Xbox 360 Live 12 Month Gold Card plus 1 Month Bonus Reviews

• Best Deal for Xbox Live

  
  By A3HG46OVE2H4J8 on 2008-09-09
  To sum it up quick, this is the best deal you can purchase for Xbox Live.
  
  Here is a quick breakdown:
  1 month via Microsoft = $7.99 = $7.99/month
  3 months via Microsoft = $19.99 = $6.66/month
  12 months via Microsoft = $49.99 = $4.17/month
  12+1 months via Amazon = $45.00 = $3.46/month
  
  This card comes with THIRTEEN (13) months of Xbox Live for cheaper than directly from Xbox. I fully recommend purchasing Live via Amazon, but the choice is yours.
  
  

• Great Price. No Problems At All.

  
  By A25E86U5UNDVSN on 2008-08-29
  I spent quite a bit of time reading the reviews for this Gold Card. The single biggest problem I read about was how people needed to scratch off the back of the card to access the 25-digit code needed to activat it. If a person scratched too hard, the code became unreadable and the card was no good. There was supposibly no way retrieve the numbers once they were illegible. When my card arrived, I was expecting to have to go through this process. But to my plesant surprise, all I had to do was PEEL BACK a piece of perferated strip from the back of the card. No scratching involved at all. Maybe due to so many complaints, they decided to fix the problem and make it easier. Who knows, but at least I did not distroy the card or scratch so hard the numbers became unreadable.
  
  Another concern I had was WHEN to use this card. I only used about 1 week of my "Free One Month Gold Membership" that came with my new X-Box 360. Should I risk renewing now and possibly loosing my remaining 3 "free" weeks included in my month long trial? Or should I wait until the free month is almost over and use my card then? I have read that if you let your month expire, all the stuff you have accumilated on that user profile is gone. You will have to start over from scratch. I decided to take a chance and use my card the next day. After I followed the simple instruction on my card, and entered the 25-digit code on my 360, I got an email from the email address I used to register with. It stated that I had extened my memberhsip until October 15 of 2009. Since my origional membership WOULD HAVE expired on September 15, and the card I purchased was for 13 Months, that would put me at October 15, 2009. So for anybody who is worried that the Gold Membership will not let your trial month "run out" before it activates, dont worry about it. You wont loose any time. It will run concurrently with your free month, or any membership you already have, before it activates.
  
  The only other complaint I have seen in regards to this card is how long it takes to recieve it from Amazon. This I cannot really help with because I use Amazon Prime. I spend enough money with Amazon, and do enough of my shopping through them, that Amazon Prime is just about the only way to go for me. Expecially since I live in a rural area and do not have alot of the electronic stores or discount outlets you would normally find in larger cities. I can tell you this: It took me 4 days to get my card. Normally Amazon Prime has everything at my doorstep within 2 days. I was not too worried becasue I still had 3 weeks left on my trial membership. But if I did NOT use Amazon Prime, or if I only had a couple days left before my membership expired, I might have considered purchasing it locally for the extra money. So my advice is to either buy early and expect the longer than usual delays, or go Prime and get it within 4 days.
  
  With the price of this card being about 10 dollars cheaper then Wal-Mart, and also giving you the extra month for free, this card is definately worth the money. ANYBODY who already has Amazon Prime would be a fool to buy this card at the store. If you DONT have Prime, and your membership will expire soon, maybe it would be better to get it at your local store and eat the difference in price. But for me and MY experience, I could not have asked for a easier time. That is why I am giving this review 5 Gold Stars. I hope this review helps.
  
  
  
  

• This has ruined my life.

  
  By A3OEPYSSPBA2FX on 2008-03-06
  After ordering this online xbox card I waited 2-3 days patiently. Upon arrival I giddily activated my xbox live gold account with the information found on the back of the card. Simple enough right? Well, that when everything went down hill. I didn't stop playing Halo 3 online. Then I got playing other games like Gears of War and Rainbow Six Las Vegas. I go to work 8 hours a day and instead of socializing after work I immediately boot up the 360 and go to town on it. It is now all I do and I have no friends. It is all due to this product. Purchase if you don't already have friends or are looking to rid yourself of others.
  
