TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Overview
- Upgrading to a premium account
- Linden Homes
- Linden dollar rewards
- Sign-up bonus
- Weekly Linden dollar rewards (stipend)
- Premium virtual goods (gifts)
- Premium sandboxes
- Other premium benefits
Benefits per membership type
Premium Plus Membership
Premium Plus memberships provide the following benefits:
- Your own private Linden Home
- The ability to own one Homestead private region without a Full region to support it (set up and monthly fees do apply)
- Reduced L$ fees on some uploads
- Linden dollar rewards
- Exclusive virtual goods
- Premium-only sandboxes
- Live chat support
- Phone support
- The right to own mainland parcels in popular areas
- Immediate access to adult-only areas
- Increased number of group memberships
- Preferred access to highly populated regions, utilizing increased region capacity
- Access to premium-only events and experiences
- Voice morphing
- Increased cap on missed IMs
- 90-Day L$ Transaction History
Premium Membership
Premium memberships provide the following benefits:
- Your own private Linden Home
- Linden dollar rewards
- Exclusive virtual goods
- Premium-only sandboxes
- Live chat support
- The right to own mainland parcels in popular areas
- Immediate access to adult-only areas
- Increased number of group memberships
- Preferred access to highly populated regions, utilizing increased region capacity
- Access to premium-only events and experiences
- Voice morphing
- Increased cap on missed IMs
- 90-Day L$ Transaction History
Plus Membership
Plus memberships provide the following benefits:
- Linden dollar rewards
- The right to own mainland parcels in popular areas
- Increased number of group memberships
Upgrading to a premium account
To upgrade from basic to any premium membership:
- Log into the Second Life website.
- On the left side of the screen, click Premium Membership.
- The Choose your membership plan screen opens, displaying a chart of Membership plans and prices.
- Select the Premium Membership you wish to have.
- Review the Review changes to your plan page, and click Continue to checkout.
Note: As a Premium member of either type, you get a one-time bonus of L$1000 for Premium Memberships, and L$3000 for Premium Plus Memberships. You will also receive a weekly stipend of L$300 (Premium) or L$650 (Premium Plus). You may only receive the L$ bonuses once per account.
Benefits Overview
Linden Homes
Linden Homes are ready-to-move-in homes that belong to a themed community and are available only to Premium and Premium Plus members.
Note: Linden Homes are available only to users at least 18 years old.
For more information on Linden Homes, see:
Linden dollar rewards
As a premium member, you get a sign-up bonus and a weekly stipend of Linden dollars. The amount for each will depend on the type of Premium membership you have.
Sign-up bonus
When you register for a Premium Membership account, you get a sign-up bonus of L$1,000, deposited directly into your Second Life account once your premium membership has been active for 45 consecutive days.
When you register for a Premium Plus Membership, you get a sign up bonus of up to L$3000. These are deposited directly into your Second Life account once your premium membership has been active for 45 consecutive days.
Currently Plus memberships do not offer a Linden$ sign up bonus.
Weekly Linden dollar rewards (stipend)
As a premium member, you receive a weekly stipend, which will vary depending on your membership. This occurs whether you log in or not. Stipends are paid every week by an automated process that runs on Tuesdays (PT).
Payments are based on information gathered from the database as of the preceding Monday. For example:
- If you create a premium account on Monday, April 14, you will receive your first stipend on Tuesday, April 15.
- If you create a premium account on Tuesday, April 15, you will receive your first stipend on Tuesday, April 22.
| Stipend payments may appear late in the day on Tuesdays or possibly not until Wednesday |
- Plus Membership Weekly Stipend: L$150
- Premium Membership Weekly Stipend: L$300
- Premium Plus Membership Weekly Stipend: L$650
Stipends for old accounts
The stipend amount for older accounts depends on what type of account you have and its age.
Premium accounts created or upgraded from basic:
- On or after November 1, 2006 receive L$300 per week for Premium Memberships, or L$650 for Premium Plus Memberships.
- Between July 21, 2006 and November 1, 2006 receive L$400 per week for Premium Memberships, or L$650 for Premium Plus Memberships.
- Before July 21, 2006 receive L$500 per week for Premium Memberships, or L$650 for Premium Plus Memberships.
Certain old basic accounts get a stipend; basic accounts created
- Before June 6, 2006 receive a stipend of L$50 per week, if they log in that week.
