Xbox owners can grab free store credit with one simple step

Well, this is unexpected news. You can now grab an Xbox Mastercard, allowing you to earn free store credit with a variety of everyday purchases.

It’s been a busy ol’ couple of weeks for Xbox. It’s fair to say that Xbox has had a rough time in the last few years when it comes to first-party releases. Starfield has well and truly put them back on the map though - and in fact, the game is Bethesda’s most successful launch to date. It already boasts over 6,000,000 players across Xbox and PC. I expect that we’ll see Starfield’s name crop up a lot at this year’s Game Awards. In the meantime though, Xbox has taken a break from the Starfield fanfare to announce a new Xbox Mastercard - a product I don’t think any of us saw coming.

Take a look at our video review of Starfield below.

Microsoft has teamed up with Barclays Bank to create the new Xbox Mastercard. Essentially, you’ll earn points when you make everyday purchases. Those points can then be redeemed on games and add-ons with Xbox.

If you use the Mastercard to shop for Xbox and Microsoft products on the Microsoft Store, you’ll earn 5x points. You’ll earn 3x points on eligible streaming service purchases like Netflix and Disney Plus. Dining delivery service purchases, like Grubhub and DoorDash, will result in 3x card points, while all other everyday purchases will gain 1x card points.

There is no annual fee, but the Mastercard is only available to Xbox Insiders living in the 50 United States, beginning 21 September. It’ll become available to all US residents next year.

Card holders will also benefit from: a bonus of 5,000 card points ($50 value) after first purchase, three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for new Game Pass members after their first purchase, choice of one of five iconic designs for their card with the option of personalising it with their gamertag, flexibility of use with contactless payments and digital wallets, free online access to cardmembers’ FICO Credit Score, and $0 Fraud Liability protection so cardmembers are not responsible for charges they didn’t authorise.

Needless to say, you must be 18 years of age to apply and should use the card responsibly.