Gift cards are the one route to a cheaper GTA VI before it unlocks at midnight local time on November 19, and the savings run from $6 to about $10.
The discounts apply to store credit, not the game itself. Newegg sells a $75 PlayStation Store card for $69 with code BNWF2669, and a $90 Xbox card for $80 with code BNWF2662. Costco members can buy four $25 PlayStation cards for $89.99, a $100 value. That works out to $6 saved at Newegg on PlayStation, $10 on Xbox and $10.01 at Costco. Preloading has already started on both consoles.
The edition math is worth doing before you buy. The standard edition costs $79.99 and the ultimate edition $99.99, a $20 gap. The $90 Xbox card covers the standard edition with $10.01 left over, or leaves the ultimate edition $9.99 short. The deal roundup framed that as roughly $10 out of pocket for the upgrade, or leftover credit saved for later.
These are discounts of 8% to 11%, which is modest. They exist because stores will mark down credit when they will not mark down a heavily anticipated release, and the roundup said the game likely will not be discounted this year. The catch is that the credit is locked to one platform, only works for digital copies, and the Costco offer requires a membership.
Of the three offers, Costco's is the tidiest fit. Its $100 in credit, bought for $89.99, covers the ultimate edition with one cent to spare. The $75 Newegg PlayStation card, by contrast, falls $4.99 short of the standard edition.