DALL-E 3 and Bing Image Creator need boosts to work quickly, and Microsoft Rewards Points are the key

New Bing on Microsoft Edge
(Image credit: Future)

Can you earn Microsoft Rewards points by using the new Bing?

Best answer: Unfortunately, you cannot earn Microsoft Rewards points by using the chat functionality within the new Bing. You can, however, continue to earn Microsoft Rewards points by using the standard search interface of Bing.

What are Microsoft Rewards points?

Microsoft Rewards points can be exchanged for gift cards, movies, games, nonprofit donations, and more. They used to be known as Bing Rewards points, but the name changed back in 2016.

You earn points by using Microsoft services when signed in to your Microsoft account. Microsoft outlines the main ways you can earn points in a support document:

  • Search with Bing (level up faster by searching with Bing on Microsoft Edge).
  • Search the web through the search box on the taskbar on your Windows10 device.
  • Buy stuff from Microsoft Store online (from your mobile device, on Xbox One, in the Microsoft Store app on your Windows 10/11 or Windows 8.1 device, or via the web).  For more info, see Shop and earn Microsoft Rewards points.
  • Use Cortana to search with Bing.
  • Explore the earn page and the points breakdown page. Opportunities to earn points, like taking quizzes or playing trivia games, are updated daily, so check in often!
  • Play selected games or complete selected quests on Xbox One. Launch the Rewards app to get started. For more info, see Earn rewards on Xbox.

One of the easiest ways to earn Microsoft Rewards points is to use Bing as your search engine. There are different levels for earning rewards. A single search always earns you three Microsoft Rewards points, but the daily cap for how many points you can earn depends on your level.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Microsoft Rewards levels
BenefitsLevel 1Level 2Level 2 + Xbox Live Gold
Daily Bing search point limit (3 points per search)50250250
Bing search bonus daily cap for Microsoft Edge52020
Points earned per $ spent in Microsoft Store online1:110:120:1
Points for exploring daily offers
Access to exclusive member sales and discountsRow 4 - Cell 1
Occasional surprise invites to exclusive member-only eventsRow 5 - Cell 1
Up to 10% off when redeeming from Microsoft brandsRow 6 - Cell 1

What is the new Bing?

Microsoft announced a new version of Bing in February 2023. The revamped search engine uses artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, and Microsoft's own proprietary tech to generate responses based on real-time information. There are two ways to interact with the new Bing.

Note: The new Bing is currently in preview. You have to add your name to the wait list to try out the new Bing.

First, you can use the new Bing in a similar way to the old Bing (or any other popular search engine like Google). Go to bing.com and enter your query into the search box. You'll then see search results.

Every time you search for something using this method, you'll earn three Microsoft Rewards points. There are caps for how many points you can earn each day on your phone or PC. If you use Bing as your default browser on all of your devices, you can rack up points without much thought or effort.

Bing search example

Normal search queries through Bing will show a page that will be familiar to anyone that's used a search engine. (Image credit: Future)

If you click on the chat tab within Bing, you'll open a new way to communicate with the search engine. Chat functionality allows you to make more complex inquiries and ask follow-up questions.

You may think that a system designed to answer several questions within a thread would be a quick way to earn Microsoft Rewards points. That is not the case. Individual questions within a chat session do not earn you points. In fact, using the chat functionality of the new Bing does not earn Microsoft Rewards points.

Bing Chat example

The new chat feature within Bing is more conversational, but it does not earn you Microsoft Rewards points. (Image credit: Future)

We reached out to Microsoft regarding Microsoft Rewards points. The company confirmed that chat sessions within the chat tab do not count toward earning Microsoft Rewards points but that normal searches still earn points.

Can Microsoft Rewards Points be used for Bing Image Creator?

Bing Image Creator with DALL-E 3 can generate an almost infinite number of images. (Image credit: Bing Image Creator)

As of October 2023, OpenAI's DALL-E 3 model powers Bing Image Creator. DALL-E 3 makes images generated by Bing more accurate and realistic. Bing Image Creator is free to use, but you need to use boosts to have the tool generate images quickly. New Bing Image Creator users get 25 free boosts, but you can get more with Microsoft Rewards Points.

Without boosts, making an image can take several minutes, so it's worth having some boosts available if you plan to use Bing Image Creator.

Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com.