The switch has been flipped for Microsoft Rewards in the U.S. with new site design

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

Back in August, it was announced that Bing Rewards would soon be replaced by the Microsoft Rewards program for those in the United States. The program's concept remains the same, but nomenclature, status, and ability to redeem points were all being modified.

Those changes appear to have taken effect today as noticed by @prjkthack who tipped us on the modification. The Bing Rewards page is now updated to reflect the new Microsoft Rewards status along with new features and redesign.

Some of the changes include points for using Microsoft's Edge browser, purchasing items in both the Windows Store and Microsoft Store. Other changes are more superficial e.g. instead of credits they are points. Bing Rewards had three levels (Member, Silver, and Gold), but Microsoft Rewards has Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels. If users earn 500 Microsoft Points a month, they will be a Tier 2 member and will be able to get a 10% discount on rewards from Microsoft brands. All current Bing Rewards members who signed up before August 15 will be upgraded to Tier 2 which will last until October 31.

Users can redeem 'points' for Gift Cards and chances to win prizes

Points can be exchanged for rewards such as gift cards at GameStop, Amazon, Starbucks, Hulu, and Microsoft brands.

You can head to the new site found at this link: account.microsoft.com/rewards{.nofollow}.

You can read the full changes in the official Microsoft FAQ on the subject. As usual, Microsoft Rewards is U.S. only for the time being.

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

36 Comments
  • ...and no sign of an update for our Bing Rewards app...
  • Mine is displaying the updated content.
  • I see the point values instead of credits, though it still uses the word credits. But the UI doesn't seem to have been updated yet. If the new UI on the web was intended for anything it would seem to be for touch.
  • True, but at least the functionality is there in regards to the point values. The app is useable and hopefully a UI update is coming.
  • Make sure u log on every Thursday in September for double rewards. I've been using it for App Upgrades (freemium content) & amazon $
  • Yeah. I completely forgot this past Thursday because unfortunately, I had to put my elder cat to sleep and I was a basket case.
  • Sorry to hear. Pets are family members.
  • It's sites been updated since September 1st. The change has been great. Already earned $5 in Xbox credits.
  • Probably doing a staged rollout as it only just changed for me today.
  • Is this service available in Canada and UK?
  • Nope. Only the US as per usual for MS rewards :P
  • Typical.
  • When will we see Microsoft include Canada/ the rest of the world in this rewards scheme?
  • They always updated their suspended page. "Uh oh, it appears your Microsoft Rewards account has been suspended.'
  • Lol, you too huh?
  • Same. I'm so pissed.
  • Huh both my wife and I had this more than a week ago.
  • Do you mean "the switch has been flipped?"
  • Lol! Didn't even notice that the first time.
  • 10 seconds of searches gives as many points as the month's max by using Edge.
  • Hoping that some day the Fandango rewards will come back....pleeeeaaaase :)
  • Two reasons I don't like this change, 1- I hate the new numbering system. And 2 - I'm saddened by needing more searches for amazon reward. :(. Other than that It doesn't bother me.
  • Yeah, it used to be 1 point approximately equaled 1 penny. Now it's 10 points per penny, which isn't as intuitive. Furthermore, the rewards for buying digital content is a joke. You need to spend $5000 just to get a $5 reward card. Geezuz.
  • .... Lol...
  • It's not as bad as I initially thought. It gives small numbers of additional points for browsing with Edge, which seem to add up. It won't take more effort than normal to earn those Amazon cards.
  • Nice, I would love to check it out except my bing rewards account that I have had for years got suspended for no reason right before this launched. I hope everyone else can enjoy the update. Just be extra careful as it seems they are looking for any reason to ban people and then not answer support questions about what happened.
  • I'm sure the reason why is in that 10+ page terms of use policy that none of us read. =P
  • When in England?
  • Noticed the changes few days ago with the 500 pts/day special. So confusing now.
  • Love Bing rewards. So many free Xbox games.
  • Jealous Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Well still banned for life, and they still won't provide any detail on my infraction. Rape 3 months. Something Microsoft won't even show proof of... Eternity.
  • I've had my account since 2011 and haven't gotten banned. ever. You must have been botting.
  • hello. i like this updated point system because it's quicker to accumulate points. for example, i dont remember a x2 max points day (300 max for pc search and 200 max for mobile search) during the old system, but it happened for me twice already under the new system. im glad also to be rewarded in-store for purchases, not only online.
  • When in india? Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I signed up but didn't get any rewards