Last year, I wrote about an insane offer that Google had made to celebrate their Google Fi going out of “project” mode and mainstream to most devices. In fact, it was so good that Google underestimated the popularity of it and changed the details.
How to Track Your Google Fi + Travel Gift Card Promotion
What Is the Google Fi Travel Gift Card Promotion?
It was basically like this – new customers (transferring their numbers over) or existing customers could buy a Google Fi device through the Google store and receive the full amount of the device in travel gift cards (like Delta, Southwest, etc.). That was great!
Unfortunately, some customers had a hard time getting a hold of Google CS agents to confirm certain things or to check up on eligibility. The good news is that Google has a nice little link for Google Fi customers that will let you track your Google Fi travel gift card promotion eligibility.
How to Track Your Google Fi Travel Gift Card Eligibility
To get started, follow this link to your Google Fi account (you will need to sign in to your Google account that the phone is tied to). If it doesn’t take you right to the page, check out on the left side of the screen for the “Special promotions” link. This little link will show you the steps taken so far and what you need to wait for next to receive the travel gift cards.
One Way the Promotion Page Differs from the Terms
There is one part on this update screen that is different from the actual terms (found here). That is the last little part – “phone active on Google Fi for 120 days in a row.” Here is what the terms actually have to say about this:
“To qualify for this promotion, a device must be activated within 15 days of device shipment and remain active for 60 consecutive days within 75 days of device shipment.”
So, you only need to have the device remain active for 60 consecutive days to qualify. But, here is the part about the 120 days:
“If Fi service is paused for more than 7 days or cancelled within 120 days of activation, the value of the gift card will be charged to your Google Payments account to match the purchased price of the device.”
This part is not aligning with the special promotions tracking. The terms clearly state that you just cannot cancel service within 120 days of activation. The terms also say that you only need to keep consecutive service for 60 days.
I assume the promotions page is just using the incorrect word and that it was supposed to be “Account” active instead of “Phone” active. It may also be referring to the fact that you need to actually have a phone on the account to keep it from cancelling, which would fall under the terms.
What Should You Do with That?
Keep all of that in mind! I know many people bought the phones to flip to get the travel cards at a discount but you may want to not be so fast on that flip. Or, you may want to get a different Google Fi phone (or talk with Google to switch to one) before you sell your Google phone you bought with this deal.
Worst case, just keep it on the account for 120 days. This way you are assured that there will not be an issue with the terms or the promotional page and you can still sell after that point.
Have Fun with Your Google Fi Travel Gift Cards!
For those who purchase the phone and activated it December 1-5, your 60 days of activation are now up and you should receive your link to your travel gift cards! For everyone else, use that link above to keep track of your promotion.
If you have been using the Google phone all this time, you know that the Google Pixel is a pretty amazing device. If you are not trapped in the iMessage/FaceTime world of Apple iOS (like I am), you may be better off staying with the Pixel anyway! You are getting gift cards to cover the cost!
Grrr. I got in on the deal but didn’t realize that I had to use the same email to activate my phone as I used to purchase it. I ordered it on my personal email, decided it would be my work phone so I activated it using my work email. I was so jazzed…Fortunately I chatted with google fi to make sure I met all the requirements only to find out that I wouldn’t qualify for the deal b/c of the different emails. wth?? Had I known I would have used the same email…and NO WHERE does it state that the same email must be used. I sent that baby back and am still really sore.
Thank you for posting this. I was traveling when the deal came around so I ordered a device that was not suppose ship until January. But it shipped early anyway. I know I wouldn’t be able to activate within 15 days of ship so I emailed them and they replied that it would be ok to activate 15 days after delivery day. I don’t have that screen you show on your page so I chatted with them and now they won’t to honor the deal. I am so furious as I would have returned the device without opening it if I knew I wouldn’t qualify. Not sure what my recourse here is.
I just chatted with Google Fi and was told that they changed the activation window from 15 days to 25 days. Did you activate within that extended period? I was in the same boat as you, my phone was supposed to arrive in early January, but instead arrived in mid-December right as I was heading out of the country. I was worried that I missed the promotion on this same technicality, but my chat rep told me that I made it under the extended activation window so I’m still on track for the promotion.
Also, folks on Reddit (r/projectfi) are saying that if you purchased your phone through the Google Store rather than through Google Fi’s page then this tracking page isn’t showing up even though people have confirmed individually that they still qualify for the promo.
Thanks for that Matt! So this is interesting. I did activate within the 25 day timeframe. I think I bought it from the Google Store instead of the Fi page.
The first online chat rep I mentioned in my earlier post said I qualified, then checked with Promotions department and said that I didn’t qualify cause I missed the 15 day timeframe. I asked for a supervisor to call me back.
In the meantime, I decided to call in and spoke to a guy who checked with the Promotions department and they also said I didn’t qualify. He was transferring me over to that department when I got “accidentally” disconnected.
Called back and spoke to a really nice lady. She also confirmed with Promotions department that I didn’t qualify but got her supervisor to review with them along with the original email I got. They said they managed to make an exception despite the 15 days period. I got this in writing.
The supervisor from the original online chat called back and mentioned the 25 day window that you’re referencing and said I qualified. But he didn’t check with Promotions. I got this in writing too.
