We have been hearing from our moles for some time that GameStop has been putting the finishing touches on a rewards program for shoppers. Finally, we were told that the company will roll out a beta trial of the program in Ohio, Tennessee and Missouri, with a fourth state to be added later. If the program is successful, it is planned that they will roll it out company-wide this fall.

The program, which will be known as “PowerUp Rewards,” will be available in two versions: a free version that is very basic that gives the member 10 points for new games and hardware and 20 points per dollar spent on used purchases or earned by executing trade-ins at GameStop; the upgraded program (which is known as “PowerUp Pro”) costs $15, but adds much, including all of the benefits of the previous GameStop Edge membership as well as everything included in the “PowerUp” Rewards standard membership.

PowerUp Pro members will also have the chance to take part in special contests and promotions. For example, PowerUp Pro members would have special early shopping hours on Black Friday. In addition, Pro members will continue to get the Game Informer subscription that Edge members enjoy, while only Pro members will continue to get the standard 10% discount on used titles purchased.

Points can be spent on a variety of things, but you have to spend some money at GameStop to get some of the really good stuff. Also, according to our sources, GameStop will allow members to tie their PowerUp Rewards card to their gamer tag, for example, to allow the purchase of points or downloadable content in the near future. In the future, you will be able to visit GameStop and buy 1,600 Microsoft Points, for example, and have them already deposited into your account and waiting for you when you get home and login.