The following is related to the "pre-order" topic Colin, Greg and Tim were discussing on their GamesCast podcast as I wanted to comment on what was said during that segment as Colin seemed to think that you had to be a GCU member at Best Buy in order to get pre-order incentives based on how Tim was explaining Best Buy's GCU program.
Regarding Best Buy's GCU program -
You do NOT need to spend $30 on GCU in order to receive the $10 pre-order reward certificate as it's available on select game and all you need is a "my Best Buy" account which anyone can setup for free.
Gamers Club Unlocked is $30 for two years and gives you the following -
- 20% off all new and sealed disc based games
So for example, a $60 game at launch will cost you $48 excluding tax.
- Double the points on video game purchases as long as you're paying with cash, credit card or PayPal...if you use a Best Buy gift card for example, you won't get any points at all but paying cash for a console purchase like I did last Saturday game me an additional 349 points totaling 698 points. Every 50 points is $1. Basically, I'll get $14 back in reward certs.
- 10% trade in bonus
For example, I traded in AC Syndicate yesterday for $35 base value. The 10% bonus game me an additional $3.50 for a total of $38.50 in credit.
- Double the points when trading in games
Using the above example, I'll get double the points on the base value so 70 points.
- 10% off buying pre-owned games
So a $10 game would cost $9 excluding tax.
GCU is an extra benefit for those like myself who purchase games physically. I always pre-order games if I know im buying it on release day anyway. After all, why not if im buying it anyway?
For games like AC Syndicate and Rise of the Tomb Raider, not only did I get my 20% off each game but I'll also get a $10 reward cert for each game from pre-ordering making both games $38 excluding tax.
If you look at what I received for AC Syndicate when I traded it in yesterday, you'll notice that I actually made a 50 cent profit on it, had it for three weeks and completed the game 100% total sync.
For those who prefer physical discs over digital and even more so if you're like me and no longer a collector, Best Buy's GCU quite simply and quite honestly blows away every other retailer when it comes to video games because in the end, you simply can't lose.
Long story short, spending $30 on GCU for two years would give you a $6 profit if all you do is buy three $60 games in that two year span. And like I said above, you simply can't lose.