So I don’t know what to believe. I’m heading over to reddit now to see what’s being said there.
Thanks again and good luck with the promotion following through.
Thanks, (Another) Matt for chiming in on this! Matt, if you have it in writing, you should be able to work with a supervisor when you have fulfilled the term of the promotion to get it honored. I believe that, in the first month, they were overwhelmed by all the people signing up and many people did not do what had been spelled out (like transferring a number for one promotion) so Google adopted a more strict look at the terms. But, after the promotion has ended, they will likely be better able to deal with things on a case-by-case basis so you could be ok. Just be careful about not doing anything like a chargeback or anything else because if Google freezes your account, it will disrupt your whole Google account (Tiffany at One Mile at a Time has talked about this). Good luck!
Great point about the chargeback! Thanks
I qualify but I don’t see the special promotions link. I’ve been through 3 tech support calls to fi about a month ago. 1) good, 2) nope, 3) good. But now I don’t see it.
Has anyone received the email for getting the tango card yet?
If you’re told no, ask for supervisor, ask for written info about why you don’t qualify. And fight it.
No email for me yet.
I have a written confirmations that I qualify from the follow up chat with a CSR and one one from a supervisor described in my earlier comment. Since my activation was a little later than everyone else, they both said I needed to wait till Feb 25 to fulfill the requirements. I believe most people got their gift cards last week, so I’m going to wait another week or 2 and follow up if it doesn’t come through as promised.
Count me in if we ever want to sue google Fi for cheating.
I followed their terms (link below) and every single step, and have been quietly waiting for their email as is instructed of 75-90 days, yet in my chat with google Fi representative, they claimed my account was not eligible for the promo offer because my order placed at 19:46:47 PST and their offer ended at 11/28/18 6:59 PM PT which is much earlier than what is stated in their ad in the link
https://fi.google.com/about/travel-promo-terms/
After I gave them this link with terms, they switched tone saying the stock was over. I was furious that how come they even shipped me a qualified phone when stock is zero?!
I am waiting for the reply of the specialist team, but already I am outrageous and super-disappointed.
Will post how it goes but just FYI
Thanks for the comment. Keep pushing because I have heard others have had success with keeping up with Google.
Yeah, I read that they ended the promotion early that day. If they won’t provide you with the gift cards, ask them if they can do something else instead. I threw out the idea of them taking the phone back if the gift cards don’t come through. While she didn’t say yes cause we were working off the assumption that I qualify, she sounded very amicable to the idea. So try something like that.
Also, I find their online chat support less than worthless. Call them if you want any sort of real help.
They have completely screwed me on my promotion travel credit as well. I bought a second phone that I activated solely to use for this and then give to a family member. I called every two weeks to check on the status of this because not only did I pay out the money to buy a phone for this I am PAYING for a line of service to fulfill this. Everytime they said yep you’re all set, clearly a way to keep me paying for the line. When I originally called and asked if I had done everything correctly and if I needed to port in a number they said google voice was fine.
So of course I call today when it just sneakily tells me on the website that Im not eligible for it and the CSR says there is nothing they can do. Then they put me on with a supervisor who tells me that I didn’t port in a line and to get bent and they wont accept a return on the phone.
Looking for other options on how to fight this or going in on a class action hopefully.
Update: After all the drama I talked about in my earlier comments, I got my gift cards without any further follow up just a few moments ago. Shipped on Dec 7, activated on Dec 25 (18 days) and got my email today (71 days after activation).
So glad to put this all behind me! Good luck to everyone who is still fighting the good fight!
I’ve posted an issue in the Google Fi community. I followed all the rules but my purchase was 34 minutes after 7pm PT, so they denied me, and the other 20% of their purchasers that day!
See:
https://support.google.com/fi/thread/2229507?hl=en
—
Twenty Percent of customers denied benefits under 11/28 Travel on Fi promo for Tango card
—
The “Travel on Fi” 11/28 promo led to 24 hours of purchases on a great deal. That deal was not honored after 7pm, so 20% of the day’s purchasers were denied the benefit.
Supplies in fact did last –> I got my phone. But, I did not get the benefit since my purchase was at 7:34pm PT!
Tango cards should be sent to anyone who purchased by midnight PT.
Google -> Fix this!!
I checked your link to check status of my gift cards. I followed every step as Google said. I have “transferred number is ineligible!!!”. It did not say this last week!!. I have my cell number since 2013.
This is a mistake! $900 dollar gift card I will lose! I will call Google about this.
You are not alone in this. Seems to mostly be related to those who ported in Google voice numbers from a different account than the Fi number is on. Their system is incorrectly stating (or just straight unable) to find the age of the number and assign ownership. Many of us have sent screenshots establishing ownership and age of the numbers meeting the terms of the offer, but are getting poor response from the Google team. This is after months of the promotion status page saying there were no issues with our port. Straight Fraud and violation of terms and conditions on their side.
So I’ve had the ineligible number issue, mine was a Google voice that became a TMobile number in 2017 then was ported to Fi and finally told ineligible.
I’ve been told they know there is a glitch (supposedly) I’ve filed a credit card dispute, a fraud complaint with the California Attorney general’s office and a complaint with the FCC for not escalating my customer service issue up the chain.
Chase did accept the dispute as did not receive all merchandise and are counting the gift card as part of the sale of the phone.