Your yearly complimentary Premium membership
You have BBO Premium at no charge for a year, renewable. Here is what that means, how long it lasts, and what happens when it comes up for renewal.
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Your complimentary Premium
BBO is introducing membership plans.
BBO becomes a members' club, with a plan for every kind of player. Free play continues under the Basic plan, with some limits. Premium keeps play unlimited and adds more at the table. Membership is what keeps BBO running and funds the next 25 years.
Those limits do not apply to you while your complimentary Premium is active. You play as much as you want, exactly as you do today.
Because of what you bring to BBO.
BBO is a club, and a club remembers who shows up. There are several ways a player comes to have yearly Premium at no charge, which can be summed up as:
- What you do for the community - running games, helping other players, commentating, directing, teaching, translating, creating content about bridge and BBO, supporting events.
- You have supported BBO by playing - years at the tables, tournaments played, and entries you have paid for along the way.
Either is reason enough, and many players qualify through both.
No. It starts by itself.
Your Premium features are active as soon as your complimentary membership begins. No card, no code, no form, nothing to pay.
You can see your plan at any time in Account → Membership.
- Unlimited play across eligible free games - no daily limit
- No ads anywhere on BBO
- Advanced robots (GIBBO) at social tables
- Your choice of robot bidding system
- Video chat at the table
- The ability to start tables and team matches
- Access to Arena and Group Challenges
- Bridgerama+, the digital bridge magazine
And everything in Basic membership: Just Play Bridge, Bridge Master, Mini Bridge, kibitzing, and the full BBO community.
How long it lasts
It is granted for one year at a time and is expected to renew each year, at no cost, as long as you continue to qualify.
We review eligibility once a year. For most active and engaged players, the complimentary Premium simply continues for another year automatically.
You do not need to apply, re-apply, or ask. If anything is going to change, we write to you first.
You can see your current membership end date in Account → Membership.
You stay a BBO member.
Your account returns to Basic, which is free. Basic comes with a daily limit on some games, and Just Play Bridge stays unlimited.
If you would rather keep unlimited play, you can join Premium yourself at any time from the BBO Store. Premium is US$5.99/month for your first year, then US$9.99/month. Join on the web and get one extra month free.
Playing with others
Yes, and it costs your guests nothing.
As a Premium member you can start your own tables and invite other players to them. When you invite someone to your table as a guest, their daily deals are not counted - even if they are on the free Basic plan.
The same is true of team matches you start, and of “I have a partner, take us to a table”, which seats you and your partner together even if your partner is on Basic.
Your complimentary Premium is attached to your own account and cannot be transferred to another username. It also should not be shared - your account is yours, with your results and your history in it.
What you can do is invite other players to your tables as guests, which lets them play without using their own daily deals.
Yes, please do.
If you know someone who gives a lot to the BBO community and does not have Premium, tell us their username and what they do. Concrete examples help: the games they run, the players they help, the events they support, the content they make.
We read every recommendation. Decisions are made by BBO and we cannot promise an outcome, but nothing is ever held against someone for being put forward.
There is no application form, but you can tell us what you do.
Complimentary Premium is not something you sign up for or buy. It is given in recognition of a contribution to BBO, or of long support at the tables. There is no queue and no waiting list, so applying does not put you in one.
If you run games, help other players, commentate, direct, teach, translate, create content about BBO or support events, write to us with your username and a short description of what you do. Links and examples help. We read everything that comes in, decisions are made by BBO, and we cannot promise an outcome.
If the answer is no for now, nothing is lost. Basic keeps you playing for free, and you can join Premium yourself at any time - US$5.99/month for your first year.
We put these memberships together from what we can see on BBO, and we know it is not perfect. Some contributions leave no trace in our records, and some accounts are easy to miss.
If we have missed someone, it is not a judgement on them. Tell us who they are and we will look.
Payment & BB$
No, and no.
You are never charged automatically. There is no card to add and no subscription running in the background. If your complimentary Premium ever ends, nothing is taken from you - your account simply returns to the free Basic plan.
You only ever pay on BBO if you choose to, and we always write to you well before anything about your plan changes.
Sometimes - BB$ and your plan are two separate things.
BB$ is BBO's in-game currency. With Premium you do not need BB$ for everyday play, because your play is unlimited. You still use BB$ for paid tournament entries, which are priced individually and cover things like federation fees and masterpoints.
Your plan does not use your BB$, and BB$ does not pay for a plan. The BB$ you already have stay in your account.
You should not be. If you are paying for a plan and you have also been given complimentary Premium, contact support with your username. We will look at your account and make sure you are not paying for something you already have.
Still have a question?
Our support team is happy to help with anything about your membership.
Contact support