When you shop via links on GamingDeals.com, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is an outstanding service that brings all the benefits of Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass together. It allows you to play hundreds of top-tier games on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Series S, and even PC.
Currently, a year’s worth of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from Microsoft will set you back over £130. But if you’ve never used the Game Pass Ultimate service before, (or if you don’t mind making a new account) you can actually get access to the service for almost £100 cheaper. This value goes up if you’re looking at accessing two or three years of Game Pass Ultimate instead of just the one.
For new subscribers, Microsoft are offering an opportunity to swap your Xbox Live Gold time for an equivalent Game Pass Ultimate subscription length. If you follow this guide, you can use this same method to save big for years to come.
The crux of this trick is to find cheap Xbox Live Gold time (up to three years) and then, with an applicable account, subscribing to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate £1 trial. Upon doing this, you will be asked whether you want to convert your remaining Xbox Live Gold time into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate time with a 1:1 conversion rate.
While this may seem simple, there are a few problems you may run into, so please read on for a detailed breakdown of these steps.
The best way to save on Xbox Live Gold is to use our handy comparison tool.
To save the largest amount of money, it’s recommended you try and stock up on three 12-month subscription cards.
Remember, this method only works up to three years (36-months) maximum, so there’s no need to get any more than that. As an additional note, you will be given a month for free upon starting the £1 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate upgrade, however this won’t let you exceed the 36-month limit. While you could buy 35 months and get your final month free, it will often end up being more expensive than just buying three 12-month subscription cards, so be wary. Also factor in any Xbox Live Gold time you may already have, as that will also be converted in this process.
First, double-check the account you want to do this trick on. If you’ve used the £1 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate upgrade in the past, you may not be eligible for it again. For an easy way to check if your account is eligible, click here. If you're logged in and it says you can sign up to the upgrade, then you shouldn't run into any issues on the final step. Otherwise, you may have to create another account. Alternatively, you can still use Xbox Live Gold to extend a current Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, but doing so outside of the upgrade means the conversion won’t be 1:1. Current conversion rates can be found on the official Xbox site here.
Next, open the Microsoft Store on your preferred device. Once on the store, find the ‘redeem’ code page (or alternatively, click here). Then, enter the codes for the purchased Xbox Live Gold time. As an important note, if you are planning on redeeming three 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, do not agree to recurring billing when prompted. Doing so could stop you redeeming the rest of your purchased time. If you do accidentally lock yourself out, usually waiting a month or two will allow you to apply more time into your account, but you’ll lose some value due to the conversion rate being different.
Once all the time has been redeemed, you can move onto the final step.
Stay on the Microsoft Store and find the page for the £1 Gamepass Ultimate upgrade. Once you click to sign up, you’ll be told how the Xbox Live Gold to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate conversion works. After that, you will be required to pay £1 to start the upgrade.
After the £1 has been paid, you should have access to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and everything that comes with it. To check that the trick has worked, you can access the ‘Services and Subscriptions’ section of your Microsoft Account Page to see ‘Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’ listed. While you’re there, it may be worth turning off automatic renewal (Xbox Game Pass Ultimate sets this on by default). You can change this by clicking ‘manage’ to the right of the billing information.
Once complete, you will have thousands of games at your fingertips - ready to be enjoyed for many months to come.
Did this trick work for you? How much did you save? Drop a comment below and let us know.
For more deals and gaming conversations, join our discord here.
Want to spread the cost of a new Nintendo Switch console on a finance agreement? We reveal which leading retailers offer the best finance deals.
Regarding new controller colourways and having options, Microsoft is killing it. As a result, we thought you might want to see a round-up of every single controller released since the Xbox Series X and S hit shelves back in November 2020.
A guide to Elgato's NEO range of streaming equipment, ideal for starting your streaming journey.
Xbox All Access is a subscription plan that lets you buy an Xbox Series S and X console alongside Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with no upfront cost on a 0% interest contract. Here's how it works.
We've pushed some shiny new code to make your browsing experience even better.
