Adobe CS6: Buy CS5.5 now, free ugrade to CS6 by May 31st

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Adobe has announced the start of their grace period for CS6. This means if you buy CS5.5 now, you'll get CS6 for free.

Here is the FAQ from Adobe.

What is the offer?
If you purchased an eligible Adobe® Creative Suite® product through Adobe.com on or after March 26, 2012, you are qualified to receive an upgrade to the equivalent Creative Suite 6 version of your product at no additional cost when CS6 ships. A one-time coupon will be sent to the email address associated with your order approximately 10 days after CS6 becomes publicly available.

Which Adobe products are eligible for this offer?
All full and upgrade versions of the products included in the latest version of Creative Suite, including CS5.5 components and suite editions qualify for this amazing deal with a few exceptions. Purchases of Adobe Acrobat®, Flash® Catalyst®, Contribute®, Adobe Flash Builder, and Adobe OnLocation™ software do not qualify.

Will the CS6 upgrade be available in a box or as a download?
Your free upgrade to CS6 will be available for electronic download from adobe.com per instructions you'll receive by email. In locations where electronic downloads are not an option, we’ll ship your free upgrade in a box.

How do I claim my free upgrade?
Approximately 10 days after we begin shipping Creative Suite 6, customers who purchased their CS5.5 product via Adobe.com will receive an email that contains a coupon and instructions. The instructions will direct you to go to Adobe.com, select the electronic download of the CS6 upgrade version of the product that you purchased, and add it to your cart. The price of the product will show as $0 in your cart. During the checkout process, you’ll be prompted to enter your credit card details. Price will remain at $0 if no other items are added to cart.

Why do I need to provide my credit card details if I won’t be charged?
Your credit card will not be charged, but we need to ensure that upgrades are available only to qualified purchasers.

What if I don’t receive my coupon for a free upgrade?
Coupons will be emailed approximately 10 days after we begin to ship Creative Suite 6. If you do not receive your coupon (check your spam filter), you lost your coupon, or it does not work, please contact Adobe Customer Service to chat with an agent.

What do I do if I receive an error when I try to check out?
First, verify that the credit card information you entered is correct. Second, check to make sure that you’ve added to your cart a qualifying upgrade to your CS5.5 product by reviewing the upgrade information.

I purchased my CS5.5 product before March 26, 2012. Do I qualify for a free upgrade?
No. A free upgrade is not available to customers who purchased prior to March 26, 2012. Visit the Adobe Store to review your upgrade purchase options. Also consider our Adobe Creative Cloud™ membership, when it becomes available, which automatically provides free upgrades whenever we release a new version of our products.

If I purchase through a retail store, am I eligible for a free upgrade?
Yes. Purchases of CS5.5 products through retail stores after March 26, 2012, qualify for the same offer. Please review the FAQ to find out more about these purchases.

If I purchased a Volume License directly from Adobe after March 26th, am I eligible for a free upgrade?
Yes, Your Creative Suite 6 licenses will be automatically added to your account in the Adobe Licensing Website and you will be notified when that has occurred.

Why should I buy Creative Suite 5.5 today when I know Creative Suite 6 is coming soon?
If you upgrade to or purchase CS5.5 today, you’ll be paying the current price, plus you’ll get CS6 at no additional cost. If you wait until CS6 ships, you’ll pay the price to upgrade to CS6, which may be higher.

Do I have to install CS5.5 after I get it, or can I wait until CS6 ships, get the CS6 product, and install it then?
It is up to you to decide if you want to install CS5.5 now and CS6 later after you receive it.

How long do I have to claim my free upgrade?
The coupon that you are issued will expire on June 30, 2012.

If you bought CS5.5 in the last 30 days, you should return it ASAP and buy it again under this plan, since Adobe has a 30 day money back policy, but they probably won't move the start of the grace period any earlier.

Obviously, we don't know what their new prices will be, so you could save some money or end up paying a little more.

One final piece of info. If you read the terms of this offer, it seems pretty clear that CS6 will be released on or before May 21st.