PC World - USA (2020-09)

SEPTEMBER 2020 PCWorld 103

We’ll use the
awesome Xbox
Game Pass for PC
(go.pcworld.com/
xbps), which costs
$4.99 per month, as
our target. Game
Pass for PC is part of
Xbox Game Pass
Ultimate’s “Netflix-
for-games”
subscription, which
we’ve already shown
can be purchased
for peanuts (go.pcworld.com/pnut) if you
know the trick. But why pay at all? Microsoft
Rewards is the answer to that.

WHAT CAN YOU EARN WITH
MICROSOFT REWARDS?
As we go through our tutorial, keep your eye
on the prize: a one-month Game Pass for PC
subscription is 7,000 points. You can pay
5,000 points for a $5 Microsoft gift card,
though that can only be applied to games,
apps, movies/TV shows, or devices like a
Surface or Xbox—not Game Pass.
But the Microsoft Rewards redemption
page (go.pcworld.com/rdpg) offers all sorts
of possibilities: Microsoft gift cards and Game
Pass subscriptions, including Game Pass
Ultimate; gift cards to retailers like Amazon,
Target, REI, Sephora, and Walmart; food
offers at Starbucks, Burger King, Dominos,

UberEats, DoorDash and GrubHub. You can

even donate your points (and their cash value)

to the World Wildlife Foundation, Girls Who

Code, the American Red Cross, The Trevor

Project, and more. Microsoft will often “pay”

you points to double your donation.

Here’s a small, representative sample:

• $5 Amazon gift card: 5,250 points


• $10 Microsoft gift card: 10,000 points


• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (1 mo):
  12,000 points


• $15 DoorDash gift card: 19,500 points
  You can even gamble points, with games
  such as Select Three or Whack-a-Piñata
  offering the chance at $250,000, 500 Xbox
  One S consoles or other prizes for 300 points
  a pop.
  Microsoft has an odd tiering system,
  which offers discounts after progressing from
  Level 1 (at 500 points or less) to Level 2. That

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate bundles Microsoft’s Netflix-esque Xbox Game Pass

and Xbox Game Pass for PC subscriptions with its Xbox Live Gold service.