Microsoft Is Sending Customers Emails With Hidden $10 Gift Cards, Check Your Inbox

You may have received a $10 store gift card from Microsoft and not even realized it. The company has been hiding them behind special links in emails during the holiday season, the same ones you may have sent to the trash bin without knowing there was anything more to the email than an advertisement to shop at the Microsoft Store.

Whether you can still redeem the gift card is another matter (more on that in a minute). However, it's worth digging in your inbox and/or digital trash bin, as it only takes a few seconds to find out. Apparently there are multiple emails with hidden gift card links, too.

A user on Reddit brought it to widespread attention by posting a copy of his email, with instructions on how to get the gift card. In short, if you receive an email that looks like the one above, click on the trees and you'll be taken to a page to redeem your $10 gift card.

This is not the first time Microsoft has done this, It also sent out a hidden gift card link in its Black Friday email, which users could redeem by clicking on the blue squirrel. The subject line on that email read, "Get ready for Black Friday."

Unfortunately, it might be too late, even if you're able to dig up any of the emails. Several users on Reddit report that they're being met with blank pages when trying to redeem the hidden gift card. Disabling ab blocking software seems to work for some, but not all.

It's worth checking into, though. The fine print indicates the emails were sent on November 27, December 5, and December 16. Only the original recipient is eligible to redeem the hidden gift card, which must be done by December 31 (if there are any left). After that, Microsoft allows 90 days to use up the credit.