Research In Motion has kicked-off a new upgrade program that will let owners of certain BlackBerry handsets trade up to a newer model at a discount, offering up to a $120 credit towards the purchase of a new phone.

The program combines two distinct upgrade credits: one for trading-in your old phone, and one for buying a new one. The trade-in value will vary based on the phone’s model; RIM provides a web-based system to give you a quote on just what your BlackBerry is worth. As long as your current phone is a Pearl, Curve, Bold, Storm, Tour, or one of the 8700 or 8800 series models, and hasn’t suffered any serious damage, you should be all set.

For instance, let’s say have a Curve 8530 on Verizon, and you’re thinking about losing the keyboard and moving over to the Storm 2 9550. RIM will give you $45 for your old phone, and offer a promotional $35 credit towards the Storm 2, for a total savings of $80. Obviously, you’ll get more money when trading in recent, more expensive models, and only be offered a pittance if you try to submit a phone that’s not fully functional. Most users, it seems, will get combined upgrade credits in the sub-$100 range.

If you’re considering taking advantage of this offer, head over to the site RIM has set up for the program, which includes that handy trade-in calculator, and breaks down all the details you’ll have to worry about, like which new models qualify for the promotional credit.

Source: Research In Motion

Via: Mobile Burn