  

• Great value

  
  By A2AV4ZLPPZ14UE on 2007-02-16
  It costs more to sign up online on Xbox Live than to buy this card and signing up online only gives you 12 months instead of 13. That doesn't make any sense to me but it's a good deal!
  
  

• Cheaper on Amazon

  
  By A1TGXBJ96E9B8B on 2008-01-14
  On a whim, I decided to look on Amazon for this, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a few dollars cheaper on Amazon. Granted, I would need to wait for it to arrive in the mail, but since Microsoft gives a one-month advance warning before one's Xbox Live membership expires, that was not an issue.
  
  
• No more scratching
  By A3O9EOS3YBUB67 on 2007-12-14
  I am adding this review to say - when we received the XBOX LIVE card there was no sratching involved, the code was visible. Also one reviewer said the card expired in a couple months - ours will expire in 18 months so we have no complaints. Seems like a great deal to me. It's 13 months as others have mentioned.
  
  
• Buy now and get an extra month free!
  By A15LH0ZNB79DLT on 2008-04-27
  When you buy this card, you get an extra month. That's 13 months for a great price.
  
  Xbox Live is the leading service as far as online experiences on gaming consoles is concerned.
  
  There are tons of arcade games you can purchase and download, movies to rent, tv episodes to buy (both past series and present).
  
  Xbox Live gives you worldwide leaderboards on almost every single Xbox 360 game available when you are connected to live. You can chat with friends too.
  
  This item is worth it and makes a great gift for any Xbox 360 gamer.
  
  
• Inexpensive, Netflix, Amazon Prime
  By A2GPKZCHFCQ8VU on 2008-11-27
  Some of the negative reviews complain about scratching too hard and losing the code and therefore their money. Those reviews are for an older generation of this card; the one I got (11/2008) has a tear-off piece of paper to reveal the code. Entering the code online was a snap.
  
  I got the gold membership because it enhances my NetFlix subscription. The new Netflix/Xbox Gold feature lets users of both watch (most) Netflix instant streaming movies on their Xbox. The video quality has so far been excellent (even on the large screen); better than what I've seen on laptops. I'm looking forward to HD streaming but none of the 300 (so far) titles had any appeal to me.
  
  Update: Turns out Netflix allows unlimited streaming for most of its plans. Their $8.99 plan gives one DVD at a time and unlimited streaming via PC and/or XBox. Streaming experiences have so far been excellent.
  
  
  
• 50 dollars for a gateway into the gaming community
  By on 2008-03-31
  To start with, I am thirteen years old and own both a 360 and an Xbox Live subscription. Having said this I obviously have acquired quite a bit of experience in the community of Xbox Live.
  For those of you who don't know, Xbox Live is the online community of the Xbox and Xbox 360. You can do several things via Xbox live or just Live for short. The main factor of Live is the ability to game with people from around the world. For example in games such as the ever popular Halo 3, there is a feature known as matchmaking, in which a player selects the type of game they would like to play, and then the Halo server finds other players who also would like to play that game and allows you to join their match. Thus far the Xbox has the best online service available out of the three gaming consoles this generation. The other two gaming consoles have this feature free, but it can be said that it is a fair compromise to pay for Live as it it the best service around.
  
  Other features can be found on Live that allow social networking and communications such as an instant messaging system and voice chat among other things. For those parents who are buying this subscription for their kids you should be warned that gamers on Live are very frequently quite vulgar and often offensive in what they say over voice chat that is automatically enabled in some games. Revisiting the ever popular Halo 3, in matches with players from around the world you are allowed to talk to and hear your teammates. This being said if you were to do something unfavorable to your team in a match it is possible and very probable that you would be berated and insulted by your teammates. There are fortunately options for parental control that limit voice chat, messaging, time spent playing, things that can be viewed, etc. which can prove very helpful to parents who do not want their kids exposed to that kind of environment.
  
