The Xbox Rewards system has been overhauled, making the task of earning points slightly easier. As announced on the company's news site, there is now a rewards hub where you can get an overview of your current points, as well as tasks to tackle. The latter range from playing games to searching on Microsoft Bing.

To get started, you have to log in with your Microsoft account and visit the rewards hub on your console, or via the Xbox app on either mobile or your PC. Once you're all set up, you'll start earning points by purchasing games and other "eligible items" at the Microsoft Store, playing games, completing quests, and so on.

The points you've gathered can be redeemed for Xbox Gift Cards, sweepstakes entries, hardware, or as donations to a list of organizations. Keep in mind that both quests and the eligible rewards might vary depending on your region. The new Rewards system is currently available in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States.

According to the news post about Shop & Earn, you can get "up to 20 points per dollar spent on qualifying digital purchases," which is dictated by your current Microsoft Store level. Keep in mind that this potential perk only applies if you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member.

Xbox Rewards has been in a shake-up since last year, with one of the biggest changes happening in January of this year. In that update, quests were the main subject, with the number of tasks available and the points rewarded for each changing drastically.

As you begin to get acclimated with the latest update to the Xbox Rewards system, keep in mind that points will expire if there are no earning or redemption activities within 18 months. As such, make sure to log in once in a while and check on your current status if you don't want to lose your saved points.