As of June 13, PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now, previously two separate subscription services are turning into one. This has naturally led to a ton of confusion over how things will mix, merge, and convert. If you buy a PS+ card now, how will the system handle that in a few months? There are a ton of questions and Sony has not made this simple by making the conversion less efficient depending on whether you’re already subscribed and which tier of service you’re trying to get. In this guide, we’ll explain it all as best we can so you come away prepared for the swap to PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra, or Premium.
What Are All of These Services?
Before we get started, lets make sure you actually understand all of the subscriptions we’re talking about here.
- PlayStation Now (Cancelled) – A service which lets you stream or download a library of PlayStation games straight to your console.
- PlayStation Plus Essential – The current PS+ offering with one free PS5 and two free PS4 games to keep every month. Costs $60 a year.
- PlayStation Plus Extra – The new combined service including access to the PlayStation game catalog. Costs $100 a year.
- PlayStation Plus Premium – The highest tier which adds time-limited game trials, classic PlayStation Games, and cloud streaming of the game catalog. Costs $120 a year.
What If I’m Subscribed to Both?
I’ve got some bad news for you then. When the service launches, you next payment date will be based on the longer of your two subscriptions. They will not be combined into one. If you’re signed up for one year of PlayStation Plus and one year of PlayStation Now, a full year of that is vanishing into thin air.
Why Can’t I Redeem Time Cards?
Just like with Xbox Game Pass, in preparation for the new service, many were buying game cards and loading them onto the account. Doing so lets you pay in advance for five or so years worth of subscription, keeping you from having to pay the higher rate. Unlike Microsoft, however, Sony was not too fond of losing out on potential revenue and has turned off time card redemptions for those with active subscriptions until the new service launches. You can still buy a 12-month card in advance and sign up a new account with it, but you cannot use that card to add a year to an existing account.
What is the Conversion Rate for Time Cars?
If you are redeeming the code to create a new PlayStation account, the card will convert one to one to the PlayStation Plus Essential. A current 12-month PlayStation Plus card becomes 12-months of PlayStation Plus Essential.
The math isn’t so kind for existing subscribers, however.
PlayStation Plus Conversions
As you can see below, how much time you get out of the one-month card actually depends on which tier you’re trying to subscribe to. Don’t go into the store and buy a one-month card and expect to get one month of PlayStation Plus Premium at a discount. You’ll need to buy two of those cards to get a little over one month of membership.
- 1-Month Voucher
- Non-Subscriber: 31 days of PlayStation Plus Essential.
- Essential Subscriber: 31 days of PlayStation Plus Essential.
- Extra Subscriber: 20 days of PlayStation Plus Extra.
- Premium Subscriber: 17 days of PlayStation Plus Premium.
- 3-Month Voucher
- Non-Subscriber: 92 days.
- Essential Subscriber: 92 days.
- Extra Subscriber: 58 days.
- Premium Subscriber: 46 days.
- 12-Month Voucher
- Non-Subscriber: 365 days.
- Essential Subscriber: 365 days.
- Extra Subscriber: 219 days.
- Premium Subscriber: 183 days.
PlayStation Now Conversions
For those with PlayStation Now cards, things are a bit different as they convert to the new PlayStation Plus Premium tier. If you do not already have a subscription, and you’ve purchased a one year card for PlayStation Now, that card will only convert to half a year of PlayStation Premium. Since Sony has deemed those as equivalent, you’ve essentially lost out on six months of your subscription time due to the merger and higher costs.
- 1-Month Voucher
- Non-Subscriber: 21 days of PlayStation Plus Premium.
- Essential Subscriber: 40 days of PlayStation Plus Essential.
- Extra Subscriber: 25 days of PlayStation Plus Extra.
- Premium Subscriber: 21 days of PlayStation Plus Premium.
- 3-Month Voucher
- Non-Subscriber: 53 days.
- Essential Subscriber: 105 days.
- Extra Subscriber: 66 days.
- Premium Subscriber: 55 days.
- 12-Month Voucher
- Non-Subscriber: 183 days.
- Essential Subscriber: 365 days.
- Extra Subscriber: 219 days.
- Premium Subscriber: 183 days.
Want to try and make sense of it yourself? Here is Sony’s official page for FAQ’s regarding voucher codes.
