Back in March/April T-Mobile and BlackBerry had something of a public fallout. T-Mo had been reaching out to existing BlackBerry-toting customers offering them an upgrade to an iPhone. BlackBerry’s chief responded, calling the marketing effort “inappropriate and ill-conceived”. After various back and forths involving a trade-in offer and a $100 ShopBlackBerry discount, T-Mobile launched a new “loyalty offer” in April.

Customers upgrading their BlackBerry phones for a Samsung would get a $200 prepaid credit card sent to them in the mail. In short: T-Mo really wanted customers to swap their BlackBerry for a Samsung-made phone. But, if you happened to go with another manufacturer’s device, you’d get a $100 rebate.

In an internal memo today, it’s been revealed that T-Mobile has since upgraded 50,000 BlackBerry users to new devices. And if I had to guess, I’d suggest not many of those 50,000 upgraded to a new BlackBerry, since the two companies have ended their professional relationship.

“The BlackBerry Loyalty Offer launched in April and has provided savings to over 50,000 customers who have upgraded to a new device!  In order to keep the momentum going and provide the best customer experience possible, the fulfillment of the offer will be changing from a bill credit to a Mail in Rebate beginning August 6.”

T-Mobile has also changed the method of getting the rebate. In the first week (April 4-10), customers got the credit directly on their bill within 90 days of purchase. Anyone taking advantage between April 10 and Aug 5th (today) got a prepaid MasterCard sent out automatically. Between tomorrow (April 6) and the the end of the year, customers will now have to download a submission form  available at www.t-mobile.com/promotions using code ‘Loyalty3Q4′. The form must be downloaded and submitted within 30 days of the upgrade.

Customers should receive their rebates within 8 weeks of submitting the form.

“Offer Details 

• Eligible customers who upgrade from a BlackBerry to a qualifying device will receive the following promotional savings via a Mail in Rebate:Note: Customers who upgraded on or before August 5 will receive a Mail in Rebate in the form of a Prepaid MasterCard automatically.
  • $200 Prepaid MasterCard for customers who upgrade to a Samsung device
  • $100 Prepaid MasterCard for customers who upgrade to other devices

• Must upgrade with EIP.
• No trade-in required.
• No migration fees for qualified BlackBerry customers.Account must be active and in good standing at the time of payout.
  • Billing Responsible Party will be liable for migration fees charged to lines not qualified for this offer.
• Note: Customers who upgraded on or before August 5 will receive a Mail in Rebate in the form of a Prepaid MasterCard automatically.
• The credit cannot exceed the price of the handset.
• To redeem the customer must download the promotional request form from www.t-mobile.com/promotions using promo code Loyalty3Q4.
• Submission form must be downloaded and submitted within 30 days of upgrading.”

To sum it up, T-Mobile has managed to turn an event which could have damaged its reputation in to a very successful campaign of upgrading customers’ old BlackBerry phones for brand new shiny Samsungs.