If you have an Xbox, or you are buying an Xbox live gift card for someone else, this is a great gift for gamers. When you buy a generic gift card, you’re really not being personal at all. But when you buy an Xbox live gift card online, this is a gift that screams personal.
Why should you buy one of these gift cards?
1. Xbox Users View It as a Great Gift
Anyone that has the Xbox console knows that Live brings a whole new level of fun to the table. When you play games, you want to be able to play the online version with friends. Imagine playing Madden by yourself, and then imagine playing against your best friend.
The majority of people will want to play against others.
Not only can you play with people across the world, but you’ll be able to play against:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Friends[/list_item]
[list_item]Family[/list_item]
[/list]
And no one has to be sitting right next to you playing. You’ll be able to play with anyone that has an Internet connection, Xbox and Xbox Live.
Anyone that owns an Xbox will be able to use any Xbox Live gift card you give them even if they have a subscription already. You can allow them to add time to their account, or you can use the gift card for other things.
2. There’s So Much You Can Do With an Xbox Live Gift Card
A great gift for gamers, the gift card you purchase allows a person to use their gift card for a lot of things:
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[list_item]Want to purchase full game titles? You can do so and download them straight to your console.[/list_item]
[list_item]Are there any apps you want to buy? You can do it with your gift card.[/list_item]
[list_item]Tired of gaming? Buy a television show or movie right with your gift card.[/list_item]
[list_item]Lacking accessories? Not any longer. You can buy accessories and devices with an Xbox gift card.[/list_item]
[list_item]In-app purchases can be made with your gift card, but keep in mind that some apps will require you to have a credit card for a subscription.[/list_item]
[list_item]Live Gold and Game Pass can also be purchased with your gift card.[/list_item]
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See, Xbox gift cards offer you a variety of spending options. It’s a great way to buy bundles and accessories, too. You’ll be able to use this gift card for so much more than games, so really, anyone that has access to an Xbox console will benefit when you buy an Xbox Live gift card online.
Keep in mind that you will not be able to use your gift card to purchase Office 365 or other Microsoft offers.
If you want to buy something in particular, even if it’s an in-game item, you’ll want to make sure that you can purchase it with your gift card before purchasing.
3. Digital Gift Codes Can Be Used on More Than Xbox
Okay, you’ve made your purchase, and you have chosen to receive a digital code for your Xbox gift card. This is great because you’ll be able to start using your gift card immediately. But you may not know that your gift card can be used at multiple outlets.
You’ll be able to use your gift card on:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Microsoft Store Online[/list_item]
[list_item]Windows[/list_item]
[list_item]Xbox[/list_item]
[/list]
Keep in mind that the digital card cannot be used in Microsoft’s physical store. When purchasing a digital gift card, the recipient will receive an email with the digital code to redeem their gift. It’s the fast way to buy a last-minute gift for someone else.
All codes are 25 characters in length, so they’re all very secure and can be redeemed quickly. You’ll be able to use your gift card balance at any of the stores listed above. There’s also a way to check your account balance on Microsoft’s official site.
4. Trade Your Gift Card for Others
One of the main benefits to buying an Xbox Live gift card is that it’s very valuable. A lot of gamers use gift cards to boost their account’s balance. It makes sense for all Xbox or Windows users to have an account and start buying items with gift cards.
You’ll be able to buy everything, from games to maps and even movies and devices.
It’s a valuable gift card for gamers or app users. But let’s say that you stop using your Xbox or the person that you gifted the card to no longer uses Xbox.
Now what?
Well, the popularity of Microsoft and Xbox allow it to be a card that can be traded quickly. The idea is simple:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Post your gift card for trade[/list_item]
[list_item]Solicit offers[/list_item]
[list_item]Choose an offer that’s valuable[/list_item]
[/list]
There are also sites that allow you to trade your gift cards for other cards. Perhaps you trade your $50 Xbox gift card for a $40 movie gift card.
These are the type of trades that you can make.
A lot of people choose to trade their gift cards on the Facebook Marketplace or in person. When you’re not trading through a site, you’ll be able to save on commission fees and can also trade cards for a higher value.
There are 1:1 trades where you’ll be able to trade your gift card to others for a gift card of the same value.
5. Xbox Live Gift Cards Never Expire
Did you know that a lot of gift cards expire? It’s true. In fact, people were losing out on money time and time again. The issue became such a problem in the United States that consumers were losing billions of dollars annually.
People tend to forget that they have a gift card.
And when they pull it out of their wallet, they’re met with a rejection. The issue was so big that lawmakers started to draft new laws that make gift card expirations illegal. PSN network used to have a one-year expiration on their gift cards.
People either added the funds to their account, or lost out on the gift card’s value.
