There’s no such thing as a free lunch, even in the heavily subsidized cafés on Microsoft’s Redmond campus. But that doesn’t mean employees have it bad. After all, they might still qualify for a free plate at Dough Zone, a separate line for check-in at Sea-Tac, and a discounted stay at Suncadia. 

The blue Microsoft employee badge has long been a kind of nerdy status symbol, indicating membership in one of the state’s largest employee communities, and privilege over the folks on the outside, including the tens of thousands of orange badge–wearing Microsoft contractors who fill out the company’s ranks.

If you worked retail in Seattle a decade or two ago, you might have become accustomed to punching in discount codes on tickets, clothes, or coffee for folks who flashed their blue badges. These days, Microsoft employees can access literally a thousand or more deals through the company’s confusingly named Prime program. Not to mention all the actual benefits of working there—like childcare reimbursements and health insurance with no monthly premiums.

As for those contractors? Well, things have gotten slightly better since the days when Microsoft contractors sued the company for treating them essentially like employees without the benefits and won a $97 million settlement. The rules are clearer, and with the rise of remote work the physical presence of badges differentiating workers on campus has receded into the background. 

But that blue badge still comes with a lot of goodies.