Bing Search, Green Stamps For Now

November 4, 2016 — Bing search, consumer rewards, stamps

collecting points

I switched to Bing search a few years ago for no particular reason. It serves my needs and I get paid to search.  My mother was an avid green and gold bond stamp saver during my childhood.  She did amazing things with them because she saved up for the big stuff.  I personally felt very good about my job, which was pasting them into a book.  I had a set up with a sponge that was efficient and easy.  I thought I was the Department of the Treasury stacking up the books for Christmas purchases.  I also was heavily into the catalogs that described the items one could buy with the stamps.  When my mother started the habit i am sure it was an economic necessity for the household budget.  She continued until the stamps disappeared because it was a sport she enjoyed.  I remember when I was about 30 she bought me a set of dishes with stamps.  She would always let you know if she used stamps to buy you a gift because she was proud of it.  It showed she was a smart consumer.

I suppose I feel the same way about the $5 of Amazon credit I earn each month by searching with Bing.  The system is now called Microsoft rewards, and points can be earned searching on a PC using Microsoft Edge.  I have a Mac, so I don’t earn those points, but I earn enough to make $5 a month.  I am going to search anyhow, so I might as well be paid a little bonus to do it.  I scored my monthly gift this week and am on my way to next month’s.  There are various kinds of gifts you can select for your points.  For me this is the best and most useful.  If you use Microsoft products they make it even more lucrative when you exchange your points.  They also let you enter contests for a few points to win Microsoft gear.

We have come a long way into the land of consumer rewards since the days of green stamps. I was a genius at using airline flight miles back when I was a travel agent.  Things have tightened on the airline fun since I was a frequent flyer, stacking up the miles. I used to buy  coach international tickets and upgrade to business with miles.  My peak achievement was flying first class round trip on Singapore Airlines to Bangkok. It was very much like going to heaven.  I even met Jack LaLanne and his lovely wife Elaine on my return flight to LAX.  There could never possibly be a better flying experience.  I have an autographed photo of Jack that he gave me as a momento. I never forget that I have that picture because of my use of frequent flyer miles.  Today it is impossible to upgrade for miles, and Jack is dead.

What is the moral of this story? It pays to use all the rewards for which you exert no effort and give up no privacy.  There is no telling how much you will earn.