Microsoft shutting down Bing Rewards in India, no sign of Microsoft Rewards replacement

2 min. read

Published on August 24, 2016

published on August 24, 2016

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It looks like Bing Rewards in India is shutting down after only being in service for a handful of months. What’s more is it looks like the program will be shut down without being replaced by Microsoft Rewards, unlike what has been announced in the US.

The news comes from a Windows Central report based off of tips from the website’s Indian readers. Microsoft reportedly emailed Bing Rewards members in India stating the program will shut down on September 30th. After that date, “Bing Rewards members will no longer be able to claim or redeem credits.”

Bing Rewards

Bing Rewards is a program that incentivizes users to search with Bing. Users rack up credits as a reward for using Microsoft’s search engine. Credits can then be redeemed for a variety of products, gift cards, sweepstakes, and charitable donations.

As we reported earlier, Microsoft recently announced that Bing Rewards is becoming Microsoft Rewards. Microsoft Rewards is an expanded version of the same rewards program. Members will soon be able to earn rewards for using Bing, Microsoft Edge, the Windows Store, or the Microsoft Store. There will also be a new point system with a different structure of tiers for more frequent users.

However, it appears Bing Rewards members in India will not be transitioning to Microsoft Rewards. Window Central reported that the emails to members in India included no statements about a change over to Microsoft Rewards. They only stated that Bing Rewards will cease to operate in India at the end of next month.

Bing Rewards only came to India a few short months ago in the middle of March. It is an undoubtedly short amount of time to run and then cease a customer rewards program. It is unclear why the program was introduced only to be shuttered a few months later.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.