Photo : Alex Cranz ( Gizmodo )

Google tells us it will fix a problem that prevented Pixel 3a owners from using a promotional store credit to pre-order Stadia Founder’s Edition.


For the last few months, Google has been offering a nice little deal off and on. Buy a Pixel 3a, and you’ll get $100 to be spent in the online Google Store. The catch is that you have to spend the $100 within a few months. If you don’t spend it by its expiration date, you lose it.

One customer who purchased a Pixel 3a in June reached out to Gizmodo frustrated. His store credit was set to expire in the next few months, well ahead of the expected launch of Stadia, Google’s new game streaming service. (The exact launch date is not yet known.) When he attempted to pre-order the $130 Founder’s Edition of Stadia via the Google Store, it showed his $100 credit applied. The store claimed his credit card would be charged only the difference.


After finishing the pre-order, however, his credit card was listed as paying the full amount on the receipt. The problem, he told Gizmodo via email, was that Google said it would only charge him once the product shipped, and Stadia was expected to ship after his store credit expired—meaning he’d have to pay full price for Stadia.

Others shared similar stories on Stadia’s subreddit. Multiple users found their purchase going through, only to discover that their card was listed as paying the full amount. At least one person claimed Google canceled their pre-order, and another noted they couldn’t even attempt to use their store credit on a pre-order.

After reaching out to Google about the problem, we have some good news. If your store credit expired before July 1st, and you tried to use your credit to pre-order Stadia, you can contact to Google’s customer service to get things fixed. If your store credit was not set to expire by July 1, it should now be extended to January 1, 2020, and it will cover your Stadia purchase when the service launches. In any event, go ahead and contact Google support. We’ve been told they’re ready to help.