Skiesofwonder
Walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.
In celebration of Best Buy offering Gamers Club Unlocked for $30 next Sunday (it is usually $120), I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread detailing why this service is currently the best way to save money for handheld/console gamers.
UPDATE: GCU is now permanently $30, yay!
What is Gamers Club Unlocked?
It is a continuation of the Best Buy gaming benefit club that was originally started alongside their affiliated Gamer magazine. Once the magazine was dropped, it turned into the money saving machine that keeps giving. Basically you get a ton of discounts on games!
Be specific.... and why am I still in this thread?
Okay okay okay okay okay okay, let me get to the point.
Gamers Club Unlocked retails at $120 for a 2 year membership, and provides the following benefits:
- Get 20% off of new video game software
- 10% bonus trade-in credit on your video game software trade-ins
- 10% off pre-owned games
- Buy two, get the third free on pre-owned games via special welcome coupon
- Save 50% on a new strategy guide via special welcome coupon
The big one is 20% off all new games. That equals $12 off $60 games, and $8 off $40 games. In two years, buy 11 or more console games = you saving money. I agree, that is a lot of games.... but what if you only had to buy 3 console games to start saving money?
$120 is way too expensive!
I have good news. Starting next Sunday (deal runs from 10/26 to 11/08) you can get Gamers Club Unlocked for $30. That is 75% off. The only catch is that you have to buy a game of $39.99 or greater value during that week to get the discount. So if you you are planning on picking up Sunset Overdrive at launch, you can get GCU for $30 at Best Buy alongside that purchase. Or, if you can somehow stomach waiting three extra days for Bayonetta 2, you could get the deal as well
.
Buying games at $50 (with tax) is still just too expensive for my skin.
Does $40 sound better? What if I told you that most major releases (Nintendo games excluded... sigh) gave you $10 in Best Buy reward points if you pre-order before pick-up? Sounds pretty cool huh? Here are a list of games coming up with the $10 BB reward promotion:
- Sunset Overdrive
- COD: Advance Warfare
- AC: Unity
- Halo: MCC
- GTA V
- Far Cry 4
- Dying Light
- Evolve
- The Witcher 3
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- BattleField: Hardline
- Elder Scrolls Online
- Halo 5
Note: Best Buy reward points can only be spent at Best Buy and take 15 days to become available.
Meh. Some of those games will be selling for $25 two months later.
True, and if you can wait that long then all the more power to you. The good news is that with GCU you would still get a 20% discount off that $25 to make it even cheaper. Best Buy also price matches almost every single major retailer (including Amazon.com) but the GCU discount won't be applied on price matches.
What if I told you that with GCU, there was a way to play all the games you want at launch just for the entry price of one game! Crazy, right? Saddle up, this might get long:
- I bought Destiny for $50 at launch thanks to GCU discount. I also received $10 in reward points.
- the next week, I traded in Destiny at Best Buy
. Best Buy was offering $40, but GCU members get an extra 10 percent towards trade-ins so I received $44. In case you aren't keeping track, I bought Destiny for $50 and got $10 in rewards. That is a $40 transaction in my mind. Best Buy gave me $44 for the trade in. So Best Buy gave me more back then what I originally gave them!
- I picked up Shadow of Mordor the same day. My Best Buy points weren't available at this point, so I spent $6 to get Shadow or Mordor. I received another $10 in Best Buy reward points for this purchase.
- a total of $56 has left my wallet, bot not a single penny more will be given.
- I received $44 for Shadow of Mordor the next week and picked up Alien Isolation for $50. With my Destiny reward points in play, I spend nothing. Sadly, Alien Isolation wasn't a part of the $10 BB reward point promotion.
- The next week, I traded in Alien:Isolation towards Evil Within. With my left over Destiny reward points and my Shadow of Mordor reward points, I spend nothing once again. I also recieved a $10 gift card for purchasing Evil Within.
- At this point, I could continue this trend and get Bayonetta 2, Ac: Unity, Far Cry 4, GTA V, and Smash Bros WiiU without spending another dime.
- Each game should get you anywhere from $42-$44 dollars in trade in credit as long as you trade it in within a reasonable time span (2-3 weeks).
Edit: Geneijin brought to my attention that smaller releases might start off with less trade-in value or not even be available for Best Buy trade-in at all. For more information seek out his post (#142).
- Yes, it is basically a glorified Gamefly without the long waits. But at least the developer/publisher is still getting your money this way.
- bonus: each trade in should net you 80-88 reward points. 250 = $5 best buy certificate. So you will also be racking up BB certificates doing this method. Also, any dollar spent in Best Buy gives you a point. So if you buy a game with cash/credit/debit, you should get 50 points after the GCU discount. The reason trade-ins net you so much is because GCU members get double the points for trade-ins.
