Google has launched its free-to-join Google Play Points rewards programme in South Africa. If you’re asking yourself: What? You’re not alone. But if you’re inclined to spend money on Google Play for apps, games and movies, you’re going to want to sign up.
Previously only available in a select group of countries, Google Play Points will reward you with an in-app currency called points which can be exchanged for certain in-game items or Google Credit. The premise is quite simple, really: If you spend actual money in Google Play, you’ll get some points in return.
The whole thing works on a tiered system — the more cash you throw at apps, games and movies in the Store, the higher you’ll rank on the tier.
How Play Points works
There are bronze, silver, gold and platinum rankings, and in each, you get a different point allocation like so:
Bronze – beginner
- 1 point for every R17 spent.
- Up to 4x points in games.
- Up to 2x points on movie rentals & books during monthly events.
Silver – 150+ points per year
- 1.1 points for every R17 spent.
- Up to 4x points in games.
- Up to 3x points on movie rentals & books during monthly events.
- Weekly Silver level prizes (up to 50 points every week).
Gold – 600+ points per year
- 1.2 points for every R17 spent.
- Up to 4x points in games.
- Up to 4x points on movie rentals & books during monthly events.
- Weekly Gold level prizes (up to 200 points every week).
Platinum – 3000+ points per year
- 1.4 points for every R17 spent.
- Up to 4x points in games.
- Up to 5x points on movie rentals & books during monthly events.
- Weekly Platinum level prizes (up to 500 points every week).
- Premium support (faster responses, dedicated agents).
Of course, if you’re not a big spender on the platform, the rewards programme won’t offer much in terms of value. If we take the cost of points in the bronze tier, it’ll cost you a total of R2,550 to reach silver tier in a year. That’s if you don’t gain points from partnered games or movie rentals, of course.
If you’re keen, you can enroll into the programme for free right here.