Microsoft Rewards Xbox Live Users

by Jennifer Johnson — Saturday, December 04, 2010, 01:04 PM EDT

Microsoft introduced its free Xbox Live Rewards program to give loyal customers recognition and rewards for using Xbox Live. Members of the program will earn Microsoft Points—the same currency used by Xbox Live—when they use the service to renew a membership, activate Netflix, purchase merchandise, and more.

According to Larry Hryb, aka Major Nelson, Microsoft's Xbox Live director of programming, users will also be able to earn points while playing games on Xbox Live. The rewards program is available to anyone with a free Xbox Live membership, but Gold members will have additional opportunities to earn points. The points can be used to purchase content and gear from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

As you may recall, Sony announced its own rewards program back in October known as PlayStation Rewards. However, this program is currently available by invite only to PlayStation Plus and Gamer Advisory Panel members. Sony has had it plans to make the program available to all PlayStation users in the spring.

Tags: Gaming, Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live, rewards

Jennifer Johnson

Jennifer grew up around technology. From an early age, she was curious about all things related to computers. As a child, Jennifer remembers spending nights with her dad programming in BASIC and taking apart hard drives to see what was inside. In high school, she wrote her senior term paper on her experiences with building custom computers.

Jennifer graduated from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After college, she began writing full-time for various PC and technology magazines. Later, she transitioned to the Web. In these roles, Jennifer has covered a variety of topics including laptops, desktops, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various consumer electronics devices. When she's not playing with or writing about the latest gadget, Jennifer loves to spend time with her family, capture memories with her camera, and scrapbook.

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