Microsoft Australia announced earlier today in an email to Xbox Live Rewards members that the membership program is going to rebranded as Microsoft Rewards in the near future (no specific date has been given).
Xbox Live Rewards gave users credits for making purchases on their Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles which would be deposited as money credit into their accounts when a certain threshold was reached. Microsoft Rewards will continue to reward gamers but will also reward users with points for performing Bing web searches and for simply using the Edge browser on their PC, mobile device, or gaming console. Here’s the breakdown:
- Game, movie, app, & TV purchases made in either the Xbox Store or Windows Store = 20 points per AU$1.
- 1 Bing search = 3 points.
- Edge details have not yet been released.
Microsoft has released a detailed FAQ on the program change but basically it appears that all Xbox Live Reward credits will simply be converted to Microsoft Rewards points. Microsoft Rewards will have two levels, Level 1 and Level 2. Level 2 members will earn an extra 10 points for every single point earned per month and Level 2 members who also have an Xbox Live Gold subscription will earn 20 points per single point.
Reaching Level 2 appears to be quite simple with the only requirement being a minimum earn of 500 points per month. Xbox Live Rewards members will also get a variety of instant upgrade options. “Members of Xbox Live Rewards get a free boost to Level 2 in Microsoft Rewards through 30 September 2017,” the official site states. “If you have a MyVIP Star Rank your Level 2 lasts through 31 December 2018. After that, keeping Level 2 status is a cinch—just collect 500 points each month.”
The website also says that Microsoft Rewards will only be available within Australia for now and there are no immediate plans to change Xbox Live Gold in other regions. One possible reason for this could be the fact that Bing Rewards, a program used to reward users with points, has yet to launch in Australia. It makes a lot more sense to merge it with an existing program, as Microsoft Rewards appears to be doing in Australia, instead of creating something completely new.
Are you excited by the upcoming launch of Microsoft Rewards or will you miss Xbox Live Rewards? Let us know in the comments below.
