Last night, I did something that doesn’t happen often: I walked into a GameStop with the intention of purchasing something. Yep, mark that down folks. December 3rd, 2014, CV actually went into a GameStop with the intention of exchanging funds for goods in-store! Stranger things have happened. I happened to be coming out of Wal-Mart and GameStop is in the same shopping center. I decided that a quick stop in wouldn’t hurt. I went in the store just to see if there was a remote chance that they had any GameCube Controller Adapters for Wii U in stock. I figured that Wednesday was a random enough day to check on stock.
Unfortunately, GameStop was all sold out at all locations in this area. The manager/key holder/sales rep/customer service specialist was kind enough to search the other stores to see if there were stock anywhere else. In all, that horrible experience I had with that one GameStop manager years ago that turned me off completely to patronizing GameStop, this experience was the exact opposite. That employee last night? She was kind, helpful & seemed to want to get me the item I was looking for. Dear GameStop, this employee? She needs a raise and you need to clone her and place one of her at every store you have company-wide. I shared with her my plight with Best Buy not fulfilling my preorder for the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U bundle and she agreed that Best Buy had a shady practice going on. At this point, she tried to sell me on pre-ordering with GameStop, rather than Best Buy for the mere fact that “everyone who preordered…got theirs.”
Valid point.
But then, we started going into which rewards program is better. I contend that Best Buy’s “My Best Buy/Gamer’s Club Unlocked” program is better than GameStop’s “Power Up Rewards Pro” program. She contended the opposite. That exchanged occurred for a couple of minutes, nothing too long, but it left me with the question, Which Rewards Program is better? Let’s go to the tale of the tape!
IN THIS CORNAHHHH! The reigning champion. The Director of Discounts! The Pre-Order Black Hole! My Best Buy/Gamer’s Club Unlocked!!!!
And the challenger… The Bombardier of Bonuses! The Pre-Owned Prima Donna! Power Up Rewards Pro!!!!
Ok, first let’s look at price… ROUND ONE: PRICE!
MBB/GCU (My Best Buy Gamer’s Club Unlocked) requires that you have a My Best Buy account, which is the free base rewards membership. The base rewards give you 1 point per full dollar spent on items bought at Best Buy (except Best Buy Gift Cards, but you do get points for iTunes cards/PSN & XBL cards…). Then after requires you opt into the free option of the Gamer’s Club. Gamer’s Club at its base is great as a standalone: All gaming purchases give you double points towards rewards. So in that vein, you are getting 2 points per full dollar spent. You may keep seeing me explicitly say “Full Dollar spent”. This is because you will only get points for the entire dollar spent rather than portions of dollars. Spend $43.98? Earn 43 points. No rounding up. After joining the Gamer’s Club opt-in, there is another level you can obtain for even more rewards, Gamer’s Club Unlocked. In order to get access to this, you pay a $99.99 membership fee (formerly #14.99 per year and then $119.99/2-yr.) for a two-year membership.
GSPURP (GameStop PowerUp Rewards Pro) is a bit less convoluted to join. First you’ll need to be a member of the Power Up Rewards basic program. Then with a paid membership of $14.99 per year, you’ll be entered into the Pro membership.
GSPURP takes Round 1.
Next up let’s take a look at points and reward levels… ROUND TWO: POINTS!
MBB/GCU works on a base of a $5 in-store reward for every 250 points earned. One point for every full dollar spent. Spend $250, get $5 reward. You will earn 2 points for every dollar when you trade-in games. Modifiers do exist for your level of MBB. The “Elite” level will add a 10% bonus for every purchase & the “Elite Plus” level will add a 25% bonus. Elite level is obtained after the member spends $1,500 in a calendar year. Elite Plus is earned after $3,500 are spent (formerly $2,000, then $2,500). If either level is earned, once the points post, that level is active for the remainder of that calendar year and the entire following calendar year. Points post to your account 25-35 days after purchase. Bonus points, in terms of a value of $10 worth of reward certificates or 500 bonus points (formerly $20 reward cert/1,000 bonus points) regularly given for pre-ordering select games.