Summary of "but wait....there is more": After initial purchase, trade-in game in timely manner and pick up brand new one with little to no extra cost. While doing this, you will also rack up reward points which gets you more best buy money. This is all thanks to GCU discounts.
Any other questions? Ask away. This really is a great service for gamers and I can't recommend it enough!
UPDATE: GCU is now permanently $30, yay!
What is Gamers Club Unlocked?
It is a continuation of the Best Buy gaming benefit club that was originally started alongside their affiliated Gamer magazine. Once the magazine was dropped, it turned into the money saving machine that keeps giving. Basically you get a ton of discounts on games!
Be specific.... and why am I still in this thread?
Okay okay okay okay okay okay, let me get to the point.
Gamers Club Unlocked retails at $120 for a 2 year membership, and provides the following benefits:
- Get 20% off of new video game software
- 10% bonus trade-in credit on your video game software trade-ins
- 10% off pre-owned games
- Buy two, get the third free on pre-owned games via special welcome coupon
- Save 50% on a new strategy guide via special welcome coupon
The big one is 20% off all new games. That equals $12 off $60 games, and $8 off $40 games. In two years, buy 11 or more console games = you saving money. I agree, that is a lot of games.... but what if you only had to buy 3 console games to start saving money?
$120 is way too expensive!
I have good news. Starting next Sunday (deal runs from 10/26 to 11/08) you can get Gamers Club Unlocked for $30. That is 75% off. The only catch is that you have to buy a game of $39.99 or greater value during that week to get the discount. So if you you are planning on picking up Sunset Overdrive at launch, you can get GCU for $30 at Best Buy alongside that purchase. Or, if you can somehow stomach waiting three extra days for Bayonetta 2, you could get the deal as well
Sanity not guaranteed to stay intact if you wait three extra days to pick up Bayonetta 2
Buying games at $50 (with tax) is still just too expensive for my skin.
Does $40 sound better? What if I told you that most major releases (Nintendo games excluded... sigh) gave you $10 in Best Buy reward points if you pre-order before pick-up? Sounds pretty cool huh? Here are a list of games coming up with the $10 BB reward promotion:
- Sunset Overdrive
- COD: Advance Warfare
- AC: Unity
- Halo: MCC
- GTA V
- Far Cry 4
- Dying Light
- Evolve
- The Witcher 3
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- BattleField: Hardline
- Elder Scrolls Online
- Halo 5
Note: Best Buy reward points can only be spent at Best Buy and take 15 days to become available.
Meh. Some of those games will be selling for $25 two months later.
True, and if you can wait that long then all the more power to you. The good news is that with GCU you would still get a 20% discount off that $25 to make it even cheaper. Best Buy also price matches almost every single major retailer (including Amazon.com) but the GCU discount won't be applied on price matches.
What if I told you that with GCU, there was a way to play all the games you want at launch just for the entry price of one game! Crazy, right? Saddle up, this might get long:
- I bought Destiny for $50 at launch thanks to GCU discount. I also received $10 in reward points.
- the next week, I traded in Destiny at Best Buy
do you really have to ask why?
- I picked up Shadow of Mordor the same day. My Best Buy points weren't available at this point, so I spent $6 to get Shadow or Mordor. I received another $10 in Best Buy reward points for this purchase.
- a total of $56 has left my wallet, bot not a single penny more will be given.
- I received $44 for Shadow of Mordor the next week and picked up Alien Isolation for $50. With my Destiny reward points in play, I spend nothing. Sadly, Alien Isolation wasn't a part of the $10 BB reward point promotion.
- The next week, I traded in Alien:Isolation towards Evil Within. With my left over Destiny reward points and my Shadow of Mordor reward points, I spend nothing once again. I also recieved a $10 gift card for purchasing Evil Within.
- At this point, I could continue this trend and get Bayonetta 2, Ac: Unity, Far Cry 4, GTA V, and Smash Bros WiiU without spending another dime.
- Each game should get you anywhere from $42-$44 dollars in trade in credit as long as you trade it in within a reasonable time span (2-3 weeks).
Edit: Geneijin brought to my attention that smaller releases might start off with less trade-in value or not even be available for Best Buy trade-in at all. For more information seek out his post (#142).
- Yes, it is basically a glorified Gamefly without the long waits. But at least the developer/publisher is still getting your money this way.
- bonus: each trade in should net you 80-88 reward points. 250 = $5 best buy certificate. So you will also be racking up BB certificates doing this method. Also, any dollar spent in Best Buy gives you a point. So if you buy a game with cash/credit/debit, you should get 50 points after the GCU discount. The reason trade-ins net you so much is because GCU members get double the points for trade-ins.
Summary of "but wait....there is more": After initial purchase, trade-in game in timely manner and pick up brand new one with little to no extra cost. While doing this, you will also rack up reward points which gets you more best buy money. This is all thanks to GCU discounts.
Any other questions? Ask away. This really is a great service for gamers and I can't recommend it enough!
