Benefits of premium membership

Premium membership provides 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
• Maximum number of group memberships increased from 42 to 70
• Preferred access to highly populated regions, utilizing increased region capacity
• Access to premium-only events and experiences
• Voice morphing
• Cap on missed instant messages increased from 15 to 80
• L$ transaction history increased from 32 days to 90 days

Upgrading to a premium account

To upgrade from basic to premium membership:

1. Log into the Second Life website.
2. On the left side of the screen, click Premium Membership.
3. The Change Membership Plan screen opens, displaying a chart of Membership plans and prices.
4. Select Premium (choose from Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual billing options).
5. Click Save Changes. Your new plan becomes effective at your next billing date.

Linden Homes

Linden Homes are ready-to-move-in homes that belong to a themed community and are available only to premium account members.

For more information on Linden Homes, see Overview of Linden Homes.

Linden dollar rewards

As a premium member, you get a sign-up bonus and a weekly stipend of Linden dollars.

Sign-up bonus

When you first register for a premium account, you'll receive 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. Sign-up bonuses are only granted to an account the first time the account becomes a Premium member (and remains so for 45 days).

Weekly Linden dollar rewards (stipend)

As a premium member, you receive a weekly stipend of $L300, whether you log in or not. Stipends are paid every week on Tuesdays.

Payments are based on information gathered from the database as of the preceding Monday. For example:

• If you become a premium account on Monday, April 14, you will receive your first stipend on Tuesday, April 15.
• If you become a premium account on Tuesday, April 15, you will receive your first stipend on Tuesday, April 22.

Due to technical issues, stipend payments may appear late in the day on Tuesdays or very occasionally on Wednesday; if you believe your stipend is late, it's worth checking the Status Blog to see if stipend payments for the week have been delayed.

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.
• Between July 21, 2006 and November 1, 2006 receive L$400 per week.
• Before July 21, 2006 receive L$500 per week.

Certain old basic accounts get a stipend; basic accounts created

• Before May 29, 2006 receive a stipend of L$50 per week, if they log in that week.
• After May 29, 2006 do not receive a weekly stipend.

Premium virtual goods (gifts)

As a premium 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 to https://secondlife.com/destinations/premium/gifts instead.

To use one of the kiosks:

1. Right-click the kiosk.
2. Choose Buy. (You won't be charged—the item is free for premium account holders.)
3. The item is transferred to your inventory.

The inworld vending kiosks only provide the latest premium virtual good. You cannot get older ones.

Object permissions on premium virtual goods

Premium virtual goods are no modify, no transfer, copy, meaning you can make copies but cannot modify or transfer the items.

For general information on object permissions, see Object permissions.

How to get help for premium virtual goods

Premium virtual goods are commissioned by Linden Lab and designed by Residents. Please do not contact the creator for support. Each premium virtual good comes with an FAQ notecard to help you get started and answer common questions.

If you still have an unanswered question, email premium_feedback@lindenlab.com. We will update the notecard as needed, but cannot provide individual responses.

Frequently asked questions

I didn't receive the previous virtual good, and the kiosk only provides the most recent one. Can I get the one I missed?

No, the premium gift vending kiosks only provide the current premium virtual goods.

Can I take multiple copies of a good from the kiosk?

Yes! As a premium member, you can take as many copies of the premium virtual good as you like.

I accidentially deleted my premium virtual good. Can I get it back?

Yes. As long as the next premium virtual good has not been distributed, you can get it from an inworld kiosk.

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 provides additional benefits:

Live chat support

Residents with premium 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 a premium account can buy mainland parcels and need to pay a monthly tier when their land exceeds 1024m². 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.

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 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 premium account may be a member of up to 70 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 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.

Downgrading or canceling your premium membership

Downgrading from premium to a basic membership

To downgrade your premium or Concierge account to basic, follow these steps:

1. Log into the Second Life website.
2. On the left side of the screen, click Account and select Premium Membership.
3. The Change Membership Plan screen opens, displaying a chart of Membership plans and prices.
4. Select Basic Account.
5. Click Save Changes. Your new plan becomes effective on your next billing date.

Note: If you are a member of more than 42 groups, you will not lose any group memberships when you downgrade. However, you may not join any new groups with a basic account until you reduce your group memberships to fewer than 42.

Halting a premium downgrade

If you change your mind about downgrading to a basic account, you can cancel your upcoming downgrade at your account dashboard at the Second Life website.

To cancel your account downgrade:

1. Log into the Second Life website.
2. On the left side of the screen, click Account and select Premium Membership.
3. A yellow box at the top of the screen will read Downgrade Requested. This box contains information about when your account will downgrade from Premium to basic. 
4. At the bottom of this box, click Cancel Request.

Once you've canceled your downgrade request, your Premium membership will renew as usual on your next billing date.

Canceling your account

When you cancel your account, it is deactivated and you will lose access to it at your next billing review date. If you're thinking about canceling your account entirely, consider leaving it active with a basic membership, which costs nothing to maintain. If at some point in the future you should choose to revisit Second Life, your avatar and your inventory will be here waiting for you.

You can cancel your account by going to the Delete Account page after logging in with your Second Life username and password. This link is also accessible through the Account section on the left of your Dashboard.

Once logged in, select the reason why you have chosen to delete your account and then find the Cancel Account button at the bottom of the page. Your account will remain open until your billing review date, as account maintenance fees are paid in advance.

You may still be charged for land

If you cancel or downgrade your account from premium, you may still be charged for your most recent month's land holdings, depending on your billing cycle. Land allowance fees are calculated based on your previous month's usage.

As stated on the Land Pricing & Use Fees page:

Land use fees are billed based on the peak amount of land held during your previous 30 day billing cycle. This includes land parcels held and land tiers donated to groups... Peak usage is measured by the maximum amount of land you held — for any length of time — during your billing cycle.

Thus you are always charged for your premium membership and the maximum amount land you owned during the current billing cycle, regardless of whether you cancelled your account before the end of the month.

For example:

• You own 2048 meters of mainland on your premium account, Jane Pumpernickel. You decide to downgrade to a basic (free) account on your next renewal date, July 1st, so you sell your 2048 meters of mainland to your neighbor, Marcel Baguette, on June 30th.
• Your monthly land allowance fee for your land is usually $7 (in addition to your premium membership) based on the amount of land you own.
• On July 1st, your account converts to a basic (free) account as you've requested, and will no longer be charged for membership fees.
• Because you owned your mainland from June 1st-June 30th, your account will be charged $7 for the land allowance used during that time.