MAKE MONEY BROWSING THE WEB Rewards

How to use Microsoft

The Microsoft Rewards scheme (previously called Bing Rewards) has been a fixture in the US since 2010 and now it’s been launched in the UK. Similar to the points cards offered by the big supermarket chains, the idea is that by using Bing (Microsoft’s search engine), Edge (its browser) and a few other tricks you can accrue points that can be exchanged for discounts on Microsoft products, entry to competitions and charity donations (Microsoft will translate your points into cash and then double it). Here we’ll show you how you can rack up reward points to get the most from Microsoft’s scheme.

How do you get started?

We know what you’re thinking: ‘What makes this scheme worth my time?’. Well, it gives you free Skype credit, Windows Store gift cards and Groove Music passes. It also lets you enter competitions with genuinely decent prizes (such as Surface Pro laptop-tablet hybrids worth over £1500). Yes, it’s a carrot offered by Microsoft’s marketing department to make us all use Edge and Bing, but we think its rewards justify your time – especially if you follow our tips.

To see the Microsoft Rewards scheme, open Edge and go to www.snipca. com/24659 (you can access it in any browser, but you’ll generate points if you use Edge). You’ll see two options: Start Earning Rewards and ‘Already a member, sign in here’. If you have a Microsoft account (and you will if you use Skype, Outlook.com or Hotmail.com), click the second option, then sign in. If you don’t have a Microsoft account, click the first option, then click ‘Create one’. On the next screen, enter your email account details (a Gmail or Yahoo account will work fine), then click Next.

If you see a ‘You can’t sign up here with a work or school email address…’ message, you’ll have to try another email account. Alternatively, create an Outlook. com account by clicking ‘Get a new email address’ (see screenshot left), then following the instructions.

What do points make?

The first time you visit the Rewards site you’ll see a ‘Welcome to Microsoft Rewards’ pop-up message. Click Next to cycle through the introductory pages, then click Finish to close it. On the right you’ll see a grey ‘Available points’ box. This keeps tabs on the number of points you’ve accrued, and how many you currently have available to spend. It also shows what points level you’re currently on (Level 1 for newcomers).

Scroll down the page to see all the ways you can earn points. You’ll see several boxes, including ‘Take the tour’,’ Rewards challenge’ and ‘Edge bonus quiz’ (see screenshot above). These show a points total that you can earn. Other boxes, such as ‘Xbox deals’ and ‘Don’t miss out’, direct you to various rewards you can work towards. For now though, we’ll focus on earning points.

Get to the next level faster

Your account will reach Level 2 status when you earn 500 points in any given

calendar month. Level 2 users can generate 305 points per day (instead of 135 for Level 1) and are eligible for more discounts on rewards, meaning their points go further. You can reach Level 2 in just four days if you know how.

To get started, click any of the ‘Rewards challenge’ or daily quiz boxes. A web page will open and you’ll see a ‘Start playing!’ message – click the arrow to its right to begin. New quizzes appear every day and are designed to get you using Bing, to find the answers. You can go through the motions and do this if you want, but to save time, you can simply click each answer until you find the correct one.

Another quick way to accrue points is to use Bing, within Edge. Go to www. bing.com, click ‘Sign in’ then log in using your Microsoft account details. You can make up to 30 points per day just by searching in Bing (you’ll make three points per search). Better still, once you reach Level 2, you can make up to 180 points per day, at a rate of 6 points per search. It doesn’t matter what you search for. Simply tap away at your keyboard, then pick any of the search options that appear. We were able to secure all 180 points in less than 10 minutes.

Once you’ve reached Level 2 you can grab yourself an extra 60 points per day using Bing on your phone. Go to www. bing.com on your phone, tap ‘Sign in’,

tap Microsoft account, then enter your username and password. You’ll get three points for every search.

If you prefer you can also use the Bing Search app (Android www.snipca.com/ 24665; IOS: www.snipca.com/24666). To sign in, tap the Menu icon (three horizontal lines at the top left on Android, or top right on IOS), then ‘Sign in’.

Keep track of your daily points

If you don’t want to carry out more Bing searches than is necessary, we suggest you keep a close eye on your points total. You can see this on your Rewards home page, but we prefer the extra information provided on www.bing.com. Sign in, then click the medal icon at the top right (to the right of your name). You’ll see your Microsoft Rewards summary (see screenshot above right).

This lists your Daily Points (the amount you’ve earned that day, as well as what you can potentially earn). It breaks down your points total into Daily Offers (those you earn by clicking the boxes on the Microsoft Rewards homepage), PC Search and Mobile Search. Check the number next to the medal icon to see how many points you have available to spend.

Spend your points smartly

We worked out you can make just over 8,500 points per month using the tips above, which works out at over 102,000 points per year (more if you have a tablet – see box above). That’s enough to get an annual Groove Music pass, which lets you listen to and download thousands of albums (it costs £8.99 per month otherwise), or enter the Surface Pro giveaway competition over 200 times.

Don’t be too eager to spend your points though because you can make them stretch even further by letting them accrue. For example, a single entry to the Surface Pro competition costs 200 points, but 150 entries cost 5,000 points (33.3 points per entry).

To change the number of entries you make, go to the Microsoft Rewards homepage, click Redeem, pick the prize you want (the Surface Pro monthly giveaway in our case), click the ‘Select an option’ dropdown, then click 150 (the number will vary depending on the reward). This will tell you how many points you need. If you want you can click ‘Set as goal’ (see screenshot left) to add a progress bar for this reward to the Microsoft Rewards homepage.