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Shortly before the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Microsoft removed its $1 offer for a 14-day Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Thankfully, you can still get a free month (or more) of Game Pass with Microsoft Rewards.
Getting Game Pass With Microsoft Rewards
Microsoft Rewards allows you to earn rewards points by using Bing or the Bing mobile app. You can also earn points by completing daily login activities and making purchases on the Microsoft store. These points can be redeemed for various rewards such as digital gift cards, entries into sweepstakes, or a Game Pass subscription. You also have the option of exchanging your points for donations to any of the numerous charities partnered with Microsoft, with every 1,000 points donated equating to a $1 donation.
Signing up to Microsoft Rewards is completely free, and only requires you to have a Microsoft account. To sign up, visit the Microsoft Rewards website and login to your Microsoft Account.
The Microsoft Rewards program is divided into two tiers. You start with a level 1 membership, which provides basic access to the rewards and a small selection of daily activities. If you earn 500 points in a single month, you can temporarily upgrade to a level 2 membership to earn more points from Bing searches and purchases, receive discounts on rewards and store items, and gain access to exclusive sales and events. Level 2 memberships can also be paired with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to earn even more reward points from Microsoft Store purchases.
To redeem your Microsoft reward points, go to the Microsoft Rewards dashboard and click on the "Redeem" tab. Scroll down until you find your preferred Game Pass membership.
Microsoft Rewards currently offers Game Pass Core and PC Game Pass for 9,500 points each. Game Pass Ultimate is available for 14,000 points. If you have enough points, you can also purchase a three-month subscription for these memberships. Additionally, level 2 members receive slight discounts on these rewards.
After you select a membership, click "Redeem Reward" and proceed through the verification process to receive a code for your Game Pass subscription. You can start your Game Pass membership at any time by redeeming this code on the Xbox storefront.
There is no limit to the number of times you can redeem your points for a Game Pass membership, and you don't even have to worry about your points expiring. However, actually earning enough points for just one month of Game Pass is a lengthy process, especially if you're aiming for Game Pass Ultimate.
Let's say you want to earn enough points for Game Pass without spending a dime. With a level 1 membership, you can log in every day to earn 5 points for every Bing search (up to 50 points per day) and at least 30 points from daily login tasks. You will also receive between 45 and 150 bonus points at select intervals for completing your daily tasks on multiple consecutive days.
Outside of Bing, you can earn up to 40 points for using the Xbox mobile app and playing games on an Xbox console or PC. It's not much to start with, but you can easily reach level 2 within a week by completing these tasks to earn at least 120 points daily.
At level 2, daily logins will help you earn up to 150 points from Bing searches, an extra 100 points from searches on the mobile app, and a few more points earned from additional activities that are exclusive to level 2 members. Combined with the 40 points earned from the Xbox app and consoles, you can get a minimum of 290 points every day. Even if you get more from login streak bonuses and other point-earning activities, it will still take a while to earn enough points to redeem a Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
You will need to complete every daily login activity for roughly 33 days to acquire 9,500 points for Xbox Game Pass Core or PC Game Pass. If you redeem your points with an active level 2 membership, this price is discounted to 8,500 points, which takes at least 30 days to accumulate.
If you're saving up for Game Pass Ultimate, you'll need to keep up with these login bonuses for 49 days to acquire 14,000 points, or 42 days for level 2's discounted price of 12,000 points. However, this is only counting for points earned from daily logins. You can easily reach these goals in a much shorter time if you regularly collect points from other sources such as login streak bonuses and additional activities.
You can also earn more points with an active subscription to Game Pass Ultimate. Not only does Ultimate reward you with extra reward points for each purchase from the Microsoft Store, but it also allows you to complete additional daily, weekly, and monthly "quests". You can earn thousands of reward points from these quests, many of which are as simple as playing games through Game Pass or completing a specific number of other quests. Because of this, it's much easier to keep Game Pass Ultimate once you start your subscription.
If you already use Bing or an Xbox console on a frequent basis, you won't have trouble racking up rewards points. In fact, you might have already built a stockpile of thousands of points without even realizing it. For everyone else, claiming a month of Game Pass through this method can feel like a chore.
This is especially true if you live outside the US, as certain point-earning activities aren't available in other regions. However, claiming these memberships through Microsoft rewards will save you between $9.99 and $19.99, depending on the Game Pass membership you choose.
Microsoft Rewards Is Worth the Hassle
If you don't have much free time or simply don't want to spend months on tedious tasks, you're better off waiting for Game Pass to go on sale. However, that doesn't mean you should skip out on Microsoft Rewards.
Even if you don't plan on logging in every day, you can still let your points slowly build up over time while using Bing and save up for any of the other rewards on offer. Although earning points requires some patience and persistence, Microsoft Rewards is absolutely worth your time.