Get a Second (Free) Retake on Your Next Microsoft Exam

In each one of the six years I've been covering cert news for GoCertify, Microsoft has run a cert exam promotional offer of some kind. The general principle seems to be to entice exam candidates off the fence and into the testing center (or its online equivalent) by offering them some kind of incentive to sign up for one or more exam adventures sooner rather than later.

This year the name of their promotion is Exam Replay Plus. In years gone by, this has gone by the name of "Second Chance." (That one's a a personal favorite of mine. Something that everyone can use from time to time, right?)

Here's the deal, if you sign up through the Buy Now link on the MS Learning Special Offers page, you will zero in on the location where you'll be taking the exam.

For folks in the U S of A, this means you'll either spend $230 for an exam, plus up to 2 free retakes (Microsoft Exam Replay Plus), or you'll spend $265 for the same deal, with a practice test thrown into the bargain as well (Microsoft Exam Replay Plus with Practice Test).

Although the latter is a great deal, you'll have to act fast to exercise it. The practice test license that's bundled in is good for only 30 days! To my way of thinking, that means you're better off buying in on a one-at-time basis, provided that you've got multiple Microsoft exams in your future.

Otherwise, you risk running out of time on the practice test license before you have time to prepare. In addition, not all MCP exams are included in the practice test collection on offer, so please check the list of available practice tests to see if what you're after is covered (or not).

From what I can see, most of the major MCP exams are included in the practice test offer, which comes from Microsoft Official Exam Partner MeasureUp.

All exam vouchers are good for up to one year from the date of purchase, but you must schedule and take the exam (and any retakes) within 365 days from when you pay for the voucher. MOS and MTA exams are not included. Exam vouchers are good only at Pearson VUE test centers, or for online-proctored exam delivery.

Cancelling or rescheduling an exam within five business days of the scheduled date/time is subject to a fee. Failure to appear for the exam appointment, and neither rescheduling nor cancelling the exam appointment, forfeits that exam voucher (and any retakes remaining).

If you're going to go for the offer, and want to do multiple exams with practice tests, remember to stagger your purchases between now and September 30. You'll want to have up to 30 days to use each practice exam to help you prepare. Good luck, and enjoy!