Cheap PS Plus buyers charged extra fee to upgrade subscriptions

UPDATE:Sony has confirmed the extra fees were an error, and has fixed the problem.

Sony's new PlayStation Plus rollout just got a lot more controversial...and confusing.

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Reports indicate that Sony may charge specific PlayStation Plus subscribers an extra fee to upgrade their subscriptions to the new Extra and Premium tiers. Existing PS Plus subscribers may have to pay two compounded fees: One pro-rated fee, and the extra fee to compensate for any discounts.

Covered in this article:

• How new PS Plus works
• PS Plus conversion rates
• Pro-rated upgrade costs
• Interactions with stacked subscriptions
• Extra fees

First, some context. If you're an existing PlayStation Plus subscriber, you can upgrade your current subscription to Extra and Premium for a pro-rated fee. The upgrade isn't free for PS Plus subscribers. Only PS Now or PS Now + PS Plus subscribers get a free conversion. Normal PS Plus subscribers have to pay the difference in price between PS Plus and Extra or Premium. For example, if you have 12 months of PS Plus ($59.99 for 12 months) and want to upgrade to PS Plus Premium ($119 for 12 months), you'll have to pay at least $60 to upgrade.

Conversion Rates

Existing PS Plus or PS Now subscribers who redeem new codes after the service launches can convert their new subscription time at the following conversion rates. Any existing subscription time can be upgraded for a fee.

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Pro-Rated Fees

"When the new PlayStation Plus membership plans launch, you will be able to upgrade to a plan with more features and benefits. When you upgrade you will be charged a pro-rated fee to level up the remaining time on your existing membership to the desired level.

"For example, if you purchased a 12-month membership five months ago and have seven months left, you will need to pay a pro-rated upgrade fee to upgrade your remaining seven months to the desired plan level."

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There's an catch with the pro-rated fees, though. Sony is charging more month-to-month and quarterly than it is for annual subscriptions.

For example, Premium costs $17.99 a month, $49.99 quarterly, and $119 yearly.

If Sony chooses to charge month-to-month fees for upgrading base PS Plus to PS Plus Premium, which is $216, then you will pay $96 to upgrade your 12-month PS Plus membership to 12 months of Premium.

Pro-rated fees will shrink if Sony charges annually, though.

Stacked subscriptions

It gets more expensive for anyone with a stacked subscription. Subscribers reportedly have to pay a pro-rated fee across their entire subscription duration. So if you have 3 years of PS Plus stacked and want to convert to Premium, you'll have to pay a pro-rated fee for the entire 3 years. Subscribers apparently cannot carve up their subscription time among the different tiers.

Extra fees

Gamers who purchased cheaper discounted PlayStation Plus vouchers may also incur extra fees.

Reports indicate that PS Plus subscribers in Asia are being charged the pro-rated fee plus an extra fee that compensates for any discounted PS Plus subscriptions.

For example: If you bought a 12-month PS Plus subscription for $49.99, and wanted to upgrade to PS Plus Premium, then you'd have to pay the pro-rated fee + the difference between the discount price and the normal PS Plus 12-month price.

So in this case the extra fee would be $59.99 - $49.99 = $10. These fees would apparently be added to the pro-rated upgrade fee to ensure that Sony isn't missing out on any potential revenues.