Google Play Points, a rewards program that will allow users to earn points and other rewards which can be then redeemed on games, apps, books and movies on the Play Store as well as in-app purchases in several apps, has been announced for Android.

The Google Play Points rewards program is free to join. It has been piloted in Japan and South Korea over the past year and will be rolled out to Android users in USA over the next week. During the first week, users will earn three times the Play Points on every purchase.

Google Play Points will reward users with points every time they buy movies, books, subscriptions, games, apps, including in-app items. In addition to purchases, users who download featured free apps and games also stand a chance to earn reward points.

Apart from using their reward points for purchases on Play Store, users can also support nonprofits such as World Food Program USA, Doctors Without Borders USA and Save the Children. Users can also use the points to purchase Google Play credit.“We’re partnering with developers of some of the top apps and games on Google Play so that you can redeem points for special in-app items like characters, gems and more,” Google announced.

Once the Google Play Store is updated on your device, you’ll be able to access Google Play Points via the Menu > Play Points.

“It’s free to join, and you can earn Play Points to use for special items and discounts in top games like Candy Crush Saga and Pokémon GO, or for Google Play Credit to use on movies, books, games, and apps.”

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Google Play Points reward levels

The reward system works on four levels — Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The more points users earn, the higher they go up in the levels. Following are the perks for each level.

• Bronze: Users will earn one point for every $1 spent. They can also receive four times the points in games during weekly events and twice the points on movie rentals and books during monthly events.
• Silver: Users will earn 1.1 points for every $1 spent. They can also earn four times the points in games during weekly events, thrice the points on movie rentals and books during monthly events and a weekly silver prize of up to 50 points.
• Gold: Users will earn 1.2 points for every $1 spent. They can also earn four times the points in games during weekly events, four times the points on movie rentals and books during monthly events and a weekly gold prize of up to 200 points.
• Platinum: Users will earn 1.4 points for every $1 spent. They can also earn four times the points in games during weekly events, five times the points on movie rentals and books during monthly events and a weekly platinum prize of up to 500 points. They’ll also receive premium support.

Once a user achieves a level, they’ll stay on that level till the end of the next calendar year.

According to Google, the number of points that the user earns is rounded up or down to the nearest whole number. These points expire after one year of inactivity concerning earning or using the points.

If a purchase is returned, the points earned for it will be deducted from the Google Play Points balance of the user. These points can’t be otherwise converted to cash.

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