Microsoft Rewards has long been one of the few goodwill offerings from Microsoft. It was slightly revamped around the time of the Game Pass price hikes, seemingly to soften the blow of that steep increase.
Now, that once too-good-to-be-true Rewards program has quietly raised prices in the US and UK. Users on Reddit first noticed the change, with TrueAchievements later reporting that costs have increased by more than 5%.
Microsoft quietly raises Xbox gift card redemption costs
Microsoft Rewards is Microsoft’s own free program that aims to give back to users for using its various services, from Bing, Edge, Game Pass, and more.
Many used the service to redeem free gift cards and get essentially free Game Pass if you earn enough points, and now that process is being made slightly more difficult as Microsoft, without warning, has raised the prices by just shy of 5.3%, so go over just what has been changed.
Microsoft appears to have raised the points cost of Xbox gift cards by roughly 5.3% in both the US and the UK.
In the US, a $10 Xbox gift card previously cost 9,500 points with the Level 2 discount applied. It now costs 10,000 points. I do not have direct access to US pricing myself, so credit to TrueAchievements and users reporting the change for helping surface the data.
In the UK, the shift is almost identical. The £10 gift card has increased from 11,780 points to 12,400 points. Despite regional differences, it’s the same across the board, with roughly the same percentage increase.
Microsoft Rewards have quietly increases its prices again for Xbox Gift Cards in a number of regionsNew: €25 = 28,305 pointsOld: €25 = 25,735 pointsDifferent: 2,570 points or 10% increaseAlso, $10 gift card now costs 10,000 points.Source:https://t.co/0SkdjBzPBT pic.twitter.com/Sy75Nakta0February 17, 2026
For added context, Level 2 discounts apply to users who have put in the effort and reached Microsoft’s monthly threshold, which is typically 500 points.
Level 2 users earn more points per Bing search, gain access to additional earning opportunities, and receive slightly cheaper redemption rates on certain rewards.
Over to you
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