Microsoft Rewards is undergoing a major overhaul in May and it doesn't appear to be positive for end users. Microsoft Rewards started life as Bing Rewards, only to be rebranded and later merged with Xbox Live Rewards in 2016 and 2018, respectively. It has gone through a number of revisions and changes over its lifetime, with more to come.
One of the more unpopular changes to the service was when Microsoft Rewards increased the number of points required to redeem Xbox gift cards in late February 2025. Because users can earn points simply by interacting with the rewards and completing tasks it offers, the relative value of its redeemable goodies has always been in dispute, which naturally frustrates users with the service.
The Microsoft Rewards update brings a useful new feature
The new change in Microsoft Rewards introduced in the recent console update could be very useful for Xbox players who use the service frequently.
Microsoft Rewards is getting big changes in May 2026, but early adopters aren't liking the overhaul
Although many users think that Microsoft Rewards got worse in February 2026, it doesn't seem like these are the last changes coming to the service. The biggest change coming in May is a membership tier overhaul, with three tiers to choose from: Member, Silver and Gold. The daily earning limit for these new levels will be 15, 30 and 60 points. The rework popup promises the ability to “earn up to 7x points with Gold status,” as well as more ways to earn points in general. However, early adopters may well be put off by vague promises that the service will be better. Microsoft has been testing this revised version of Rewards in New Zealand, Colombia, India, Canada and a few other regions, and it's not looking great.
User reports suggest that Microsoft is now in the process of rolling out the Rewards update to eligible European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, the UK and potentially more. While it's still too early to tell if this is one of Microsoft's worst decisions of the Xbox Series X|S era, the redesign seems to be an overall nerve in users' ability to earn points. The daily maximum has dropped from 150 points to 60, with a bonus pool of up to 2,100 points, which seems like a non-starter for most.
It's important to note that some of the early adopters of the new system, namely users from New Zealand and other similar territories, seem to mostly dislike it. All the best Microsoft Rewards point purchases are very expensive and the new system seems to result in greatly reduced points earning opportunities across the board. Wrapping this up as a net positive will be difficult for Microsoft.
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It is already clear that Microsoft is undergoing a substantial shake-up of almost all of its services for users. Even Xbox's approach to exclusivity is being reassessed, according to insiders. A return to console-exclusive games would be a comprehensive overhaul of all of the brand's newer operations, and would suggest that even bigger changes could be ahead for Xbox and Microsoft in general.
