Everyone likes to be rewarded for good deeds; don’t they? So what happens when society makes that ‘good deed’ be buying one of your favorite video games, consoles or gaming accessory? That’s right players are being rewarded around the nation for purchasing video game related items! Although many places offer rewards for purchases, two in particular stood out to me. If you’re looking to get real time rewards just for buying a game you were dying to play, then you may want to look into GameStop’s PowerUp rewards program and Club Nintendo.
PowerUp Rewards- GameStop
I’m sure most gamers already know about PowerUp rewards just by stopping by your local GameStop but this deal is too good to rave on. GameStop offers players a chance to access actual gaming related items for purchasing items from their store. If you’re frequently hit up your local GameStop every time you are looking to purchase, do not turn a blind eye to the PowerUp rewards membership.
The PowerUp rewards membership is a means of gaining points from purchases. These points can be used on the PowerUp rewards website to get exclusive gaming related items. These items can range anywhere from downloadable content to shirts and even action figures. The points you accumulate through your purchase will add up to where you can use them as ‘money’ to get a hold of some exclusive items that spark your interest.
So what’s the catch? There really isn’t a big catch here which is why this program is something gamers should take advantage of. GameStop may ask you to upgrade your membership (which is completely optional) in order to get extra reward points. The upgrade is completely up to you and the free account still has the same perks as the upgrade with the exception of not gaining point as fast.
The program seems like a steal of a deal right? Well that could be because it is. The only thing players should beware of with the PowerUp program is that each dollar you spend you get roughly 10 points (depending on if you are buying a used title, new title, or console). That doesn’t sound too bad until you find out that all the ‘good’ stuff you can get a hold of in the catalog will most likely cost you over 10,000. Either or being able to get to any kind of reward is better than no reward right?
Club Nintendo
Club Nintendo is another way players can access real life rewards by purchasing games. In each eligible Nintendo game, accessory, or console available comes a code. These codes are Nintendo’s way of getting players to take surveys for their purchase. Each survey the player completes coins are added to their account which can be used to buy Nintendo related gifts via the Nintendo reward catalog.
On top of having the option to choose your Nintendo related gift from the reward catalog, players who have reached a certain point limit are eligible to earn a special reward at the end of each Nintendo year (July 1- June 30). Players who reach 300 coins each year are at a gold status and players who get over 600 coins are considered platinum status. At the end of each year the players who are at these statuses receive a gift from Nintendo without having to use any of their coins. Of course gold and platinum status members receive a different gift, however, from my experience both gifts for a few different years have been more then generous.
Getting gaming related gifts just for buying a game at a certain place or taking a small survey couldn’t be more worth it. Of course there are other places offering rewards to gamers but these two stick out because I like a reward I can actually hold, something that I can call exclusive; and bothPowerUp rewards and Club Nintendo allow me to do that. Don’t turn a blind eye to these reward programs, they really can come in handy.
A shame you don’t talk more about the paid version of PowerUp… not only do you get more points per purchase but you get 10% discount on preowned games, 10% bonus on trade-ins, and other discounts on guides, etc. You also get early access to sales which is invaluable if you want to get in before the rush.Oh, and the membership also includes a subscription to GameInformer magazine which is close to the price of the membership itself anyhow.