Examined Oct 2, 2026 No link we may carry Points, not cash Microsoft Rewards is free and publishes no sign-up bonus: about 5,000 points buys something worth $5, and Microsoft's own pages disagree on how fast you can earn them.
The contract behind the program is a section of the Microsoft Services Agreement. It says Rewards is free to join and that anyone with a Microsoft account in a participating region has been enrolled automatically and can begin earning points immediately. It names no welcome bonus, and neither does any other Microsoft page we read. The Rewards site links to a program called Refer and Earn, but that page redirects to a Microsoft sign-in before it shows a single term, and the agreement never mentions referrals. We cannot tell you what a referral pays.
What pays what
| Joining | No published bonus |
|---|---|
| Referring a friend, or being referred, through Refer and Earn | Unpublished |
| A qualifying Bing search | 5 points; daily limit 25, 50 or 100 points by level |
| Monthly level bonus (Member, Silver, Gold) | 100, 300 or 700 points |
| Default search bonus, for searching on a PC on at least 14 days in the month | 50, 150 or 350 points |
| Qualifying Microsoft Store purchases | Up to 20,000 points per month |
| Redeeming | About 5,000 points for something worth $5 |
These earning figures come from Microsoft's About page, which calls the level system a pilot program that may change and says some users may not have access to all offers. The redemption rate is from a support article. Our working: 5 searches at 5 points is 25 points a day, and 5,000 divided by 25 is 200 days. At the Gold limit of 100 points a day it is 50 days. Subscriptions and gift card purchases earn no purchase points.
Do this, in this order
- Activate, with a real phone number. You are enrolled automatically, but the agreement says you must activate a Rewards Account on the Rewards Dashboard before you can redeem, at no cost. Microsoft says it asks for a phone number when you join and sometimes when you redeem, and that you need a mobile or landline number. The agreement rules out VoIP and toll-free numbers for redemptions.
- Keep to one account. “You may open and use only one Rewards Account, even if you have multiple email addresses. Each household is limited to six Rewards Accounts.” A search only counts when a person types it in good faith. Queries entered by a bot or macro are excluded, and Microsoft may forfeit all points if it believes the program was abused.
- Claim the monthly bonuses. They become available within the first 5 days of the following month, and they are not added for you. Microsoft says you must claim them on rewards.bing.com within 30 days or they expire. The Silver and Gold redemption coupons, 100 and 200 points, expire at the end of each month.
- Redeem to an inbox you read. The agreement says rewards are emailed to the address on your Microsoft account, and that rewards that are undeliverable will not be reissued and are forfeited.
How a balance is lost
Opting out is final. Microsoft has an opt out page. Using it empties the account, and the agreement says Microsoft will not reinstate forfeited points if you open a new one.
If you cancel your Rewards Account, you will immediately forfeit all of your earned Points and will lose your ability to earn new Points in the future.
Twelve quiet months. “Unredeemed Points associated with your Rewards Account expire if you do not earn or redeem any Points in your Rewards Account for 12 consecutive months.” Separately, a Rewards Account may be cancelled, and its points forfeited, if you do not log in to your Microsoft account for 12 consecutive months.
Points are never your property. The agreement says points remain Microsoft's property, have no cash value, and cannot be bought or transferred to another person. You may redeem no more than 550,000 points per calendar year on rewards from Microsoft's third-party partners, and no more than 1,550,000 on Microsoft's own products and services, and you are responsible for any taxes on what you redeem.
The program can change under you. Microsoft reserves the right to change or cancel the program at any time without prior notice. If it ends the program, it says it will make reasonable efforts to give at least 90 days to redeem.
Where Microsoft's own pages disagree, and what it does not publish
Two levels or three. A support article says: “Microsoft Rewards has two status tiers: Level 1 and Level 2.” It puts Level 2 at 500 points each month and says Level 2 members earn five times more points on Bing and save up to 10% on rewards from Microsoft products and services. The About page shows three levels instead: Member, Silver at more than 500 points in a calendar month, and Gold at more than 750 points plus 2 level-up activities.
How many searches count. The About page says regular members earn points on up to 5 searches per day, Silver on 10 and Gold on 20. A support page says Level 1 members earn on up to 10 searches each day and Level 2 members on up to 30.
Which document wins. “In the event of any inconsistency or discrepancy between these Rewards Program terms or other statements contained in any related materials or advertising, these terms prevail, govern, and control.” That does not settle the two points above, because the agreement, in the version published July 30, 2026 and effective September 30, 2026, states no levels and no points per search. It gives no end date for the program.
Is it worth your time?
As a bonus to sign up for, there is nothing to weigh, because Microsoft states none. As a loyalty program it is free, it asks for no purchase, and it pays a little for things many people do anyway. If that is you, activate it, claim the monthly bonuses, and redeem now and then so the 12-month clock never runs out.
If you would have to change browsers or search engines to earn, the sums are thin: $5 for 200 days of daily searching at the lowest level. If you rely on a VPN, skip it.
