Nintendo Switch 2 may be less than a month away, but that doesn’t mean you need to stop playing on the original. If you’re using Nintendo Switch Online, you might not realize that you can earn Platinum Points just by doing everyday things on your console. These points can be used to unlock rewards like custom icons and even real items from the My Nintendo Store. And the best part? You don’t need to do anything too special, as you just need to keep playing games the way you already do.
How to earn and spend Platinum Points
To get started, all you need to do is go to the Nintendo Switch Online icon on your Switch home screen. Once you’re inside the app, head to the Missions & Rewards section. Here, you’ll find a list of missions you can complete. Most of these are really simple. For example, you might get a mission for playing an NES or SNES game, trying out an online feature, or visiting the Nintendo eShop.
Completing missions earns you Platinum Points, which are automatically added to your Nintendo account. For the month of May, users have to play Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble! and Yoshi’s Story to earn 50 points for each game.
These points can then be spent in two ways. One, you can use them on the My Nintendo website to get digital or physical items like wallpapers, keychains, or even pins. Two, you can use them directly on your Switch to buy icon elements. These include custom backgrounds, frames, and character images that you can mix and match to create your own profile icon.
Each month has a new theme, and every week, the icon options get refreshed. So even if you miss something one week, you can still earn points the next week and grab a different set. Just make sure to check back often so you don’t miss anything. Nintendo has also added something called Play and Reward. This means you’ll need to actually play specific classic games from the Switch Online collection to unlock certain retro-style icons.
It’s not just about opening the game once, either, as you have to play it at least three times in 30 days to unlock these icon rewards. So if you’re serious about getting all the cool icon options, make sure you keep playing the following games throughout the month:
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
