If you always use Bing and other Microsoft services, then Microsoft Rewards is a great way to earn points towards gift cards and other sweepstakes entries. In a sign of even more greatness, the company recently made some changes to the Rewards Dashboard, adding in a cleaner look, a new streak system, and more.
We first noticed the changes last night in our Microsoft Rewards account, and we’re assuming the changes are rolling out slowly to all Microsoft Rewards users. The most interesting of the changes is a redesign of the Rewards Dashboard UI. It is now modern and keeps to a new card-style design. Listed on the top is account information, including total points earned, level status, streak count, and the number of points earned today.
There is also a new “Daily Set” section, which is a collection of three activities. Completing these activities will earn a streak, and a streak will unlock a bonus. For instance, for reaching a three-day streak, you will get a 45-point bonus. Bonuses are not limited to points, and can also include surprise gifts, and bonus features. You can also take a peek at tomorrow’s sets, though they will be grayed out.
In the same area under “Points Breakdown,” is an updated points counter. Gone is the old style bars and stripes counter and new is a circular type counter. It is updated in real time, so everything you complete a search in Bing, you’ll notice the counter rotate and update the points. This is a cool and modern touch, and Microsoft even includes a double points bonus for searches on Bing for a limited time (that is 300 points instead of 150 points.)
Finally, at the bottom of the Dashboard are links to More activities, a look at a goal that the user can set, the last reward redeemed, and suggested rewards. In this section, you can click activities to earn points, or hover over activities and see a beautiful animation, be it opening boxes, flying leaves, a folding map, and rotating football. Definitely a cool touch, helping make the dashboard more lively.
Our writer in France is not seeing these changes, so we’re assuming the new Dashboard might be U.S. only for now. Still, it’s a very welcome change, helping make it easier to keep track of your rewards and redeem them for cool stuff like 1 month of Xbox Live (which is now on sale for 4730 points instead of 7,000 points!) Feel free to check if you’re seeing the new dashboard by clicking here, and be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!