Samsung's new 'Access' smartphone upgrade program comes with Microsoft 365

The upgrade program makes a lot of sense for consumers who like upgrading to the latest Galaxy flagship every year.

What you need to know

• Samsung has launched a new upgrade program called Samsung Access for consumers in the U.S.
• The program allows you to upgrade to a new Galaxy phone with no fee after 9 months.
• Some of the other perks offered by the Samsung Access program include Samsung Premium Care and a Microsoft 365 subscription with 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage.

In 2015, Apple introduced a new upgrade program that made it easy for consumers to buy a new iPhone and upgrade to a new model each year by paying a low monthly fee. Samsung, which was among the first companies to announce a similar upgrade program, has now rolled out a new upgrade program called Samsung Access (via XDA Developers) for the Galaxy S20 series in the U.S.

The new Samsung Access program lets users finance a new Galaxy smartphone and then trade in the phone nine months later for a new flagship phone with no additional fee. You can also cancel and return the phone to Samsung for free after 3 months. However, if you want to upgrade to a newer Galaxy flagship or cancel earlier in the cycle, you will have to pay a $100 fee.

The upgrade program comes with a few other benefits as well. You get Samsung's Premium Care damage insurance and a Microsoft 365 subscription with 1TB of cloud storage for backing up your photos.

Currently, Samsung Access is only available with the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus, and Galaxy S20 Ultra phones. You will need to shell out $37/month for the Galaxy S20, $42/month for the S20 Plus, and $48/month for the S20 Ultra.