the program. The phones range in price from $50 to $150 with a two-year contract, he says. Burger King also has enough phones in supply to last several weeks, Heath says.