This game's billing is a massive fail. I ended up buying $50 worth of Crysta with Ultimate Pay after ~1 hour of frustration with Click and Buy... and I was able to activate for 6 months: Hurray at last! So, I attempt to do the same with my wife's account, but I get the impression that Paypal doesn't trust Ultimate Pay too much, because they wouldn't authorize a second $50 transaction without a call to customer support, which I am not going to do today. So... I logged into her SE account management, which auto-logged me into my Ultimate Pay, where I used her Paypal account to add Crysta to her SE account, which I used to activate her character for another 6 months.

Seriously SE, sort out your billing process. This will be one of the first things new customers experience, and if you lose them at this step, then all of your investments in the game mean nothing. Here's what the customer experience should be:
  • 1 (one, uno, ichi) portal for this game, that you log into 1 (one, uno, ichi) time. From this portal, you select an easy to find link or button, which is clearly labeled with a phrase that lets me know I click it to handle payment (something like, "Payment Options" should work quite well).
  • From this link, you should present my subscription options for the game plus one character slot (these will never be purchased separately, so stop acting like it's a good idea to cause confusion by not bundling them).
  • After I have painlessly made my selection as to how long of a subscription I wish to purchase, I should be able to click a button marked "Next" or "Continue".
  • On the next page, I should be presented with 2 options: One in which I do not add additional character slots and one in which I elect how many additional character slots I would like to add to my subscription service. Also, when I make my selection, I should see it reflected in the current price, which should always be on my screen, as it's very important to me.
  • After I have made a decision regarding the number of character slots I wish to have attached to my account, I should be able to quickly find my good buddy, the Next/Continue button. I will click him, because that's how I like to spend my time with him.
  • On the next page, I should be presented with 3 options for paying for my subscription. Option 1 should be with my credit card. Option 2 should be with PayPal. Option 3 should be with a game time card.
  • When I click on any of these options I should be presented a pop-up window in which I fill out information specific to my payment. This window should present me with the options and fields that everybody knows to expect when purchasing anything online.
  • At the bottom of this window there should be a button that says "OK" or "Accept". I will click this button, as he enjoys all of the same things as his cousin, the Next/Continue button.
  • After I have clicked this button, the popup should close and non-personal information about my selected payment method should be added to the element I clicked to fill out the information. Additionally, the option I chose should be made to stand out in contrast against the two I did not choose.
  • I will notice at this point that my good friend Next/Continue has reappeared right where I know he belongs, and so I'll click him to show my appreciation for his reliability.
  • The next page should present me with a summary of all the options I have selected, my selected method of payment, how much I will be paying for the service,and a button which says Process Payment.
  • When I click this button, my payment should be processed, and I should be shown a screen indicating as much.
  • Useful tip: I should not have to scroll down for any of this, ever. Put everything that's important above the fold.
  • Useful tip: This process should be handled in-game for PS3 users, and paying through the playstation store should be presented as an option for these users to ease acclimation further.