  Taking into consideration both the gaming and networking aspects of Xbox live I would have to conclude that if you own a 360 and do not have Live, There is quite a bit of content that you are missing that can endlessly advance the gaming experience many gamers are looking for. Online capability is simply a must have this generation and Live is the 'cream of the crop'. In my opinion this is fifty dollars well spent as it will provide countless hours of fun and double the content of and game you buy that utilizes Live. In my experience this is a good investment as without Live I would have no one to play with once I beat a game and thus I would probably spend fifty to sixty more dollars on a brand new one after I beat the previous game. With Live after I beat a game I will spend at least two more months with it honing my skills in the multiplayer online modes before I thought about which game I might want to try next.
  
  bottom line: If you have a 360 you should get Live, and this is one of the best ways to go. Also note a headset for voice chat would be good if you don't already have one.
  
  after this review still unsure about whether or not Live is for you?
  Most (I would say all but I would hate to mislead anyone if I am mistaken) Xbox 360s come with a free one month trial that you may not know about. To access this go to the 'sign up for Xbox live' button on the dashboard (main interface) of the 360. After you fill out a form you should be asked if you want to use your free 1 month trial, select yes then try it our for a month... see if you don't agree with me.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• ***WARNING***
  By A37FAS5UC5QCII on 2009-06-25
  since everyone pretty much listed the pro's and con's of this product i just want to warn you that be aware of who you are buying from on here for this product. for example, the newly launched seller XBLIVE is selling this for the cheapest price of $39.99 and in his comments he states that he will "EMAIL" the code on the back to you upon receipt of payment...heres a couple problems with this: for one, he charges $4.49 for shipping (wtf, how can you charge nearly $5 for an email, because he wont send you the product he will just email you the product code from the back for you to enter in) emails are free buddy! secondly, he is a newly/recently launched seller with no feedback i would be very cautious with buying from someone who doesn't have feedback or ratings. thirdly, beware of the other sellers here to they mark there product down tons and then charge you crazy shipping like $8 for something that simply as thick as a piece of paper...thats BS! and last but not least, if you pay more the $40.00 after tax and shipping for this then please hit me up because i can tell you where to get it for $40.00 out the door (and no i dont work for best buy, gamestop, gamecrazy, target, walmart and etc) im in the military and im just a concerned buyer like the rest
  
  
• Whats not to like?
  By A196D9N2HFV01Q on 2007-12-11
  Once you factor in the free month, you save about $10.00 over ordering directly on xbox live. ($44.00 with free shipping and 13 months compared to $49.99 on Live for 12 months.) Couldn't be easier to update, just enter the code on the back of the card and your done. Note: Microsoft seems to have fixed the code rubbing off problem some earlier reviewers were having. There is nothing to rub off. Code is printed on back of card. The only drawback I can see is if you renew on xbox live your account in updated instantly. If you order from amazon you have to wait until your card arrives to update your account so plan accordingly and order early, you'll save $$$$$ and get an extra month.
  
  
• Don't Pass This Up
  By A32ZFY78FFU7AZ on 2007-12-25
  Microsoft wants $49.99 for 12 months of xbox live... Amazon wants $43.99 for 13 months. You tell me who has the better deal.
  
  
• Best online gaming!
  By A4BK54P0D1GOS on 2006-11-10
  This card gives you access to the greatest online gaming community in history. You get to access every faction of the online community. The connections are quick and the interface is always updated to keep streamlined.
  
  I payed a good price on Amazon and free shipping. It was one fo the best buys that I could buy. Halo 2, Ghost Recon, Madden 07, Downloads for Dead Rising, online streaming of Oblivion. It applies to every game and facing real humans online gives you that extra experience that the computer can't give you.
  
  If you own a XBOX 360 this is a must buy!
  
  
• There are other options than buying this card
  By A3LBZLI0FOL2YP on 2007-04-24
  For anyone who has an xbox 360 the question isn't "if" you are going to connect to xbox live but when you do, how will you pay for the subscription? This is a good option and I prefer it to buying a subscription online, but it isn't the only option.
  
