Highlights
- The Xbox Mastercard has officially launched in select regions and comes with perks like Game Pass subscriptions and financial education.
- Cardholders can earn rewards on Microsoft products, streaming services, and more with no annual fees.
- Xbox’s console-branded credit card joins Sony, which has offered a PlayStation Visa credit card since 2008.
Microsoft has announced that the Xbox Mastercard is now available for everyone in the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. The Xbox Mastercard launched back in September 2023 as an exclusive perk for Xbox Insiders.
The Insiders program gathers a group of Xbox customers who have access to certain software updates, upcoming features, and products for beta testing. This limited rollout of the card allowed Microsoft to gather valuable feedback from the testers and iron out any potential wrinkles before opening it up to the public.
Xbox Insiders Testing New ‘Special’ Feature
Xbox Insiders and some non-Insiders receive a new feature that could significantly improve an important aspect of Xbox’s PC app.
Now, anyone in the designated regions can apply for the Xbox Mastercard and unlock an array of benefits – the first of which ties in directly to Game Pass. Users who spend at least $7,000 within the first 12 months of opening the account can earn two separate three-month subscriptions of Game Pass Ultimate to share with friends or family. Moreover, the Xbox Mastercard automatically bumps owners up to level 2 in the Microsoft Rewards program, allowing them to accumulate points quicker, and purchase items from the Microsoft store without having to spend additional cash.
The benefits extend beyond Microsoft services. New Spotify Premium Individual subscribers are awarded three free months to crank up the tunes, and even existing cardholders from the Xbox Insiders program can reap this benefit. Additionally, the Xbox credit card grants access to Barclays Money Basics, which provides useful financial information on budgeting, fraud prevention, credit scores, and more. Lastly, cardholders can rack up five times the points on eligible Microsoft Store products and three times the points on services like Netflix, Disney+, GrubHub, and DoorDash. There are no annual fees, and new holders get 5,000 points instantly and three months of Game Pass Ultimate after the first purchase.
A Console-branded Card Isn’t a New Idea, Nor a Bad One
Although an Xbox-branded credit card may seem a strange proposition, Microsoft isn’t the first company to offer such a thing. Sony has been offering its own PlayStation credit card with Visa since 2008, which offers similar benefits, like a year of PlayStation Plus Premium, 5x points on eligible Sony purchases, and no annual charges. Fans of the Final Fantasy series who live in Japan can even snag exclusive Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth-themed credit cards. For those who spend a considerable amount on games and/or streaming services every month (or even general expenses like food and groceries), the benefits these cards offer would be handy for accumulating points and saving money in the long run.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft’s flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.