- After June 6, 2006 do not receive a weekly stipend.
Premium virtual goods (gifts)
As a Premium or Premium Plus member, you periodically get an premium virtual good as a benefit. The premium virtual goods are designed by Residents commissioned by Linden Lab.
How to get your premium virtual good
To get your premium virtual good, go to one of the inworld vending kiosks listed in the Second Life Destination Guide: http://secondlife.com/destinations/premium/gifts. If you are logged in to the website, go tohttps://secondlife.com/destinations/premium/gifts instead.
To use one of the kiosks:
- Right-click the kiosk.
- Choose Buy.
Note: You won't be charged—the item is free for premium account holders.
The item will then be transferred to your inventory.
The inworld vending kiosks only provide the latest premium virtual good. You cannot get older ones.
Premium sandboxes
A sandbox is an area put aside for building practice. Much like real sandboxes and conceptual sandbox games, these are spaces of creativity and chaos. For more information on sandboxes, see Building tips.
Several sandboxes exist for specific purposes—such as the Weapons Testing Sandbox—but the majority are simply for regular building. Signs within each sandbox area make it clear what kind of activities are allowed there.
Sandboxes usually have auto-return enabled to clean themselves several times a day; look for auto-clean information before building, so you aren't caught by surprise. Since sandboxes are experimental, they may also be unstable—be sure to take regular inventory backups of anything that's important.
Premium sandboxes are accessible only to Residents with premium membership. Each sandbox is made up of four regions. Generally, there is one sandbox per Linden Home continent.
Find the premium sandboxes through the Second Life Destination Guide: http://secondlife.com/destinations/premium/sandboxes.
Other premium benefits
Premium membership also provide additional benefits!
Phone support
Residents with Premium Plus accounts are eligible to receive phone support for a broad range of topics. Premium and Basic accounts do not qualify for this kind of support.
Live chat support
Residents with Premium and Premium Plus accounts may initiate a live chat for support issues via the support portal. Basic accounts do not qualify for this kind of support.
Right to own land in popular mainland areas
Residents with any premium account can buy mainland parcels. Plus Membership holders only need to pay a monthly tier fee when their land exceeds 512m², Premium Membership holders pay a monthly tier when their land exceeds 1024m², and Premium Plus Membership holders only pay a monthly tier when their land exceeds 2048m². For more information, see Land Use Fees.
The mainland is the largest connected land-mass in Second Life, consisting of hundreds of regions connected to one another with roads, railroads and open oceans. Being a premium member is a prerequisite for owning mainland parcels.
Name Changes
Name changes are available for all Residents, but have lower pricing tiers for Premium and Premium Plus membership holders. Premium members can change their name for $34.99 per name change, and Premium Plus members can change their name for $14.99 per name change. All may be done via the Second Life dashboard.
Increased caps on missed IMs
Premium Membership holders have an increased cap on missed IMs, up to 80 from the Basic account's 25. Premium Plus Membership holders have a further increased cap to 160 missed IMs!
Immediate access to adult-only areas
Linden homes and some adult areas are accessible only to those 18 years and older. If you are 18 years or older, when you sign-up for a Premium or Premium Plus membership, you will automatically have access to these areas. For more information, see Age-restricted content and Accessing Adult land and content.
Increased number of group memberships
Residents with a Plus Membership account may be a member of up to 50 groups at a time. Residents with a Premium Membership account may be a member of up to 70 groups at a time. Premium Plus Membership holders may be a member of up to 140 groups at a time. Basic accounts may only join up to 42 groups.
Preferred access to highly populated regions
Regions in Second Life have a bonus capacity to allow region owners, estate managers, and Residents with Premium or Premium Plus accounts to enter an otherwise full Region. The default limit on the number of avatars allowed in a region is as follows:
- Full Regions support an extra 10% (100 to 110)
- Homesteads support an extra 25% (20 to 25)
- Open Spaces support an extra 20% (10 to 12)
For full details on access to bonus region capacity, see Improved Region Capacity and Access on the Second Life Blog.
Reduced L$ Fees for Premium Plus
Premium Plus Membership holders have the perk of reduced fees for many things in Second Life. This includes a reduction from L$10 to L$0 for uploading textures, animations, and sounds. Additionally Premium Plus members can create repeating events for L$0, and can create groups for only L$10!
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