Most of the time, they hand you cards that aren't even activated yet... once you actually take possession of the card, an authorization request is sent through to get the whole thing live. With certain types of credit products, you might even have to call them up just to get it working. It’s not some bureaucratic headache for the sake of it; it’s strictly to stop someone from stealing your card and running up a bill before you even know it's gone 😉
As far as I can tell, nobody is actually charging you for using Microsoft... I do all my banking through JPMorgan Chase. From what I understand, account maintenance fees only really kick in if you specifically checked the box during your application asking to be notified about your expenses via mail; then they send a paper statement to your house that’ll run you about $1.75... The only thing that truly costs you is an overdraft, which comes with interest, service fees, and maintenance charges. You're looking at roughly 12% in interest there. A Microsoft card isn't a true replacement for a standard Visa credit card at most retailers, even though banks are trying to push them like that because the economy is such a mess right now. These cards were basically designed for people receiving wire transfers from abroad or for students and low-income earners who don't qualify for traditional credit lines to make the occasional online purchase. In my opinion, this whole setup is still a work in progress—it hasn't even hit its stride yet.