New Rakuten Credit Card Offers Shoppers an Extra 4% Back
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Cash-back website Rakuten is launching a new credit card for its members. The Rakuten American Express Card doesn’t charge an annual fee and allows holders to earn an additional 4% cash back on top of what they can earn by shopping online or in person with Rakuten.
Image courtesy of Rakuten.
The card is serviced by financial technology company Imprint, issued by First Electronic Bank, and operates on the American Express network. This means cardholders get access to American Express network benefits like Amex Offers, which features bonus rewards and discounts at select merchants.
You must be a Rakuten member to get the Rakuten American Express Card. Membership is free but requires creating an account.
Rakuten previously offered another card, the Rakuten Cash Back Visa credit card, which also allowed holders to combine cash back earned with the card and rewards earned with Rakuten. That card was issued by Synchrony and stopped accepting applications in 2022.
The Rakuten American Express Card: Details
Annual fee: $0.
Welcome bonus: Earn $25 cash back when you spend $500 in the first 90 days after account opening.
Rewards:
4% cash back on Rakuten online or in-person purchases, on up to $7,000 of spending per calendar year (1% back after that). This is in addition to what users earn through Rakuten’s platform.
5% cash back when you dine at a Rakuten partner restaurant. This is in addition to the 5% Rakuten members earn with Rakuten dining, for a total of 10% with the card.
2% cash back on groceries and non-Rakuten dining.
1% cash back on all other non-Rakuten spending.
Note: The Rakuten platform lets you choose to earn your rewards as points in the American Express Membership Rewards system, instead of as cash back — as long as you also happen to have a separate Membership Rewards-earning AmEx card. (1% in Rakuten cash back = 1 Membership Rewards point.)
Additionally, one major caveat is that cardholders must wait to receive their rewards. For cash back earned directly through the site, payments are awarded every three months on Feb. 15, May 15, Aug. 15 and Nov. 15 of each year. This applies to rewards earned with the Rakuten American Express Card as well: Cash back will accrue in cardholders’ Rakuten Rewards Cash Back Account and will be paid out every three months on the aforementioned dates.
Who should get this card?
This Rakuten American Express Card makes the most sense for frequent Rakuten users. The ability to stack cash back earned with the card and through the site means you can rack up rewards easily if you consistently shop at or dine with Rakuten-featured merchants.
However, keep in mind that you’ll earn 4% back only on the first $7,000 you spend with the card per year on Rakuten (not including Rakuten dining purchases), which you could hit quickly depending on your shopping habits — which merchants you're shopping with, and what you're buying.
Plus, the card’s rewards on spending outside of Rakuten are mediocre. There are better cash-back cards that earn more in categories like dining, groceries and other common spending categories. If you don’t use Rakuten often, you’re better off with a different card.
Information related to the Rakuten American Express Card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this product.
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