Xbox axes virtual currency 'Points' in favor of credit, gift cards
Microsoft will reportedly be moving away from its virtual "Points"currency for Xbox, in favor of local currency and gift cards. According to reports by The Verge and Engadget, Microsoft will be spiking Points, which has been used in the Xbox Live and Zune marketplaces. The currency had received backlash from users who were forced to buy Points in increments, which often resulted in leftover Points after purchasing games. Back in October, Microsoft began phasing out its Points payment system in its newest operating system, and users were given the option to pay for digital content with....
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One of the more common ways for consumers to spend Bitcoin is by buying gift cards from various retailers and outlets. Popular Bitcoin gift card services will often offer a small discount on every purchase. Giving consumers an extra incentive to spend digital currency. A recent survey by CardCash shows how Starbucks gift cards are a clear fan favorite, whereas Visa Gift Cards are far less preferable. Most of these trends seem to correlate with how consumers would spend USD balances on gift cards, though.
Just this morning, Gyft, Inc, the lead mobile gift card company announced the Gyft Points program to reward customers for use of gift cards. In May of this year, Gyft began accepting Bitcoin for payment back and as a result exponentially increase the growth of the number of opportunities for individuals to shop with Bitcoin. An individual is able to purchase 1 of 50,000 gift card options and as a result put Bitcoins to use. Gyft put out the following press release: Gyft Launches Rewards Platform to Give Consumers Up to 3% Back on Gift Card Purchases. Expands Options for Payment to Include....
Gyft - have you heard of it? This popular service allows consumers to purchase gift cards with credit/debit cards, PayPal, and oh, bitcoin. In fact, for some in the community, it's how they spend a majority of their bitcoin at popular retail outlets like GameStop, Sears, GAP, and more. And yet another store has been added to the list: Wal-Mart. That's right. You'll now be able to buy gift cards to American's favorite retailer with a value of up to $500 using bitcoin. For those in our community that rely on Wal-Mart for their needs, this is great news. The company made an announcement on....
ChangeTip users can now swap their digital currency tips for real-life goods, thanks to an integration with digital gift card provider Gyft. The bitcoin tipping service, which has raised $4.25m in funding to date, brands itself as a 'love button' for various social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. Until now, ChangeTip users could top up their accounts via Coinbase, bitcoin or credit/debit card, however they could only cash out in bitcoin. Following the firm's announcement yesterday evening, they now have the option to redeem gift cards from Starbucks, iTunes, Xbox and....
On Christmas Eve, gift card-buying service Gyft has announced that for a short time, purchases of gift cards made in bitcoin will earn 4 percent points back from Gyft. Compare that to using a credit card (1 percent points back) and PayPal (2 percent points back). "Given the huge demand and success of Bitcoin Black Friday, we decided to repeat the promotion as a once off for the next 24 hours only (until midnight PST, Dec 25th)," says the announcement. It's interesting this would happen so late (given Christmas is tomorrow), but we reckon it's being offered as a gift to the customer themselves.