Nintendo’s latest show of greed gives you 12 months to use this feature before it’s gone for good

Nintendo is at it again—removing another feature that actually benefitted players, with no clear replacement in sight (RIP Club Nintendo). The latest victim? A system that made digital purchases just that little bit easier on the wallet.

Nintendo has announced that from March 24, 2025, players will no longer be able to earn My Nintendo Gold Points, a feature that has quietly helped thousands of us shave a few pounds or dollars off our eShop purchases. While Platinum Points remain untouched, Gold Points—the ones that actually translate into real discounts—are being phased out.

For anyone who hasn’t taken advantage of them before, Gold Points are Nintendo’s version of a loyalty scheme. Players earn five percent back on digital purchases and one percent back on physical games, which they can use towards future eShop purchases. It may not sound like much, but over time, it added up. Whether you were saving for a first-party title or grabbing an indie game on sale, those extra few coins could make a difference. And now? Nintendo is taking them away.

While you won’t be able to earn Gold Points after March 24, Nintendo has confirmed that any existing Gold Points will still be redeemable for 12 months after they were earned. That means if you rack up some points right before the cut-off date, you could have until March 2026 to spend them. But this doesn’t change the fact that Nintendo is effectively removing one of its most consumer-friendly features.

There are two exceptions to this rule:

• Pre-orders for digital games made before March 24, 2025, will still earn Gold Points, even if payment is processed later.
• Physical copies of eligible Switch games can still be registered for Gold Points within 12 months of their original release date (or 24 months if you’re in Europe) as long as the game comes out before March 24.

So, if you plan on squeezing every last Gold Point out of Nintendo before they disappear, now’s the time to act.

Let’s be honest here—this decision won’t hurt Nintendo, and it won’t hurt the big publishers either. People will still buy The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and whatever Mario game comes next, no matter what. But indie games? That’s a different story.

Gold Points made indie games on the Switch far more accessible. A sale price combined with a few leftover Gold Points could be the difference between picking up that weird, intriguing little game or skipping it entirely. One player commented on a Reddit thread: “This is such a bad change. I have tons of small indie games on my Switch I’d never have tried if I didn’t have free Gold Points lying around.”

Gold Points didn’t just benefit players—they helped smaller developers reach audiences who might not have taken a chance on their games otherwise. Without them, the eShop becomes just a little less accessible, and indie titles might see even fewer impulse purchases.

Nintendo hasn’t given any real explanation for why it’s ending Gold Points on a global scale, simply stating: “We thank you for supporting the My Nintendo Rewards program, and hope you will continue to enjoy the other features of the program.”

That’s corporate speak for “we don’t have to tell you anything,” but I can take an educated guess. With the Switch 2 on the horizon, Nintendo likely wants to reset the board—possibly reintroducing a new loyalty program further down the line, but not before they’ve squeezed every last bit of revenue from OG Switch users possible.

It’s not just Gold Points being limited, either. Nintendo has also confirmed that Switch Game Vouchers cannot be redeemed for Switch 2-exclusive games, meaning there’s even less incentive to stock up on deals before the new console arrives.

For now, though, this is just another example of Nintendo giving players less while asking for more. If you’ve got Gold Points sitting in your account, now’s the time to use them—because once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.