Microsoft Offers Android Users a (Weak) Bing Incentive
May 4, 2017
It looks like Microsoft has stooped to buying traffic for Bing; that cannot bode well. OnMSFT reports, “Set Bing as Your Search Engine on iPhone or Android, Get a Microsoft Rewards $5 Gift Card.” Paradoxically, they don’t seem terribly anxious to spread the word. Reporter Kareem Anderson writes:
Sleuthers over in the Reddit forums have dug up a neat little nugget of savings for iPhone and Android users. According to a thread at the Xbox One subreddit, iPhone and Android users who set their default search engine to Bing can receive a Microsoft Rewards $5 gift card. The details were originally pulled from a Microsoft site instructing users on how to make the change from Google to Bing on smartphone devices. We should note that the redemption process hasn’t been without its issues as several Android users have mentioned that it has not worked or appears delayed in confirming the release of gift cards.
So, they’ve created an incentive, but are not promoting it or, apparently, fulfilling it effectively—talk about mixed messages! Still, if you use an Android device and are inclined toward Bing, but haven’t yet set it as your default browser, you may be able to profit a little by doing so. Anderson shares a link to the Microsoft Rewards page for our convenience.
Cynthia Murrell, May 4, 2017