Why Microsoft Rewards Are Worth It?
With Edge being my default browser and Bing my default search engine, I tend to get a lot of Award points added to my account. Originally named Bing Rewards, Microsoft renamed it to Microsoft Rewards to extend the rewards to other than Bing searches. Now there is, “Give With Bing”.
How Do You Earn Points?
It is easy to accumulate points and most of the ways are invisible to you. What I mean by that is, the points are just rewarded to you while performing tasks you would normally perform without you having to take any additional action. Some savvy users pursue additional points to accumulate more than the average user. 
- Search with Bing (also earn more if Bing is being used in Edge)
- Use the search function on your Taskbar
- Use Cortana to search
- Buy stuff from the Microsoft store
- Play selected games or complete quests on Xbox One
- Open the rewards Icon while in Bing and complete additional quests, take quizzes or play trivia games are just examples that can earn you additional points from 10 to over 100 points a day
- Mobile searches are up to 600 points per month.
What Is Their Dollar Value?
First of all, they do not have a dollar value, per se. However, they do have a redeemable value that is equal to a dollar value. In other words, 5000 points can be redeemed for something worth ~$5.00.
The longer you use MS Rewards and the more you accumulate, you can move from Level 1 to Level 2. To maintain a Level 2 status, you would need to earn 500 points per month, which is really not hard. Level 2 members earn five times more points on Bing.com and save up to 10% on rewards from Microsoft products and services.
How Are Points Redeemed?
Simply click on your MS Rewards Icon in Bing and then click on Redeem. It is there that you can redeem your points for additional time on Xbox Gold, earning gift cards to Amazon, Dunkin’ Donuts, and others. Obviously, it depends on your point total as to which prizes are available but know that 50,000 points are equal to approximately $50.00 US — you get the idea. When I have used mine, it was usually to enter a sweepstakes entry for a prize for 200 Points (I have never won).
Microsoft Rewards Up The Stakes
Now, at least in my opinion, Microsoft has made the points you earn much more valuable by being able to donate them to charitable causes. The ability to redeem them to a charity is not entirely new but what is new is “Give With Bing”. Instead of donating accumulated points, you can join “Give With Bing” to have your search points automatically forwarded to the nonprofit charity you choose. 
Summary
With the devasting things happening in Ukraine right now, there are a couple of nonprofit charities that can use all the help they can get. Whether your goal is to help front-line fighters, medical, or to help the millions of people affected by giving them food, blankets, and clothing, to the families with children affected by the war in Ukraine, there is a nonprofit for you.
Of course, there are a million other nonprofits you might deem more worthy of your points and if that is the case, I encourage you to give there. In any case, it is easy to manage your “Giving” by going to your Rewards Dashboard and changing, stopping, or contributing more points.
As of February 2022, Microsoft Rewards has donated over $10.5 million dollars, and please when you read “Microsoft Rewards has donated “ read “We” because it is Microsoft users doing the donating. A big thanks to everyone that reads this article and donates or to those who beat me to the punch.
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