Microsoft kicked off a Bing service for those who love only the best bargains and deals when shopping around. Bing Offers provides you access to over 200,000 deals in more than 14,000 supported cities and towns across the US. That's quite the number for a new service. If you're not familiar with the name, Bing Offers assembles the best bargains from the likes of Groupon, Living social and Restaurant.com so you know you're covered when it comes to never missing out on deals.
Today, Microsoft is working on improving the service with a new system, which is being trialled in Seattle.
The Bing team notes in an official blog post they worked hard to address numerous concerns raised by consumers. These included having to pre-purchase deals that may be forgotten or not used due to inflexible redemption options. Also people apparently don't enjoy the added hassle of having to print coupons or display QR codes to redeem savings. The team has announced that they're testing a new program in Seattle that will enable you to link deals to your credit and / or debit cards.
Titled "Bing Offers Card-Linked," Microsoft has partnered with First Data, Visa and Master Card to make it possible to redeem deals and offers automatically without needing to show codes on a phone or print off coupons. Multiple businesses are already participating in the program, including Pizza Hut, Mooyah Burgers, Buca Di Beppo and others. If you don't reside in Seattle, fear not as Bing Offers Card-Linked availability is expected to roll-out in other US cities soon.
So how do you get involved? Simply sign up on the Bing Offers website with your Microsoft account and a credit or debit card. This will then link the two together and all deals you choose will be available from the get go. Bing will then provide you with the latest local deals on the website, through email subscriptions and on a variety of services (Skype, Bing Apps, etc.). When you head into stores and use your card to make the payment, you'll automatically be eligible for respective deals.
Source: Bing
