Samsung Galaxy S9: Airtel offers Samsung’s flagship phones at a down payment of ₹9,900

Airtel is bundling one year of free subscription to Amazon Prime along with free subscription to Airtel TV, Wynk Music and Airtel TV. It is also clubbing an 80GB monthly postpaid plan.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus are now up for sale. (REUTERS)

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus on Friday went on sale in India. The two phones are available at a starting price of ₹57,900. Airtel has announced a few offers with the smartphones which allows customers to buy the phones at a down payment of ₹9,900.

Airtel's offer on Samsung Galaxy S9 phones features a built-in postpaid plan with 80 GB data (with rollover), unlimited calling, and subscription to OTT content including a 1 year Amazon Prime membership, Airtel Secure, Airtel TV, Wynk Music). Airtel has partnered with HDFC Bank, Federal Bank, Clix Capital and Seynse Technologies to offer the latest handsets with easy payment options.

How to avail Airtel's deal on Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus

To get started, you need to visit Airtel's official e-store and select the device you want. Check your eligibility and you can get instant loan approval. Then make the down payment for the phone you have selected. The smartphone will be delivered to your registered address. During the registration process, you'll have to provide your Name, Mobile Number, Email Address and Delivery Address.

Fine prints

"Non-Airtel customers can also pre-register/purchase the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, but they need to get a new Postpaid connection. They cannot port their current non-Airtel connection to Airtel to purchase the same," says Airtel on its website.

"Airtel Prepaid customers can also pre-register/purchase the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, but they to get a new Postpaid connection or shift their current Airtel Prepaid connection to Postpaid."

Is it a good deal?

Let's consider the base variant of Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus for the reference. The smartphone is officially priced at ₹64,900. Airtel's deal allows you to purchase the phone for ₹9,900, but includes an EMI of ₹2,799. In next 24 months, you will end up paying ₹77,076.

Note that the offer includes a postpaid plan of 80GB with roll over facility, unlimited calling (local, STD and national roaming. Airtel currently offers 90GB postpaid plan for ₹1,199 which also has similar benefits.

If you were to choose Airtel as your operator, the deal is pretty good as it will help you save on your monthly mobile bill and get free one year of Amazon Prime, which is available for ₹999.

But if you don't wish to choose Airtel as your operator, you can consider purchasing the phone from Flipkart where you have EMI options starting at ₹2,219. Flipkart is also offering an exchange offer under which you can get discount up to ₹18,000 on exchanging your older phone.

Paytm is offering a ₹6,000 cashback for HDFC debit and credit card users whereas Reliance Jio is offering complimentary Prime subscription and up to 1TB of data for ₹4,999. Vodafone is bundling its Vodafone Red plan with Samsung Galaxy S9 phones, offering free Netflix for one year.