Xbox Live gift cards never expire.
As long as the company is in existence, your gift card will be valid. But there are some exceptions to the rule. For example, if you purchase any of the following, they may have an expiry date:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Promotional Microsoft Rewards[/list_item]
[list_item]Promotional Xbox Live Rewards[/list_item]
[/list]
So, if you buy a non-promotional Xbox Live gift card, you can be confident that your card will never expire.
The same can be said for both digital and physical gift cards.
6. Physical Cards Can Be Purchased Online
If you’re under the assumption that only digital codes can be purchased online, you’re 100% wrong. You can purchase your gift cards online and have a physical card shipped to you. In my opinion, this is a lot more personal because I can add it into a gift package.
Sometimes, I will just send the gift card in a gift card sleeve to someone in the mail.
You don’t need send the person the digital code in email. I know that a lot of people prefer gift cards over a physical gift, but when the person has the physical card, it also allows them to trade the gift card or resell it if they want to do that.
When purchasing someone a game, I sometimes slip one of these gift cards inside of the wrapping. It allows the person to play games the way that they want, and they’ll be able to make in-game purchases for most games, too.
7. Online Purchases Can Save You Money
One of my main reasons that I recommend you buy an Xbox live gift card online is that there are more savings options available. Yup, you’ll be able to find a few sites and promotions that will offer you lower-than-value gift cards.
What does this mean?
Well, I am seeing the following offers at some retailers:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]$50 gift cards for $45[/list_item]
[list_item]$100 gift cards for $90[/list_item]
[/list]
These are great deals, and as long as shipping is free or cheap, you’ll be able to save some decent money on your purchase. During major holiday sales, it’s also easier to make purchases online that have cheaper prices than face value.
Oftentimes, Microsoft and other retailers are just trying to reach their annual revenue goals, so they offer great deals when buyers are most active.
You do want to exercise caution when making purchases online.
Why?
You never know who is going to try and scam you. Gift cards make it all too easy to scam buyers. A way around these risks is to:
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[list_item]Research any website that you plan on making a purchase from before buying.[/list_item]
[list_item]Read reviews and testimonials from others that have used a specific retailer for their gift card purchase.[/list_item]
[list_item]Check Google and other sites to verify claims and also look to see if there are any scams going on.[/list_item]
[/list]
The age of the retailer is also very important. You’ll find that a lot of retailers that are new may not have a review history or any reviews at all. I wouldn’t take the risk on these sites, especially if they’re offering deals that are too good to be true.
No one is going to part with these gift cards at a 50% discount, for example.
You’ll also want to look for common issues with a site that may indicate that the site is not legitimate:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Make sure that the site is using SSL technology when purchases are made by looking for “https” in the URL.[/list_item]
[list_item]Check the website for any misspellings that a normal, native speaker wouldn’t make.[/list_item]
[list_item]See if the site has any hidden links in the footer.[/list_item]
[/list]
There’s always a risk that smaller sites are hacked, and when this happens, you may notice that the site has random links that are placed in the text or the footer. This may be a sign that the site has been hacked, and in this case, you’ll want to go to another website that is more trustworthy.
8. Immediate Access with Digital Codes
I want to reiterate that there is no wait time when you buy digital codes. Let’s say that you purchase a code online right now, you’ll be able to add the card’s balance to your account right now.
This means immediate access to all that your Xbox Live card has to offer.
Never wait or have to deal with shipping times again. Of course, you can purchase a physical card if you see fit.
9. Online Options May Offer More Payment Methods
Tying in with getting immediate access to your codes, buying online also offers the ability to use different payment methods when making your purchase. I can guarantee that when you go to a physical store, such as your local Walmart, you won’t be able to make a purchase using digital currency or PayPal.
You can only use your standard payment methods in-person:
[list style=’regular’]
[list_item]Cash[/list_item]
[list_item]Credit card[/list_item]
[list_item]Debit card[/list_item]
[/list]
Otherwise, you’ll be out of luck. This means that you won’t be able to make any of your payments outside of traditional methods. This may not seem like a big issue for you, but for people that have their money tied into digital currencies or in a payment processor, offering more payment methods is a great option.
You won’t want to make a purchase using a bank transfer or anything of the sort; there’s simply too much risk with these payment options.
And whenever you make a purchase through a non-traditional outlet, you’ll want to pay with your credit card. Why? Think about it for a minute. If you make a payment with your debit card, scammers may have access to all of the money that you need to pay your bills.
There’s also the risk that an investigation will occur.
You’re not going to be able to access this money while an investigation is taking place. Credit card payments are the most secure option because you can always challenge the charge as fraudulent. The lender, in this case the credit card company, is out of the money during the investigation – not you.