  Xbox 360 Live Camera Bundle
  
  I recommend going with the camera bundle option currently. It gives you a 12 month membership to xbox live but also comes with the vision camera, two xbox live arcade games, a headset, and 200 Microsoft Points for not much more. I only paid $65 for the camera package and for what you get it makes the subscription by itself seem overpriced.
  
  
• fast and easy
  By A1SNC4FX5WI7PV on 2007-01-13
  you dont know from where to buy a registeration key for xbox360? get this one, specially when i bought it and there was no registeration available for xbox360 for middle east. and also you get 1 month free so it is 13 month total.
  
  
• Get a free month
  By A2MKNXHL5IRM5C on 2009-06-26
  Like most of the other reviews, I'll just say this is exactly what you expect it to be, Xbox live Gold for 12 months and a free month. Glad to get the extra month, and it only takes a couple days for Amazon to deliver it with free shipping.
  
  
• Great service, wait for the prepaid card to cgo on sale
  By A1ZS3ZSTB5JQW on 2009-03-09
  This card is always cheaper than paying per month directly with Microsoft, and can be substantially cheaper if you get it on sale. Amazon sold it for just under $30 a few weeks ago, with free shipping.
  
  Xbox Live is a well developed service that's reliable, has many features, and is well worth the price.
  
  Note that Xbox Live silver is free- the big selling point of Gold is online multilayer gaming, there are some other features. But online gaming is a major component of many 360 games, so a gold subscription is worth the price.
  
  
• Much cheaper than XBOX Live's monthly automatic payments
  By A2797BIPYOV95I on 2009-02-25
  This is a steal compared to the monthly automatic payments XBOX Live charges $8.99/month x 12 = way too much to pay for this service. Buy the card on amazon and use the money saved to buy yourself a new game!
  
  
• 12 + 1 = 13 Months
  By A2395COJVECD1C on 2008-03-31
  March 28th, 2008 I received this product. Entered the code and I got a 12 + 1 Months of Xbox Live. So to those who are wondering, yes that is 13 months. Package is different, not the same as the picture above so keep that in mind.
  
  Great product, service, and everything. Great deal, purchased it for 44.99 plus super saver shipping. Ended up saving 10 dollars (tax and retail 49.99 price tag).
  
  bottom line, like the reviewer below has asked, why are you even reading reviews for this?
  
  GET IT
  
  
• Gift for birthday
  By A14E8TLCS38CZO on 2007-05-28
  I could not have chosen a better gift for my grandson than the 12-Month-Gold-Card. He and his friends get together on line and have a terrific time. The product came quickly and was exactly what he wanted. Thank you.
  
  
• good 5 star
  By AG9BO2ECQ1WN9 on 2007-05-09
  nothin really to say 10 bucks cheaper then store, got my account fine, lol just dont scratch the back too hard, its a pain getting a new one
  
  
• 13 months of Xbox live
  By A27FL0K43GE98H on 2007-02-09
  Had no delivery problems with this product arrived on time , and to my suprise that there is a 1 month bouns , which means I have 13 months of Xbox live for the price of 12. If you own an Xbox 360 , Xbox live is a must
  
  
• HD online play
  By AN4N4PRUJSME3 on 2007-01-11
  Get it and stop reading this. Why you may be asking? Well remember in the past when you would finish a game and then there was nothing else to do in the game well now there is: Show what you've learned all those hours by playing the AI alone, online with other people which makes the game a longer funner experience. Oh did I also mention that you can play virtually all the 360 games demos before buying. Chat, send messages download movies you name it. See you online!
  
  
• good price, clunky service
  By A13F29CBE9599 on 2009-04-01
  Great place to buy an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Pre-paid is especially nice as it avoids MS getting ahold of your credit card for automatic repeat billing. Unfortunately, Xbox Live is not the most amazing service in the world: Wii and PS3 are much more functional. Opponent matching is quite slow. You can't play against opponents on other platforms. Your achievements are permanently tied to your Gamertag and e-mail address. Your e-mail address cannot be changed without a support call. Entering information and navigation while shopping for purchases or games online is extremely difficult using the Xbox controller. Although Xbox Live has a great web page, they don't use it to solve this usability problem.
  
