Never let your Xbox reward points expire: Enable Auto Redeem to save extra money

Xbox reward points are an innovative idea from Microsoft that keeps the community engaged. Many use them for the Game Pass membership or to get $5-10 gift cards, amongst other things.

However, reward points don’t last forever. They will expire after 18 months of inactivity, as per Microsoft’s official website. If redeemed for a voucher, say a $10 Gift Card, it will expire within 90 days, unless used. So, you should keep a tab of rewards points or redeemed vouchers.

Can’t do that? There’s an easier option. Enable Auto Redeem on Xbox for the preferred reward!

This way, any accumulated reward points over the month are automatically redeemed for the item of your choice, given you have sufficient points. If not, the points won’t be auto-redeemed!

The number of points for each reward varies. More so, it often varies from region to region. Also, there could be a slight fluctuation in the value of each reward, as reported by users in a Reddit post.

Yeah, a quick check of the spreadsheet I made a few months ago to compare the values of various redemption methods shows 8,750.
Maybe this was changed to 9,500 earlier this week when the other GC point costs went up, but now it’s back down to the previous value?

It went up recently. I canceled my auto redeem because it did. Now I guess it’s back down.

With the Xbox Rewards app being discontinued, you will now have to use the Rewards Hub for Auto Redeem.

Not everyone is a fan of Auto Redeem on Xbox

90-day expiry and frequent issues are two aspects of Auto Redeem on Xbox that upset users. For instance, often, at the start of the month, the reward is not auto-redeemed even when you have the required point count.

Others, too, complained about Auto Redeem not working on one or more occasions in another Reddit thread.

I recently set up auto-redeem for a 1 month subscription for Game Pass Ultimate but when it went to redeem it this morning, it said that it is either out of stock or no longer offered.

I’ve had auto redeem for a while. I got a message saying “one of my auto redeems was out of stock” it did not say no longer offered, and it also said check back later.

A few claim, Auto Redeem on Xbox never worked for them.

Auto redeem has never worked for me. I tried it for multiple months and sent in tickets as well. Neither helped..

Some Xbox users reported losing money due to Auto Redeem as the redeemed gift card disappeared after expiry.

Biggest issue with auto redeem is the gift card disappears after 90 days if unspent. Lost about 70 dollars, never got it back.
Not sure if this is different now.

Enabling Auto Redeem on Xbox is a matter of preference. It comes with a set of pros and cons and is not all bad.

One of the key benefits of Auto Redeem is the added discount. For instance, a normal Xbox Game Pass purchase costs 12,000 reward points, while with Auto Redeem, it comes down to 10,500.

Though you won’t be able to save too many gift cards for expensive rewards, it was never the idea. Microsoft intends you to use the purchased vouchers right away!

Share your experience with Auto Redeem on Xbox in the comments section.