Microsoft is beta testing Earn in three states

Microsoft has opened up a new beta program called Earn and if you live in Arizona, Massachusetts or Washington, you can sign up for the service.

Earn allows you to receive credits for making purchases at hundreds of restaurant and national retailers; you can receive 5%-10% in credits based on the retailer. You can then use these credits on all types of products including software, laptops, phones, Xbox gear, and more.

If you live in one of the states above, you can register by going here but know that you do have to link your credit/debit card to the service so that it can track your purchases to give your the credits you have accumulated.

When looking into the fine print, the Earn credits can only be applied to purchases made at the Microsoft store, this isn't a big surprise as the Redmond based company is running the service, and the retailer must have a promotional offer, according to the terms of use.

This means that the retailer needs to designate which goods/services will earn credits, so credits may not be earned on all purchases at participating retailers.

The program is free, so unless you are concerned that Microsoft is monitoring your spending habits, it is an easy way to work towards buying a new piece of tech gear with purchases you would have made anyway.

Thanks for the tip Anthony!