Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Tip: How to get 3 Years of Access to Hundreds of Games for Dirt Cheap

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Currently gamers can to access hundreds of titles across PC and Xbox via Microsoft’s service–but don’t activate that one-month trial just yet. If you play your cards well, you can use the same dollar to lock down a steep discount on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate up to 3 years .

When you activate Microsoft’s promotion, it not only begins the trial, but also converts existing Xbox Live Gold and standard Xbox Game Pass subscriptions on your account to Game Pass Ultimate (normally $15 per month) at a 1:1 rate. The upgrade is available for any prepaid time, up to a maximum of three years.

Looking to load up on Xbox Live Gold at a discount? Newegg has great sales. For a while it was dropping the price of a about every two to three weeks–though the last time was in early June. (You can set a deal alert for “xbox live” at for an email or push notification of future deals.) But even the regular price of $60 USD per 12-month code, this hack is smoking.

If you have three months of Xbox Live Gold, or Xbox Game Pass, then you will have three months for your Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Plus the one-month trial. Equally, 36 months of prepaid time transforms into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for a full three years.

Pretty sweet, right? Multiplatform gamers stand to gain a lot from this deal. Game Pass Ultimate bundles Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass for PC. You’ll get unlimited access to a full range of titles across platforms, including upcoming Halo, Gears of War, and other Microsoft first-party game releases on PC.

But even gamers who play exclusively on PC benefit: Though Xbox Game Pass for PC only initially cost $5 per month, that price lasted only through the beta period, which ended September 16, 2020.

Loading up an account with three years of Xbox Live Gold ($180) and then converting it to Game Pass Ultimate for an additional $1 essentially locks in that $5-per-month rate for three years, which outlives the beta period pricing by a long shot. If you were part of the Xbox Game Pass beta, you should be able perform this conversion trick. Afterward, you can still convert Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass memberships to Game Pass Ultimate, but at a .

This guide will show you how to get this deal and give you tips on how to save even more.

!- News alert -!

Talk is rumbling that Microsoft may end Xbox Live Gold. This would be a huge blow to this deal hack. A report from Brad Sams (of Thurrott.com) claims that the company is seeking to make Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (and its $15-per-month rate) the base-level plan. You can hear the details from Sams himself in , in which he also suggests that the death of Gold could happen when Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard closes in 2023, if approved by U.S. regulators.

On top of that, current energy prices are driving up costs for Microsoft’s cloud computing services, leading the company to hint could come to pass. Our best guess is that no changes would be likely during the brisk holiday sales period, but after the start of 2023 it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen.

How to convert Xbox Live Gold (or Xbox Game Pass) to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

The simplest description of what you’ll be doing is this:

1. Buy Xbox Live Gold
2. Activate the $1 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate trial
3. Agree to a conversion of your Gold and/or standard Game Pass subscription(s) to Game Pass Ultimate

However, you can run into a few pitfalls during this process–especially if you’re going for the maximum of three years. These are the mistakes you should avoid.

Step 1

Decide the length of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. You can prepay for as much as three years of Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Live Gold + standard Xbox Game Pass to get the best deal.

Add months to an Xbox Live Gold subscription using digital subscription codes purchased from Microsoft or another retailer (Amazon, , Target, etc.). Increase the time on Xbox Live Gold, not standard Xbox Game Pass–Xbox Live Gold is the cheaper option.

Note: Microsoft discontinued selling 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions on its website during the summer of 2020, but third-party retailers (like Amazon, , Target, etc) still sell them for now.

Add time in the largest increments possible–a 12-month code for Gold works out much cheaper per month than the one-month, three-month, and six-month varieties. When purchasing codes, always remember that Microsoft’s servers won’t let you redeem a code for a duration that exceeds the 36-month cap. (Example: You’re at 34 months, but attempt to redeem a three-month code. It will not be activated by the servers. This promotion doesn’t accept short multi-day trial codes for Xbox Live Gold, such as those for three days and two weeks.

WARNING: If you buy three 1-year subscriptions, do not turn on recurring billing while redeeming the codes. You will not be able to redeem the final code if you receive any additional freebie months.

Tips:

• Don’t forget that this Game Pass Ultimate $1 promotion includes one month of service that stacks on top of whatever amount of Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass subscription time you convert. You won’t get the full month if it puts you over the 36 month limit, though.

• When , agreeing to recurring billing will give you an additional one month for free. If you before redeeming your next code, you can usually continue to take advantage of this bonus. (Don’t do this if you are redeeming three 1-year codes–the system will refuse to let you redeem the final code because it’ll put you over the limit. )To verify you’ve turned off recurring billing, head to the section of your account info. Under “Xbox Game Pass Ultimate,” you’ll see an expiration date for your subscription, and the option to the right will say “Turn on recurring billing.”
• with point balances of 30,000 or more should also check to see if the 12-month option for Xbox Live Gold exists for them. Nothing’s sweeter than a free way to max out a deal.
• Buying discounted codes will further your savings is the best for members who need a , while offers a modest discount available to everyone and sells -, -, -, and -month codes.
• Before buying any digital subscription codes, incorporate any of the above freebies or bonuses you can obtain into your calculations.
  

  Example: You need 17 months to max out. (You already have 16 months of Xbox Live Gold and 3 months of Xbox Game Pass active on your account.) As a Costco member who also has a surplus of Microsoft Reward points, you buy one 12-month code and then use the points to obtain a single 3-month code. When you redeem each code, you will receive two bonus months. The $1 Game Pass Ultimate trial will then tack on the final month needed to hit a total of 27.

Step 2

Activate your Xbox Live Gold codes. Again, as your final reminder, if you have three 1-year subscription codes for Xbox Live, do not agree to recurring billing in order to redeem your final code.

If you’re using multiple codes, double-check your math to make sure you understand how many times you must agree to recurring billing.

OOPS: Did you have three 1-year XBL Gold codes and accidentally make it impossible to redeem that final code? You can wait for a month, then redeem code 3 and convert. You can also wait until you upgrade to Game Pass Ultimate to activate it. After activating it, you’ll be able redeem it on a prorated basis to extend your Ultimate membership.

Step 3

Activate the $1 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate trial. You can also activate the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate trial via the Store on your Xbox console. )

There will be two screens that you need to navigate. The first screen, shown right, explains how to convert if you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription or Xbox Game Pass subscription. (Which is what you should if you followed Step 2’s instructions. )

The second will ask for billing information to process the $1 fee for the one-month Game Pass Ultimate trial.

You should now see “Xbox Game Pass Ultimate” listed under Services and Subscriptions on your Microsoft account page. Your Game Pass Ultimate subscription will default to recurring billing. We recommend that you disable this feature to avoid being taken by surprise when your subscription ends (especially if it’s in three years). Click on “Manage” to the right of your billing information.

Aside from that, you are good to go. Enjoy your gaming experience!

Editor’s note: This article originally published in August 2019 but has been since updated to keep it current. Updates include information on discounted Gold codes and news about possible price and product changes for Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass Ultimate. Also, a tutorial video was added.