Microsoft Sending Out 20 MS Points (25 Cents) as Birthday Gifts to Xbox LIVE Users

Has your birthday come and gone or is it your birthday soon? If so, you might want to check your inbox as Microsoft is sending you a gift. Although temper your expectations a bit since this "gift" is nothing more than 20 Microsoft Points or about 25 cents in real-world currency.

Here's what you can expect when Microsoft sends you this birthday treat (courtesy of NeoGAF):

It's been confirmed that this email is being sent to several Xbox LIVE users. I forgot to mention that this 20 Microsoft Points gift won't immediately be credited to your account, but you have to wait to get it by the 15th of the month. 

Also of note, you need to have a Gamerscore of 3,000 before you're eligible to avail of this "gift." For people who have a Gamerscore of 10,000 or more, you'll get a rebate of one percent for every Xbox LIVE purchase, for people with Gamerscores of 25,000 upwards, it will be a two percent rebate credited to your Xbox account (as MS Points). This is part of Microsoft's MyAchievements program.

So, what can you get for 20 MS Points? At the moment — unless my memory fail s me — it's bupkis. Yep, nothing at all. Not even an accessory for your dashboard avatar. Your best bet is to have some spare MS Points on hand and have that 20 round out the amount so you can actually use it. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Microsoft is doing this to entice people to load more MS Points in their virtual wallets so they can find a use for this measly sum.

I don't want to sound like an ungrateful snot, but is this better than not getting anything at all? I mean, Microsoft could have sent people a hardly-played XBLA game and that would be appreciated more. Heck, I'd have settled for a new accessory for my avatar — at least I can use that straight away, no?

Has any of you received this gift already? Regardless if you're an Xbox LIVE user or not, should we be happy that Microsoft is sending anything out at all or is this just a slap in the face for those paying $60 to play on Xbox LIVE annually?