Update 1 (11/4/19 @ 1:05 PM ET): The Google Play Points rewards program is coming to the U.S. too.

It was less than two weeks ago when we published an APK teardown we did on version 11.6.15 of the Google Play Store. These APK teardowns can be quite nice as Google engineers are constantly adding in new features that the company is either experimenting with or waiting to launch in the future. In that teardown, we discovered that Google has been working on a rewards system called Google Play Points that would, naturally, reward you for each item you purchased in the Play Store. Not only was this feature really close to going public, but it is currently live for those who are living in Japan.

Rewards systems are everywhere. Most of us in the United States see these as features of our credit cards, but there are individual retailers who have their own rewards system as well. We even see these rewards systems in place for companies like Samsung, where customers get rewards if they use Samsung Pay to purchase items. The entire goal of a rewards program is to give customers an incentive to continuing making purchases so they can earn a discount or prize at some point in time.

In our APK teardown, we learned that Google is planning on implementing 5 different levels of benefits for this program. The more you buy from the Play Store, the higher your rank gets and the higher your rank gets the more Google Play Points you are rewarded with. Here's a breakdown of the individual Level Benefits and how the benefits go up as your rank increases.

  • Bronze level (up to 249 points):
    • 1 point earned for every ¥100 spent
  • Silver level (250–999 points):
    • 1.25 points earned for every ¥100 spent
    • 1 ¥300 credit for in-app items
    • 1 ¥100 movie rental
  • Gold level (1,000–3,999 points):
    • 1.5 points earned for every ¥100 spent
    • +1 ¥300 credit for in-app items
    • 2 ¥500 ebook credits
    • +2 ¥100 movie rentals
  • Platinum level (4,000–14,999 points):
    • 1.75 points earned for every ¥100 spent.
    • +1 ¥300 credit for in-app items
    • +4 ¥500 ebook credits
    • +4 ¥100 movie rentals
  • Diamond level (more than 15,000 points):
    • 2 points earned for every ¥100 spent
    • +2 ¥300 credits for in-app items
    • +6 ¥500 ebook credits
    • +5 ¥100 movie rentals

There are almost always limits to what you can spend rewards points on and how many you can earn in general, and the Google Play Points rewards program is no different. As the service is live in Japan right now, this is what the points can be used for in the country:

Translated to the United States, the limits will be as follows:

Google has a big list of countries with each Google Play Points Rewards limits published in the Play Store Help document here for those who are interested.

Via: Android Police | Source: Google Play Help

Update: Coming to the U.S.

google play points rewards

Over a year after the program went live in Japan, Google Play Points is coming to the U.S. too. The program, which is free to join, allows you to earn points on everything you buy on Google Play. This includes apps, games, movies, books, subscriptions, and in-app purchases. You can also earn points by downloading featured free apps and games.

Google Play Points has four levels, from Bronze to Platinum. Your level depends on how many points you’ve collected, and higher levels have perks like weekly prizes.

Points can be redeemed in a number of ways. They can be used for special in-app items or Google Play Credit. You can learn more about joining the program here.

Source: Google