Best Buy has long been a reliable hub for dedicated gamers through discount deals and sales at Best Buy, restocks of next-gen consoles, and honoring refunds. Many gamers have found comfort in the benefits of shopping there, one of these said benefits being the "Gamers Club Unlocked" system, which helped members stack up benefits to earn discounts on games in the past.
Sadly, this system at Best Buy is being permanently shelved and is coming to an end than expected for those that managed to renew their membership back in 2018, just before Best Buy began blocking renewals and new sign-ups. From an email by Best Buy to its members in the program, it states that the program is now being terminated on March 1st, 2021. The email also stated that current members will still be able to use their benefits until February 28th, 2021.
The company ended the email by inviting members to reach out to it if they have any further questions or need extra assistance. As of now, Best Buy has made no further public comment as to why the program has been canceled or if there will be another one to take its place. However, some are speculating that since members were able to make their money back from membership fees pretty quickly, Best Buy was losing money on the deal.
Luckily, current members will also be able to receive refunds from Best Buy in the form of checks for the purchase price of their membership, up to $30 for unexpired memberships. To receive the money, subscribers have to simply log in to their account and confirm their primary address is up to date in order to receive the refund check through the mail.
Gamers Club Unlocked members will also still be considered members of the My Best Buy program and will still receive their user benefits through that, even though many argue the My Best Buy deals aren't as good for gamers. Originally, the Gamers Club Unlocked membership program ended in 2018, as was leaked by employees from the retailer through an internal memo. New subscribers were not able to sign up, and current members have not been able to reinstate their membership since then.
Through this program, Best Buy members were able to get an assortment of deals, like 10% bonus trade-in credit on video games, 10% discount off pre-owned games, and a 20% discount on new games. Consumers can still do things like save up rewards points to apply towards gaming consoles at Best Buy. It is a shame to see this system leave for members. Hopefully, Best Buy will be able to replace the program with something else that will be able to benefit both Best Buy and gamers alike.