Microsoft is partnering with Barclays to create an Xbox Mastercard, the company announced today. This card has no annual fee and will be available exclusively to Xbox Insiders in the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii starting on Sept. 21.
According to Xbox Wire, cardholders can earn card points for every $1 that they spend on purchases. In particular, buying eligible products on the Microsoft store will net cardholders 5x the amount of points, while eligible streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ will dish out 3x points.
Gamers have to eat too, so eligible dining delivery services such as Grubhub and DoorDash provide 3x points as well. All other types of purchases will earn the regular 1x rate.
There are several other benefits, like a 5,000 card points bonus and three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for new members after a cardholder’s first purchase — existing members can gift their Game Pass perk to another friend. Additionally, there are five different designs for the card, and cardholders can personalize them with their own gamertags.
On Sept. 21, the card will be available and rolled out to Xbox Insiders in waves. In 2024, the card will be available to all Xbox players in the United States.
Microsoft is no stranger to expanding the Xbox brand to other products. For example, Microsoft created the Xbox Series X mini fridge, and collaborated with Gucci for a limited edition $10,000 Gucci Xbox.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He's been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
