Report: PS Plus upgrades penalize users who have renewed their subscriptions in advance

May 25, 2022 update: A support email from Hong Kong PlayStation Support, posted on the ResetEra forums (via VGC), seems to confirm the reports of users from Asia.

It states: “Since you purchased PlayStation Plus at a discounted price at the time of membership, there are two PlayStation Plus memberships that cannot be further discounted: 1) A PlayStation Plus membership that comes with a discount was purchased. 2) A PlayStation Plus membership redeemed with a code.”

“So if you want to upgrade to level 2 or 3 of premium membership, you need to make up the difference between the previous discounted price and the regular price.”

In any case, it sounds like anyone who bought PS Plus or PS Now subscriptions earlier this year – even at the cheaper price – would have to pay the difference saved on an upgrade on top of that in order to save on the new service.

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According to unconfirmed reports, PS Plus upgrades are penalizing some Asian players who had renewed their subscriptions, with or without a discount, in the run-up to the PS Plus reboot.

Sony had disabled the ability to renew the subscription earlier this month in advance of the switch.

Apparently pay more

Users say they now have to pay more to upgrade to a higher tier, which in turn would wipe out previous savings.

According to other reports, when upgrading to a higher tier, it is necessary to pay the difference for the entire remaining term, which in some cases spans several years.

More on the subject:

So far, the new PlayStation Plus is only available in Asia, Japan, North and South America and Europe will follow by the end of June.

Officially is it[called Sony explains, “When the new PlayStation Plus membership plans roll out, you’ll be able to upgrade to a plan with more features and benefits. A pro rata fee will apply when you upgrade to offset the price for the remainder of your membership.”

“For example, if you subscribed to a 12-month membership five months ago and you have seven months left, you must pay a prorated upgrade fee to upgrade those remaining seven months to the plan you want. On your next payment date, you will be billed at the standard price billed at the current payment frequency for each tier of membership plan.