Rare Nintendo Switch Online Deal Makes Now A Good Time To Renew

Unlike PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold, it's rare to see straight-up discounts on Nintendo Switch Online. During Amazon Prime Day, we saw a discounted bundle with Switch Online and a microSD card, and that was the best deal we'd seen on it in a long time. However, today's Deal of the Day at Best Buy offers an even better opportunity to renew or extend your current membership while getting a little cash back.

Through the rest of today, you'll receive a $5 Best Buy e-gift card when you purchase a 12-month individual or family Switch Online membership. That's an especially good deal on the $20/year individual membership, as you're essentially getting 25% back on the price of your purchase. Though it's not as much off the $35/year family membership, that remains the best deal on Switch Online in the long run if you can find people to split the cost with. Family memberships can cover up to eight Nintendo accounts, so with the $5 gift card, you could pay as little as $3.75 for the full year.

These are digital codes emailed after purchase, so you'll be able to redeem them in the eShop today and immediately start or extend your Switch Online membership. As a reminder, this subscription can stack up to three years, so if you want to add more time to your current membership, you can do so. Please note there's a limit of one Switch Online subscription purchase per customer at Best Buy right now--though one could potentially purchase multiple subscriptions separately and receive the digital $5 gift card for each.

Nintendo Switch Online isn't as robust a service as PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold--and it's cheaper as a result. However, you'll still need it if you want to enjoy online multiplayer in games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It also unlocks access to a library of classic NES and SNES games and allows for cloud saves for most Switch games.