MS Point Cards No Longer Scratch-Off Cards?

After my DRM transfer worked, I did something I said I'd never do again; I bought an MS Points card. I never understood why, in addition to the oversized clamshell packaging, there also needed to be a scratch-off coating over the code on the back of the card. The card becomes non-negotiable and un-returnable as soon as the packaging is opened,and there's no way to open one of those suckers without it being obvious.

Lots of people were reporting that when they scratched off the coating, part of the 25-digit code rubbed/scratched off as well. Microsoft's official position in the past was that consumers should go back to the place of purchase and, "Maybe ask for a manager," to see about a refund for the opened, non-returnable, non-exchangable item. In other words, we were all SOL. They also insisted that consumers were "scratching it off wrong," but they refused to provide instructions on the correct scratching procedure. The free 48-hour LIVE trial cards that came with Burger King Pocket Bike Racer, with their cardboard pull-tab to reveal the free code, worked better than the $50 "for reals" cards.

I never understood why they didn't work like, for example, iTunes gift cards. They have very little packaging and would be easy to steal, but they are not activated until they are scanned/swiped at the checkout counter. Stealing them is pointless. (Much like an "over-scratched" MS Points card.)

Microsoft seems to have been telling us to screw off with their right hand while working on the problem with their left. The card I bought and activated yesterday had no film layer to scratch off, so I had no difficulty reading and entering the code and there was no possibility of the code getting scratched or rubbed off by accident. I'm wondering if this is a new policy or if I just got lucky.

Have you bought any MS Points cards recently? Did you still have to scratch off to reveal the code, or were they like mine with no scratching involved? If this isn't just a manufacturing fluke, it's a great move on Microsoft's part. If it is a fluke, then they should call it a "feature" and run with it.