Google Play Points rewards program is real and in Japan right now

Earlier this month, we heard a rumor that Google would launch a rewards program for Google Play Store purchases. Now we know via Google support pages that the program is live in Japan and is called Google Play Points.

According to official Google documentation, Google Play Points allows you to “earn points for purchases in the Google Play Store, and when you try new apps and games.” You can then use those points for “select in-app items” and redeem them for Google Play Store credits.

Since the program is currently only live in Japan, we only know Japanese points conversion rates, which is one point for every 100 Japanese yen (~$0.90) you spend. From that though, we can extrapolate that it will likely be one point for every $1 you spend on the Google Play Store when the program comes to the United States.

Once you start earning points, you can jump up to various levels. At each level (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum) you start to earn more points for every purchase. Your points are tracked right in the Google Play Store Android app, and you can use those points for credits within the store or supported apps.

It is not clear, however, how points will transfer to credits. It could be that 10 points will equal $1 on the Play Store, or 100 points will equal $1. It’s also possible that the points could change in value depending on what you are trying to do with them. Until the program comes to the U.S., we won’t know for sure.

According to the Google documentation on Google Play Points, there doesn’t appear to be retroactive points accrual, meaning all the purchases you’ve made via the Play Store over the past decade will not earn you any points. Damn.

We’ll let you know once Google Play Points starts to roll out to other countries besides Japan. In the meantime, let us know in the comments what you think about this program!

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