Well. My face is officially red. I'm embarrassed I had something wrong about MS's Support policy, apparently. An article in Infopackets,  corrected my misapprehension.

This is pretty much for folks who cannot (hardware reason: TPM) or don't wish to upgrade to W11 from W10 for whatever reason.

MS (without you joining the Extended Service Program) will stop all Support for W10 on 10.25.25 (WindowsCentral). Everyone was overjoyed when MS announced it would continue support for W10 for $30 (U.S.) for a year. This morphed into MS waiving the charge for people who agreed to do one of the following things: 1) Back up some files to Microsoft's OneDrive cloud service, or 2) Spend 1,000 points from its reward program.

Now you can sign up for the Extended Service Program (continuing to get security patches) 

"by opening the Windows settings menu and selecting Update & Security. The offer to enroll should be there. If not, users will need to update Windows 10 to the latest branch and version. Clicking on "Enroll now" will bring up a new series of menus in which users can choose their option: back up files, redeem points or pay the fee." -Infopackets

Here's the part things have changed for:

"Contrary to some reports, users don't need to back up all their files, or even any documents, to choose the first option. The requirement is only to back up Windows settings. This is information such as preferred screen resolution and a list of installed apps which may be useful if the user reinstalls Windows or switches to a new machine.

The redeeming points option is only available to users who have signed up to the rewards program and earned 1,000 points. Although points are available for buying software from the Microsoft Store or from playing certain Xbox One games, the easiest method is carrying your searches in Bing or through the Windows taskbar search box. Users will need to temporarily set Bing as their default app. In most cases, carrying out 10 searches a day for 20 days will be enough to qualify for the free updates. (Source: microsoft.com)

As things stand, Microsoft has only committed to offering the consumer version of Extended Security Updates for a year. That could always change based on Windows 10 and 11 use levels next October." - Infopackets

The rest of the Infopackets article is worth the brief read, especially if you wish to move your W10 data to a W11 computer, and need help.

There's another option open to you W10 (etc.) users wishing to receive timely security patches is 0Patch, which I've discussed before but which you can read up on here: https://0patch.com/

Have a great weekend, folks.   

P.S. Here are some screenies showing enrollment:

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