Did you know that you can skip the $99.99 it costs to pre-order the Ultimate Edition of Grand Theft Auto VI as long as you have enough Microsoft Rewards points?
A post on Reddit shared how a player used 98,000 points, worth about $80, to lock in their GTA 6 pre-order, made possible only because Rockstar Games kept delaying the game. Another user then shared that they have enough points to pre-order the Ultimate Edition.
For those who aren't aware, Microsoft Rewards is a free program where you earn points for doing things in Microsoft's ecosystem: searching with Bing, using the Edge browser, completing short daily quizzes and quests, and so on. You rack up points over time and redeem them for gift cards, Xbox store credit, and other rewards. Funnel enough of those points into Xbox credit, and you can use them to pre-order a game for free, which is exactly what this Grand Theft Auto fan did.
Microsoft Rewards Earning Methods and Point Yields
| Earning Method | Approx. Points Yield | Cap / Frequency | Time per day | Tier / Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bing searches (PC) | 5 pts/search | 90 pts/day (US Level 2) or 60 pts/day (Gold tier) | ~2 min | Any tier; cap rises with tier | The single biggest steady earner. Use Edge to double-dip with the Edge bonus. |
Bing searches (mobile) | 5 pts/search | 60–100 pts/day | ~1 min | Any tier | Use the Bing app or set Bing as default. Separate cap from PC searches. |
Edge browser bonus | ~12–20 pts/day | 20 pts/day max | Stacks with PC searches | Edge browser only | Do your PC Bing searches inside Edge to claim this automatically. |
Daily Set (rewards dashboard) | 15+ pts/day | Daily | ~2 min | Any tier | Quick quizzes and clickthroughs at rewards.bing.com. Builds streak bonuses. |
Weekly Set | 100 pts + badge | Weekly (3 tasks over 7 days) | ~5 min total | Any tier | Three short tasks across the week. |
Monthly Bonus Round | Up to 2,000 pts | Monthly | Requires full daily/weekly completion | Any tier | Big payout but you must complete every daily and weekly task that month. |
STAR Bonus | Up to 2,100 pts/month | Monthly | Builds naturally | Level 2 / Silver / Gold | Rewards consistent, organic search behavior across the whole month. |
Monthly Punchcards | 50–100 pts each | Monthly | ~30 sec per card | Any tier | Short "search for X" or "check out Y" tasks. Expire end of month. |
Microsoft Start app / Read to Earn | ~30 pts/day | 3 pts per article, ~10 articles | ~1 min | Mobile app required | Scroll/tap headlines. You don't actually have to read. |
Shopping Game | Up to 100 pts/day | Daily | ~2 min | Any tier | Guess product prices. Quick searching gets you most answers. |
Xbox daily login | 5–10 pts | Daily | <1 min | Xbox console or app | Just open the Rewards app on Xbox. |
Xbox Game Pass quests | 25–75 pts each | Multiple daily quests | 15+ min play | Game Pass required; Ultimate earns more | Daily quests like "play a game" or "play Jewel in the Xbox mobile app." |
Weekly Console Bonus | Up to 260 pts/week (GPU) or 130 pts/week | Weekly (5 consecutive days play) | 5 days play | Game Pass Ultimate doubles the cap | Play any game 5 days running. |
Achievement rewards | ~50 pts per achievement | Few per day | Varies | Xbox / Game Pass | Awarded for unlocking achievements while playing. |
Microsoft Store purchases | Up to 10% back in points | Per purchase | N/A | Premium/Ultimate earn 2x–4x on purchases | Only games and content qualify — subscriptions and gift cards do not. |
Birthday bonuses | Variable | Annually | N/A | Profile birthday set | Padding around your birthday week/month. |
Referrals (Refer & Earn) | Variable | Per referral signup | One-off | Refer a new member | Located in the Refer & Earn section of the dashboard. |
Sweepstakes entries | N/A (spend, not earn) | Daily | N/A | Any tier | 200 pts per entry for things like the Total Prize Drop — gambling your points, not earning. |
The table breaks down every active way to earn Microsoft Rewards points in 2026, including approximate yields, daily and monthly caps, time investment, and the tier or subscription required to unlock each method.
It's not necessarily "free" in the sense that you're technically spending your time on it, but it doesn't require a massive effort either.
If you're deliberate about it, like this Reddit user was, you can earn just as much through hours of searches, quizzes, and daily quests spread across seven months. For someone who is probably using Edge and Bing daily anyway, it is close to free.
Birthday week and month bonuses can pad your points, and the usual boosters apply, such as additional Edge browser activity, quizzes, and Xbox quests. Unfortunately, waiting for seven months means you'll miss out on the pre-order bonus for GTA 6, but hey, it's free, right?
Whether that is worth it is a different conversation already and depends entirely on how you value your time.
Just be warned that if you pay for a pre-order fully with Microsoft Rewards or your Microsoft account balance, the charge happens right there and then. Normally, a pre-order does not charge you until the game is about to release, but Microsoft's balance payments work differently. Most assume that it's like a normal pre-order and get caught off guard. It doesn't. Knowing the charge happens right away lets you plan around it.
This is actually good news though. Redeeming everything now, months before GTA 6 arrives in November, actually protects your points from expiring if left alone for at least 12 months.
With that said, credit where it is due. Gaming a system legitimately to pre-order a controversial upgrade for a franchise that's all about doing illegal things is the kind of stuff that society comes up with that's genuinely making it difficult for fiction to top.