Those who value their Xbox Live Diamond Card the most will be surprise to know that beginning this year, the program will no longer be free and members who want to continue will be subjected to an annual subscription fee.

According to the program's official website, this change was brought about by the change in management. See the whole story after the jump!

Microsoft sent out a mass email today to all those who applied for a Xbox Diamond card, explaining that their registration has been accepted and the cards will be printed. As many of you are aware from our previous reports Microsoft made some spelling errors with many cards placing 'TRHU' instead of 'THRU', which caused some problems on dispatch on some cards. If you're still waiting for your card, use the tip we've posted on having a look at all the available offers through J Allard's gamertag. The Diamond Card is offered to all those with 12 months subscription or consecutive 12 months subscription to Xbox Live and allows a series of discounts and offers to be made with partner stores, restaurants and retailers.

For those of you who are still awaiting their Diamond Card for Xbox Live needn't worry about not being able to view the current offers. Head down to the Xbox Live Diamond Card website, and when you're asked for your gamertag, simply type in J Allard's gamertag - Hiroprotagonist.

This works, tried it myself, and inside the site is a multitude of offers, some are quite weird such as a $400 voucher for an architecture and design firm. The offers are between 5% and 20% off purchases, some websites offering this discount on all products at checkout. Have fun with this.