Microsoft Rewards Faces Growing User Frustration

Microsoft Rewards users are hitting a roadblock when trying to accumulate points through Bing searches, sparking frustration among the community. Many members have voiced their concerns, reporting similar experiences with restricted earning capabilities.

Despite undergoing numerous updates over the years, the core mission of the Microsoft Rewards program remains unchanged: offering incentives for activities users were already engaging in. Whether it’s completing Game Pass Quests or conducting Bing searches, participants aim to collect points that can be redeemed for gift cards or other perks. However, earning points via searches has posed some challenges recently.

Many users have taken to social media to air their grievances about the restrictions impacting point accrual from Bing searches. Reports highlight that users are receiving alerts about “unusual search activity,” leading to capped earnings based on time intervals. One user noted a restriction to just three searches every 30 minutes. While Bing searches have seen rate limits before, the current system seems more stringent or more prone to mistakenly flagging compliant users.

So why are these limitations on Microsoft Rewards Bing Search Rewards in place? Although there’s no official announcement regarding recent tweaks, it’s likely these restrictions aim to curb spam. Certain users might exploit the system, flooding it with rapid, possibly automated searches to quickly rack up points. Unfortunately, this crackdown is sweeping up legitimate users as well.

Microsoft’s initiative seems designed to boost Bing’s usage over competitors like Google. Yet, this issue threatens to deter even loyal users from relying on the search engine. While spammers engaging in rapid, high-frequency searches aren’t desirable beneficiaries, people often naturally perform numerous web searches without any rewards prompts. Some participants disillusioned by these constraints are considering abandoning Bing searches in their quest for points. Nonetheless, the program still offers various other avenues for earning rewards without search activity, albeit this limitation is understandably disappointing.

Hopefully, Microsoft will acknowledge this predicament and refine its search limitations to prevent false positives against well-meaning users. The company has previously rectified erroneous Microsoft Rewards suspensions, so there’s hope for a similar resolution here.