GameStop Is Drastically Raising Rewards Program Prices
GameStop is increasing its rewards program price from $15 to $25 per year.
GameStop steals the headlines once again; the retailer saved by memes like a damsel in distress is giving its customer loyalty program a massive makeover, and the customers aren’t really that thrilled. It seems that the existing PowerUp Rewards membership will change its name to GameStop Pro, with pricing increasing from $15 a year to $25. In return, the gaming collective will receive bigger discounts on collectible and pre-owned games.
The news made its way out of the GameStop corporate headquarters after a screenshot of the internal corporate training materials was shared with Kotaku.
This news comes after a whole contingent of workers collectively resigned effective immediately and a firing of a GameStop employee for a massive Zelda leak—though it’s believed that Nintendo had a say in the matter.
The new membership plan is supposed to launch on June 27, and the existing membership will be phased out as members come up for renewal.
This basically means that those who bought a subscription could potentially enjoy the benefits of the new loyalty program at the old price until their membership is renewed. However, in our previous reports, the one about GameStop employees who quit at once, we mentioned some of the alleged unethical practices associated with GameStop’s management. Fittingly, the management is allegedly discouraging employees from renewing customers’ subscriptions under the current cheaper program until the new, more expensive version becomes active.
It could be that this is the best time to visit a GameStop store and get yourself a PowerUp Rewards membership. This will allow you to get an additional 5% discount on all pre-owned products, protection plans, and trading cards sold at the store. This particular discount will also apply to all GameStop branded items, clearance items, and four exclusive discount weeks during the year.
The membership, of course, excludes the gift cards, but it does stack on top of other promotions.
In other words, the new membership will grant you 35% off on clearance, as opposed to the usual 30% off at GameStop. But the leaked information also notes that starting on December 1, 2023, all points earned more than 12 months from their addition to the account will expire, and any failure to renew membership will also cause the points associated with a particular account to expire as well. A full 10$ increase might seem disheartening, but all the previous benefits will remain accessible through the new membership system.
It would seem that the aforementioned collective resignation smacked GameStop across its pocket enough for the company to consider a pricier membership option that, admittedly, doesn’t add that much to the previous system. It should; the company has a history of employee mistreatment that even Nintendo and Activision Blizzard would be ashamed of, and it doesn’t shy away from blaming someone new for plummeting sales in its business. So, despite being saved by memes, the company is still in serious trouble, at least financially, and its future rests on shaky legs.