  
• The essence of the XBOX 360 experience
  By AOUEOXRQJDK3S on 2009-02-12
  You ABSOLUTELY need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to fully enjoy the Xbox 360 experience. You will be able to stream Netflix, download video reviews and strategy guides, and infinitely enhance your gaming experience. There's a worldwide field of challengers to help you refine your skills, and many games also have downloadable content (new maps, weapons, etc.) and global leaderboards. But perhaps most technically helpful of all are game updates which periodically download patches which fix bugs in games that are discovered after their release.
  
  With Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, the more months you buy, the better value you get in terms of cost per month. Therefore, the 12-month card with the free 13th month makes it an especially better value than buying standard 12-month for this same price over XBOX Live. There is really no reason NOT to go with the free month!
  
  
• Solution!
  By A98EZFYHWFRM2 on 2009-01-31
  I'm your average, lazy guy who doesn't want to go to the store to buy something when he can get it cheaper, and delivered to his door step, online. But I'm also very funny about customer service. I mean, they're working to please YOU and this is MY 50 dollars, so I should get exactly what I want, in a timely fasion. But, in reading the reviews, I noticed that it was taking some people a MONTH to recieve it with normal shipping.
  
  Solution! Don't use normal shipping. I mean, wow. It's not that hard to figure out. I mean with the one day shipping (ironically it takes three) You have to pay roughly ten dollars, wait a second... How much does it cost at the store? Oh that's right! Ten dollars more! So I guess I'll buy it at Wal-Mart or Target right?
  
  But wait! You get a FREE MONTH from Amazon! Which is eight dollars if you buy an extra one month card at the store. So technically, you're still saving money, AND you don't have to move from your computer screen/living room couch! (Eventually you'll have to eat, but that's not my problem.)
  
  So basically what I'm saying is, choose a quicker shipping option and buy it from Amazon, THE best internet shopping center. I've never had any problems with this site, and you can find some great deals, like this one!
  
  
• Terrific Stocking Stuffer
  By A7Y596ZR19RNB on 2008-10-22
  This is an excellent deal for those of you who are looking for a Xmas gift for the gamers out there. This card is a year plus one month for less than $[...]. A normal credit card XBOX Live sub is over $[...] with tax. I don't think these will last long as the season approaches. If you can try to get them while they last. Quick and great service from Amazon.com.
  
  
• Amazon.com needs work on their shipping date
  By A1X0Y6YWLZ0AXD on 2008-10-21
  It arrived, and in perfect shape, but Amazon predicted that it would take 4 weeks to ship, when it actually shipped in 1 day. However, their sites estimated date did not change, and I got it at a totally unexpected time - ended up talking to an Amazon rep, simply to find out that their dates were completely wrong - after all, I needed something soon, not in a month and a half (with shipping estimated at two weeks). Either order this a while out so that you have time in case it takes a while, or simply pay the extra and buy it in a brick store to avoid the hassle.
  
  
• All about the price $$$$$$$
  By A1J8DUY9I03ZJS on 2008-10-02
  The same card is $50.00 + tax at walmart and target. Nothing more needs to be said! I have a few issues with Xbox Live, but that is between me and microsoft. While microsoft has its issues, its the only game in town. So if you want to play Xbox Live, and you really don't have a choice, you might as well pay the least to play. What it all boils down to is Amazon sells these card for less that everybody else!
  
  
• Great Buy !!!!!
  By A20XTH7R29L1BS on 2008-03-06
  I have gotten two of these cards for my boys. The first one I got last month. It said 12 months with 1 month free. So he got 13 months when he entered the code. The second card we got today. It said 12 plus 1 month on the web sight, but the card came and only said 12 months. But guess what? When he enterd the code on the back he got the 13 months. So don't let the package fool you. You really do get 13 months.
  
  

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