Microsoft has announced that it the Xbox Live Rewards program will become Microsoft Rewards in June. The move appears to be occurring across a number of regions, including in the U.S., UK, and France, according to alerts posted to the official Xbox Live Rewards{.nofollow} page and emails being sent to members. And while there's no exact date for the switchover, Microsoft says in an accompanying FAQ{.nofollow} that it is planning to complete the migration to Microsoft Rewards "by the end of June 2018."
If you're already an Xbox Live Rewards member, then Microsoft Rewards will feel fairly familiar. While you can currently earn reward points for doing things like purchasing games, movies, and TV shows, the move to Microsoft Rewards will additionally allow you to be rewarded for Bing searches and shopping at Microsoft Store locations. The points you earn can then be redeemed for things like contest entries, gift cards, and more.
According to Microsoft, Xbox Live Rewards memberships will automatically become Microsoft Rewards memberships in June. Existing Microsoft Rewards members will simply have their Xbox Live Rewards membership merged with their existing account. When the transition occurs, any leftover credits and MyVIP Gems will be added to your Microsoft account in your local currency, and you'll have one year to spend it on digital items from the Microsoft Store, Microsoft says. If you'd rather not go through with the transition, Microsoft will let you opt out by June 15{.nofollow} and your remaining rewards credits and MyVIP Gems balance will be added to your Microsoft account in your local currency.
As far as a timeline is concerned, Microsoft has some specific checkpoints laid out. Here's a look at how the transition will go down:
- May 31: All Xbox Live Rewards offers and missions end: the last day to earn Rewards Credits, make progress on your MyVIP Star Rank, earn your % back on purchases, earn MyVIP Gems, or unlock new MyVIP Perks
- May 31: Last day to claim any special FREEdom Rewards tokens from the FREEdom Rewards page{.nofollow}
- June 15: Last day to claim any open MyVIP Perks, or redeem your unused MyVIP Gems for prizes from the MyVIP Vault
- June 15: Last day to opt-out of Xbox Live Rewards if you don't want to transition to Microsoft Rewards>- By the end of June 2018: Deposit of pending Xbox Live Rewards Credits into your Microsoft account
- By the end of June 2018: Xbox Live Rewards becomes Microsoft Rewards
For more, you can check out Microsoft's full FAQ{.nofollow} on the Microsoft Rewards transition.
