Product Description

Experience the best in gaming and entertainment with Xbox LIVE Gold. Raise the curtain on your own instant movie night with thousands of HD movies and TV episodes streamed instantly from Netflix. (Netflix membership sold separately). Invite friends all over the world to connect, cheer and play online multiplayer games. And as a Gold member, you’ll enjoy exclusive Deals of the Week that save you money and special sneak-peak game demos that give you early access to the newest and latest.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13 in Video Games
• Color: orange
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: 805529511170
• Released on: 2006-06-15
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Number of discs: 1
• Platform: Xbox
• Format: CD
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00" h x 5.10" w x 7.50" l, .10 pounds

Features

• Online multiplayer Gaming
• HD Movies and TV shows
• Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Last.fm - Right from your TV

From the Manufacturer
Upgrade to Xbox LIVE Gold
Experience the best in gaming and entertainment with Xbox LIVE Gold. Raise the curtain on your own instant movie night with thousands of HD movies and TV episodes streamed instantly from Netflix. (Netflix membership sold separately). Invite friends all over the world to connect, cheer and play online multiplayer games. And as a Gold member, you’ll enjoy exclusive Deals of the Week that save you money and special sneak-peak game demos that give you early access to the newest and latest.

Cha-ching! Take advantage of the very best value for all the goodness of gold! Your Xbox LIVE Gold membership lets you connect and play with friends around the world and watch thousands of HD movies instantly from Netflix.*

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Xbox LIVE 12 Month Gold Subscription Card includes:

Online multiplayer gaming

Access to thousands of HD movies from Netflix (sold separately)*

Connect with friends using Facebook

Post Tweets on Twitter

Stream personalized radio from Last.fm

Gold-exclusive discounts

Early access to content

More fun with Gold

More Games: Online multiplayer Gaming

More Entertainment: HD Movies and TV shows

More Social: Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Last.fm - Right from your TV

Xbox LIVE Gold Subscription Card Redemption

Become a new Xbox LIVE Gold Member:
a. Connect your Xbox 360 to a broadband internet connection.
b. In the dashboard, select My Xbox, Sign-on, Create Profile and then follow the instructions to create your account.
c. Now select your new profile in My Xbox, select Join Xbox LIVE.
d. Follow the easy on-screen instructions, redeem your code and enjoy!

Or extend your existing Xbox LIVE Gold Membership:
a. Sign in to Xbox LIVE from My Xbox in the dashboard.
b. Choose Manage Account, select Memberships, and select your membership plan.
c. Choose Redeem Code and enjoy!

* Xbox LIVE Gold membership and Netflix unlimited membership (sold separately) required for Netflix instant streaming. See Netflix Terms of Use for details about Netflix service.

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Customer Reviews

Prepaid Is Better
To start off, I'd like to say that XBox Live is amazing and worth every penny. Online gaming is incredibly fun and a quite good way to pass time.

That aside, there are downsides to XBox Live that can be avoided through prepaid cards. Number one, you always run the risk that unwarranted transactions will be made if your credit card information is stored on your XBox 360 system. It may not happen all that often, but it's best to avoid it all together.

The biggest reason to buy prepaid Xbox Live card is the renewal process that happens when you don't use one. If you order XBox Live through your system, it'll renew everytime your subscription runs out. This wouldn't be a problem except that it's not that easy to cancel. Instead of cancelling through your system, you have to go through the hassle of actually calling XBox Live support. Even then, depending on the representative you get, you may be hassled to keep your subscription because they really don't want you to cancel it. I'm guessing that's part of their job to convince you to keep it, but it still is frustrating to the person that is trying to cancel it.

You'll have to go through this process everytime you want to cancel if you don't use a prepaid card. Is that hassle really worth it? I don't think so. Therefore, avoid all of the problems by simply buying a prepaid card. You won't be sorry.

UPDATE (7/7/2010): This review was written in 2006 and back then you had to call customer service to stop the auto-renewal. As users in the comment of this review have pointed out, since then you can simply go to the main website and disable it, but you have to do this every single time you buy a new subscription.

The prepaid card is still the ultimate way to go. You don't have to worry about forgetting to stop the renewal, plus the prices are just simply better during much of the year. Sometimes Microsoft will have special trials (such as three months for half off), but for the rest of the time, the ease of Amazon's new digital service to send you the code or the savings of having the actual card shipped to you is just too good to pass up. If you're buying it for a gift, that special gamer in your life will definitely love you for getting it for them!

Two reasons to get this card
There are only two reasons to get this Xbox Live subscription card. First, as a gift for someone who already has Xbox Live and wants to renew his subscription. Second, the normal yearly fee is $50, so if you can get this card cheaper than that, you'll save money.

This card is not a good way to get Xbox Live if you don't already have it. For that purpose, buy the starter kit (ASIN B000209V8K), which includes a free game, a headset, and a year subscription. Without the headset, Xbox Live is pretty boring.

xbox rocks
This site is the cheapest I have found for this card.
Do not pay for your live service monthly on your credit card.
It's alot cheaper to buy one of these cards every year.