Microsoft Offering Rewards To Consumers To Use Their New Edge Browser

Microsoft Rewards To Pay You To Use Windows 10 Edge Browser And Bing

Do you like using Microsoft Edge browser? If not, this incentive might just change your mind and you may end up using Edge.

Microsoft, through the newly rebranded Microsoft Rewards – formerly Bing Rewards, will be paying Windows 10 users for using the Edge browser, shopping at the Microsoft store, or using Bing.

Microsoft claims that the Edge browser is faster, more battery efficient and all-round better than Chrome or Firefox. It also consistently offers 1080p streaming on Netflix. You can even draw on websites with a stylus. In spite of all this, Edge has had trouble attracting users to use this browser. Currently, Google Chrome is the world’s most popular desktop web browser.

Users were given points for using Bing as their search engine through Bing Rewards. With Microsoft Rewards, which is currently only available in the United States, will also be giving points for using Edge in addition to Bing, as well as for purchasing items on the Microsoft store.

Users can earn points for up to thirty hours of web browsing per month under “Microsoft Rewards”. However, it is not clear how many points each hour of usage will collect. Further, users who would like to participate in the Microsoft Rewards program are required to set Bing as their default search engine. In order to earn points, users must be signed in with the same account linked to their Microsoft Rewards membership. To make sure that the users are not trying to cheat the system, Microsoft will also track mouse movements and other data.

Microsoft Rewards will have two tiers. Tier 2 users can earn more points on Bing, save up to 10% on rewards from Microsoft brand, and will also receive “exclusive offers.” In order to maintain their Tier 2 status, users must at least earn 500 points or more points a month. Points can be traded in for vouchers or credits to places like Amazon, Starbucks, Skype and the ad-free version of Outlook.com.

Bing Rewards will automatically convert to Microsoft Rewards points. One Bing Rewards credit is worth ten Microsoft Rewards points. Earnings for Bing searches and redemptions will also be synced to reflect the conversion. Microsoft Rewards is expected to roll out in the next few weeks.

Microsoft once dominated the browser game with Internet Explorer, a predecessor to Edge. However, Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox rise to prominence over the last decade resulted in a significant decline in the usage of Internet Explorer, as it failed to match up with its rivals.