Can you use nintendo eshop cards for online membership

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• Nintendo eShop gift cards are used to buy games and downloadable content (DLC) for the Nintendo Switch.
• Retailers offer physical Nintendo eShop gift cards in four values: $10, $20, $35, or $50.
• Digital Nintendo eShop gift cards can be redeemed immediately online without a credit card.

If you know a gamer with a Nintendo Switch, chances are they use the Nintendo eShop to buy games and other downloadable content. To make holiday shopping easy, Nintendo offers eShop gift cards at most major retailers in various amounts. Online stores, like Amazon and Best Buy, even sell digital codes for instant redemption with no wasted paper or time.

When choosing a gift card amount for that special Nintendo fan in your life, consider that newly released games often cost more than $60 after taxes. However, Nintendo offers plenty of games for under $50 and eShop gift cards can be also used to buy game add-ons like expansion packs and unlockable characters. Any value leftover after using an eShop gift card will remain in the user's account.

Beyond special occasions, gift cards can also be used to help manage children's spending in games with microtransactions, like "Fortnite," and prevent them from accessing an adult's credit card.

How to buy a Nintendo eShop gift card

You can buy physical Nintendo eShop gift cards from retailers in four different values:$10, $20, $35, or $50. Meanwhile, digital eShop cards can be purchased for $5, $10, $20, $35, $45, $50, $70, or $99. 

Nintendo eShop gift cards can be redeemed online at Nintendo's website or from a Nintendo Switch console. You need to create a Nintendo account to use the eShop, but you won't need a credit card to make purchases with gift cards. Gamers who own the older Nintendo 3DS handheld can also purchase games from the eShop using gift cards, but those purchases must be made directly from the console.

Nintendo also sells Switch Online gift cards

Some retailers also offer gift cards specifically for Nintendo Switch Online, a subscription service required to play most Switch games online. A membership also grants you access to dozens of classic Nintendo games.

This service is only for Nintendo Switch console owners and costs $20 a year for a single Switch console, or $35 a year for up to eight Switch consoles. A three-month Nintendo Switch Online gift card is also available for $8, but we don't recommend it given the low price of the annual plan.

If you buy a Nintendo Switch Online gift card for someone who already has the service their subscription will be extended, with a maximum of three years.

Nintendo recently released an additional $50 expansion to Nintendo Switch Online that includes access to games from the Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis consoles, and expansion pack content for the Switch game "Animal Crossing: New Horizons." While we're big fans of the standard Nintendo Switch Online package, we can't recommend buying the $50 expansion as a gift just yet.

Should you buy a Nintendo eShop gift card or a Switch Online gift card?

Ultimately, you can use Nintendo eShop gift cards to pay for Nintendo Switch Online, so it's probably best to just buy eShop gift cards. This option gives your recipient a lot more flexibility with what they can buy.

If you're looking for more video game gift ideas, Nintendo also has an online store that sells t-shirts and collectibles alongside Switch games and consoles.

Kevin Webb

Video Game Reporter

Kevin Webb is a gaming reporter based from the New York City Insider Inc. office. He graduated from Morehouse College in 2013 and worked as an Assistant Editor with Darien Times and as a member of the Shoryuken content team prior to joining Business Insider in 2018. Kevin has also been a competitive Street Fighter player since 2007 and will still take on all challengers. Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Learn more about how we test tech and electronics.

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