GSPURP works off a sliding scale of points earned for every dollar spent. The points you earn depends on what you purchase: 10 points per dollar spent on all new games and consoles, 20 points per dollar spend on pre-owned games, accessories and consoles, 20 points per dollar on traded-in games or consoles & a bonus of up to 500 points for activating your account online, completing your profile, and establishing your Game Library. Points post between 24-48 hours after purchase. In order to receive a $5 in-store reward, 3,500 points must be accrued. which is the equivalent of spending $350 on new items or $175 on used or traded-in items.
MBB/GCU takes Round 2: Edge given due to bonus points for pre-ordering and lower cap level of rewards.
Thirdly, let’s look at Membership features and Discounts… ROUND THREE: MEMBERSHIP BONUSES!
MBB/GCU offers a set amount of membership features. The first and most valuable is the 20% discount on all brand new software (which currently includes all amiibo/Skylanders/Disney Infinity statues/figurines). If you’re buying a brand-new $59.99 game, you will pay $47.99, before tax. $12 off! If you’re looking to purchase a pre-owned game, you will get a 10% discount. You’ll also get a base 10% bonus trade-in credit for software trade-ins.
GSPURP offers a decent number of discounts and features. First, when you upgrade or renew your Pro membership, you receive 250 points just like that. You’ll get a 10% point bonus on all purchases, 10% bonus trade-in credit, 10% off pre-owned games and accessories & 10% off new strategy guides. You’ll also get a one-year subscription to the Game Informer magazine. Technically, your $14.99 membership fuels your magazine subscription, so it’s like getting all the point rewards and bonuses and discounts for free.
Both Best Buy and GameStop run credit bonuses for trade-ins regularly, however, GameStop is almost never seen not running one of said promos.
MBB/GCU takes Round 3: Edge given to the 20% discount on all brand-new software. Cheaper games equal less money spent up front. You still get double points that will accrue reward certificates faster. The magazine is nice, but not needed.
Lastly, let’s look at Rewards… ROUND FOUR: REWARDS!
MBB/GCU has a rather singular set of rewards: Spend money, earn points, get reward certificates.
GSPURP on the other hand has an entire catalog of rewards to shop from, not just reward certificates. They offer a wide variety of gaming-related merchandise from games, to apparel, to collectibles. The only downside, is that those items are not inexpensive. Thousands of points are needed to be redeemed for those items.
GSPURP takes Round 4: Edge given due to the variety offered in rewards.
Final Winner?!: Depends on how you shop. As for me, I shop almost exclusively in brand new software/hardware/accessories and do zero trade-ins. If you side more on pre-owned purchases and trade-in games to fuel getting new games, GSPURP is for you.
Lately, Best Buy has been pushing a discounted GCU join price at $30 for the 2-year membership depending on if you purchase certain software/hardware. If you can find that deal, jump on it. You’ll earn $36 in savings with just your first 3 $59.99 game purchases! I was given that deal since I was a preexisting member of the GCU before they made the format change last year. They offered the discounted membership price to me and I jumped on it the very next day!
If you’re looking for a 100% free rewards program, both My Best Buy Gamer’s Club and GameStop PowerUp Rewards are similar. Slight edge going to the MBB/GC since you will earn double points on all new software, digital content & game accessories (yes, PlayStation Network/PlayStation Plus & Xbox Live membership cards & gift cards/cash codes count as “digital content”, along with video game season passes and expansions.)
What membership do you prefer? Why? Leave a comment below.
Into The Geek 
I have moved completely to shopping at Best Buy after their $30 GCU promotion. Before, I had mostly bought digitally. 20% off is just too good not to take advantage of. If you can manage to get it for a deal, Best Buy has easily the better program.
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I agree with you. Even with the now $99 fee, you’ll get your money’s worth in savings within the first year of purchases. I actually got all my money’s worth (paid the $30 entry promotion) when I bought the three PS4 games launch week when they had the “Buy 3, Get bonus points” promo.
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