Microsoft Points - Cost

Cost

Microsoft Points are sold in each sovereignty in the local currency. However, because the official price per point is defined differently for each country (in terms of their local currency), some regions pay more for the same quantity of points than others due to currency fluctuations.

Microsoft Points are purchased online with a credit card or with Microsoft Points Cards ("tokens") from retail locations. Points can be bought in a number of different allotments ranging from 100 up to 6000 Microsoft Points. In the United States, 80 points are equal to US$1. As a result, an 800 point arcade game would retail for US$10 in real-world currency.

The price of Microsoft Points varies considerably between regions. When launched, Microsoft Points were priced approximately the same in each country. However, because Microsoft does not generally change the pricing to coincide with the current exchange rates, the cost per point in other countries relative to the United States is constantly fluctuating.

Depending on the registered country or address of an account, the online purchase of Microsoft Points may be taxed. The following list includes regions which must pay value added tax or luxury tax in accordance with government regulations:

• European Union
• Canada (Federal Goods & Service Tax only. Provincial Sales Tax assessed only on retail store purchases)

In the United States, states continue to push for sales tax or use tax collection on online purchases. As a result, Microsoft is now automatically assessing these taxes on online Microsoft Point purchases in applicable locations, e.g. New York.

Cards are usually sold at their full retail price (plus applicable sales tax), but can be sold at a discount in some cases, providing a better-than-normal exchange rate. As of 9 June 2012, the value of a Microsoft Point is approximately the same nominal value as a Japanese Yen.

• In the United States, many retailers sell pre-paid cards with a value of 1600 or 4000 Microsoft Points. As of 9 June 2012 these are available for approximately US$20 and $50 respectively. Therefore one dollar buys approximately 80 MSP.
• In Canada, most video game retailers sell pre-paid cards with a value of 1400 or 2800 Microsoft Points. As of 9 June 2012 these are available for approximately CDN$20 and $40 respectively, making the ratio 70 points to a dollar.
• In the United Kingdom and Ireland, pre-paid cards are sold with standard values of 400, 800, 1200, 2100 or 4200 Microsoft Points. Other values are also sold on game-branded cards.
• In Mexico, game stores sell pre-paid cards with a value of 1500 or 4000 Microsoft Points.
• In Australia and New Zealand, game and department stores sell pre-paid cards with values of 1500 and 3000 Microsoft Points.
• In Brazil, Chile and Colombia, game stores sell 1500 or 4500 Microsoft Points.
• In Japan, retail stores and some convenience stores sell pre-paid cards with a value of 700 and 3500 Microsoft Points .
• 4000 points codes used to only work on US accounts but now they work on Australian, USA, Canadian, UK and EU accounts.