The ultimate guide to earning My Nintendo points quickly and easily

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Bookmark this for when you want a new reward

With My Nintendo physical rewards popping up like daisies every week, I’ve had a ton of requests from readers to explain what Platinum Points are, and how to earn them quickly. Here’s a My Nintendo points guide.

It’ll walk you through the entire process comprehensively, from starting a My Nintendo account to some of the more advanced ways of earning digital bread.

My Nintendo points guide basics: Make an account, then grab all the easy missions first

As a recap, “Platinum” is basically a make-believe currency that lets you earn small rewards in mobile titles (don’t do this, it’s a waste) or digital rewards, like 3DS themes and game discounts for non-Switch systems. As you can clearly see, the latter use is outdated, and has been for some time, basically putting My Nintendo in a dormant state. But with physical rewards arriving recently, it’s given the service a second wind.

So this step is the easiest. Go make a My Nintendo account, then link your proper Nintendo account. Head to the “missions” section: this is your dashboard, where you’ll start making notes of what to do to earn Platinum Points.

Make a few quick changes to get some easy points. Link your Nintendo account, turn promotional emails on (and keep them on for recurring points), and link various social accounts (Facebook/Google/Twitter) for more points. If you’re uncomfortable with this prospect, link bogus accounts. Also don’t forget to tour the Mario 35 site and click around for more easy points.

The Cold Stone code is an odd one, but an option. You can get 100 points if you order a Mario-themed menu item, and the best way to do that without incident is online. Make a Cold Stone account, then order an item ahead of time for pickup. Make sure the “My Nintendo” promo is enabled. Some folks are reporting that it works online for all menu items as long as the code is applied (even the cheapest menu items possible, like sides), but do this at your own risk. My wife ordered a Mario shake online, and we were able to do curbside pickup: the point code was emailed to me a few hours later. Enter it here.

Another source of recurring points is the “monthly Nintendo newsletter.” Note that sometimes you’ll be required to locate a number code in the actual email, which can be redeemed for points on this page. Emails can appear sporadically or not at all, so keep an eye out for them.

When you actually use the points, you’re basically “buying” a digital code. You use that code to make the item free: then pay shipping (which is around $5). Use this opportunity to stack items together, as one purchase only incurs one flat shipping fee. In other words, you can amass points through this guide and spend them all at once.

Know the weekly resets

Every Monday, My Nintendo will allow you to click on your avatar on the homepage to earn a quick 30 Platinum Points. You can also net 30 more by signing into the eShop on a Wii U or 3DS.

My Nintendo resets are on Mondays at 12AM. Only Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp resets on Sunday mornings.

Dig for hidden platinum

Occasionally, you’ll get the opportunity to find hidden Platinum Points. One of the easiest ways to identify them is with the “balloon” minigame on the home screen: where your avatar will be floating around. Normally the balloons are innocuous, but sometimes a Platinum Point coin will be stuck inside one. Pop them all to earn them. You can also find secret coins through the fishing animation: just click your avatar to potentially pull one up.

Alternatively, there are “hidden Miis” in certain parts of the site. The mission page sometimes hides them, as well as the “news” page, or individual articles within that news landing. Or, in the very top right, the little pulldown menu that appears when clicking on your avatar.

Don’t get too hung up on these, but if you’re fiddling around on the internet, hunting for these is an option.

Get the browser points

This is the simplest way to get quick points, just know that none of these are repeatable. All you have to do is follow the guides below and click on certain parts of the site and you’re good.

Here are all of the current browser quests, and the solutions:

Spam Fire Emblem Heroes for a treasure trove of points

Fire Emblem Heroes is by far the easiest way to earn a massive amount of points quickly, and the simplest way to “bank” them. Here’s what I mean.

Given that there’s 5400 potential points, you could unlock 1000 right now for use for a reward, then “bank” the rest. Remember, Platinum Points expire in six months, so if you don’t want anything right now, just “save” Fire Emblem Heroes‘ campaign mission rewards until later. When a new reward hits, go spam more missions, get the points, and bank the rest.

You can find a full guide for earning Heroes points here.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is next

Pocket Camp is your next step because it’s free, though it takes a lot more effort than spamming Fire Emblem.

For this one, you’ll need to do a bit of work. Pocket Camp points are accrued at a rate of 180 per week, with a weekly reset on Sunday mornings. I’ve gotten it down to where I can earn all 180 by Monday with minimal effort.

Follow our full guide here for more info.

Super Mario Run is your last resort, as it costs money to buy

So this one is at the very bottom of the guide because it costs $10 to farm. Weekly runs will net you 120 platinum per week (seven daily rewards of 10, with a weekly bonus of 50).

If you do decide to get Super Mario Run though, you’ll net 300 platinum just for finishing the game, as well as 300 more platinum for adding 10 friends. You’ll also get 100 points for registering the game.

Follow our full guide here, which explains how to game the friend system and find sites that allow you to instantly add all 10 within a matter of hours.

Do the weekly missions on your Switch

Nintendo added weekly missions in February 2022, which grant platinum points.

Here’s what you need to do:

  • Play something that supports online play
  • Back up save data
  • Play NES
  • Play Game Trials software
  • Use the weekly missions application

You can find the full details here.