#thriftyP
Ah, the Bing brand. A brand that naturally plays second fiddle to Google’s flagship search engine-the search engine that kick-started its own massive brand and catapulted it to mammoth status! Oh, Google changed the way we used search engines forever, it is fair to say. You know its big when we tend to say ‘Google it’, when talking about searching online, as let’s be honest, that is the search engine you are most likely going to be using!
So, for me personally, and I expect many others, we use Google as our default option because we associate it with being the most accurate in terms of the results it fetches. I have given the likes of Bing, plenty of chances and I find for the average search the results are fine and more than good enough to reach what I was looking for, however, every so often I would just end up going to Google anyway knowing that it would be ‘a bit closer’ to what I was looking for! Essentially, my point is that Google is still the better search engine for the results I need. But Bing is no pile of rubbish.
To briefly backtrack, some years ago I enrolled myself in a Microsoft programme where you could earn points for testing out products. This involved playing some online games, completing quizzes, and searching results in a search engine. I believe this was a pre-Bing time, so I guess it was all ultimately research for what would become Bing. However after I had spent some weeks racking up the points I found out you could only cash out your points for prizes, if you were American based. The UK was not included (but they did let me test their features and rack up the points). In fairness, there would likely have been some terms and conditions that made this clear, but I likely missed them (because I didn’t read them, I am guessing! That was a much younger me, of course, I wouldn’t be like that now-*cough*).
Back to more recent times and I discovered the Bing programme, one that was available to the UK. It is very much like the old Microsoft one I spoke of. Before we look at it in a little bit more detail, I thought I should clear something up. I have earlier stated that I think Google is still the superior search engine, so would I want to actually be using Bing for my search results even if I can earn points for prizes? Well, yes, and I will tell you why. I know roughly the query types that I find Google to be better for, so those ones I will search still with Google. I still always use Google through my smart speaker and on my Google Pixel 3, as it naturally suits things that way. But a lot of what I search for on my laptop, Bing will more than get the job done. I’ll be honest with you, one of the most common search types in the Ben Stuart household, other than the obvious, yep luxury pictures of food, have something to do with finding out about someone I have just seen star in a film or TV show. So happy to get points for those ‘where have I seen that guy before’ moments!
The point of this post anyway is to look at some other reasons to use the Bing brand. Ones that involve rewards! Did you know you can earn points searching with the Bing search engine, points which can be exchanged for prizes? That is better than a kick in the tooth, or whatever the saying is (I should have Googled it). It seems to be about 3 points per unique search from what I have noticed when watching the points go up, and I believe there is some kind of limit to how much you can earn in one day it seems to be 150.
In fact let us look at the earning structure, as it depends on the level you hold at Microsoft Rewards:
Level 1 (Free and included with your Microsoft account)
- 3 points per Bing Search, up to 30 points per day.
- 1 point per $1 spent in the Microsoft Store, you can earn bonus points on selected purchases.
- Points for exploring offers on the Microsoft Rewards page
- Access to members sales and discounts
- Points can be redeemed for gift cards, sweepstakes and donated to charity.
Made it to Level 2? Here are your benefits:
(Level 2 Earn at least 500 points each month)
- Still 3 points per Bing Search/up to 150 points per day
- Level 1 Microsoft Store benefits, plus exclusive Level 2 bonus offers
- Points for exploring offers from Microsoft Rewards.
- Access to member sale and discounts, with exclusives for Level 2 members.
- Get up to 10% off when redeeming rewards from Microsoft brands.
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