Subject: Microsoft Rewards India: Gift Cards Unavailable for Months, Request for Update

Hello,

I have been using Microsoft Rewards for quite some time, and I wanted to share my experience and concerns regarding the availability of gift cards in India.

Thank you for taking the time to understand my concerns. I sincerely hope you will read this email in full, as I have tried to explain the situation as clearly as I can.

When I first started using Microsoft Rewards, I was genuinely excited about earning enough points to redeem my first gift card. Unfortunately, my first redemption attempt failed, seemingly due to the high volume of redemption requests. I assumed this was temporary and kept collecting points, but things haven’t improved since then.

I have checked the redemption catalogue regularly, sometimes daily, hoping to see popular gift cards restocked. Over this entire period, I have noticed only one meaningful restock, and I couldn’t redeem anything then because I was travelling and didn’t have access to the device I needed. The ₹500 PVR gift card is another example: I was interested in it, but it became unavailable, seemingly during a period of high demand around movie releases.

Meanwhile, my points balance has grown from approximately 6,000 to over 32,000, and I still haven’t been able to redeem a gift card I genuinely wanted. It is frustrating to keep accumulating points with nothing worthwhile to spend them on.

Honestly, my enthusiasm for Microsoft Rewards has gradually disappeared. I used to look forward to searching with Bing and earning points every day. Now I barely feel motivated to search, because I don’t see much purpose in collecting points I cannot reliably redeem.

My main concerns are:

1. Inconsistent restocking: Popular gift cards have remained unavailable for months, with very few restocking opportunities.
2. Lack of updates: There is hardly any information about when rewards might return or whether certain gift cards have been discontinued.
3. High redemption demand: Even when gift cards become available, they run out very quickly, making it difficult for regular users to redeem them.
4. Declining motivation: What was once an enjoyable programme has become something I no longer feel motivated to participate in.
5. Neglect of Indian users: It feels as though the Indian redemption catalogue is not receiving enough attention compared to the expectations created by the programme.

I understand there may be limitations involving regional partnerships and reward availability, but having users wait indefinitely without any meaningful updates is disappointing. I hope Microsoft will look into the situation in India and maintain a more consistent selection of rewards.

Independent Advisors and community members are welcome to share their thoughts, and I appreciate the effort. However, I am looking for actual help from the Microsoft Rewards team, either a clear answer on gift card availability in India or an escalation of this issue to the team that manages the India catalogue.

Could you please let me know whether there are any updates regarding restocking in India, or whether this situation is expected to continue? I’d also appreciate confirmation that my accumulated points will not expire in the meantime.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this.

Regards,

Darsh