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Rakuten, an online shopping portal, is best known for cash back, but you may be able to earn transferable points instead, including American Express Membership Rewards points or Bilt Points. These points can then be transferred to airline and hotel partners, often unlocking higher-value redemptions like business class award flights or free hotel stays.
Here’s how Rakuten works and how to use it to earn rewards.
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What is Rakuten and how does it work?
Rakuten partners with more than 3,500 merchants and earns a commission when you shop through its platform. It then shares a portion of that commission with you as cash back or points.
Earning rewards through Rakuten is simple:
- Log in to your Rakuten account. If you don’t have an account already you can register for one with your email address.
- Click through to an online store via Rakuten’s website, which will take you to the store’s website.
- Complete your purchase as usual.
You’ll earn rewards based on the current offer advertised on Rakuten at that merchant. You can also earn rewards when making in-store purchases or by dining at participating restaurants by linking a credit card to your account and activating available offers in advance.
Purchases on Rakuten can be made through the website, the mobile app or its browser extension, which automatically alerts you when a store offers cash back.
» Learn more: 6 of the best cash-back apps
How to earn AmEx or Bilt points instead of cash back
Rakuten’s default earn option is cash back, and when looking at Rakuten’s homepage, the website will display rewards as a percentage to denote the cash back percentage earned on purchases. However, in addition to earning cash back, you may be able to earn American Express Membership Rewards points or Bilt points.
To earn AmEx points, you’ll need to hold an eligible American Express card that participates in the Membership Rewards program, like the American Express Platinum Card® or the American Express® Gold Card. Terms apply.
To earn Bilt points, you do not need to have a Bilt credit card. However, you must use the same email address for both your Rakuten and Bilt accounts. If the emails don’t match, you will not be able to connect your account. Once you update the email addresses to match, you’ll be able to earn Bilt points.
To confirm that you’re earning points instead of cash, head over to the “Account Settings” in your profile and make sure Membership Rewards points or Bilt points are selected as the payout preference. If you don’t see Bilt as an option, verify that you’re using the same email address for both accounts.
How much can you earn with Rakuten (and what’s a good rate)?
Reward rates on Rakuten vary by retailer and change often. One way to judge whether an offer is strong is by visiting a shopping portal aggregator like Cashback Monitor, typing in the store you’re interested in and comparing Rakuten’s rewards rate to other shopping portals.
Check Cashback Monitor to confirm rates
Let’s say you want to buy something from Macy’s. Head over to Cashback Monitor, type “Macy’s” in the search bar and click the magnifying glass to view different rates.
You will then see a list of all the different shopping portals that are offering various rewards for shopping at Macy’s. As you can see above, Rakuten is offering 6% cash back or 6 AmEx points per dollar. Rakuten also allows you to earn Bilt points instead of AmEx points, though that option may not be reflected on Cashback Monitor.
In this example, if you were trying to maximize rewards, clicking through RetailMeNot would probably be your best bet, since that shopping portal is offering 15% cash back. However, if you’re more interested in points, Rakuten offers the highest return of 6 points per dollar.
While Cashback Monitor makes it easy to compare earn rates across different portals, if you already know you want to earn rewards with Rakuten, you can just head straight there.
Check Rakuten
Rakuten runs limited-time promotions, offering increased rewards rates across many retailers. Because rates fluctuate, it can be helpful to check Rakuten before you shop and, when possible, wait for higher offers rather than buying immediately.
When you visit Rakuten, you’ll see limited-time offers on the main site. For example, you can see that Neiman Marcus is currently offering 10% back, instead of the usual rate of 2%.
How Rakuten payouts work
Rakuten rewards don’t post instantly. After you click through a retailer and make a purchase, the transaction will appear in your account as a shopping trip.
At this stage, your purchase has been tracked and there will be a checkmark next to “Order Placed,” along with an option to view more details.
The shopping trip along with rewards that you can expect to receive for that purchase will appear in the “Points Activity” section of your account.
In this section, you will be able to view all your confirmed and pending rewards, along with the date of your next payout or points transfer. Points remain temporarily in a “Pending” status to allow for returns, exchanges or other changes to your order. Certain types of purchases take longer to clear than others.
- Online and in-store purchases: typically confirmed within 3 to 14 weeks.
- Dining purchases: usually confirmed within 3 to 5 days.
- Travel purchases: can take three to 27 weeks after completing your trip.
Once the status changes to “Confirmed,” the points move to your confirmed balance and will be included in the next payout. Rakuten sends payouts on a quarterly schedule:
- February 15.
- May 15.
- August 15.
- November 15.
You will need minimum confirmed rewards of $5.01 or 501 points to receive a payout. If you don't accumulate enough rewards in the current quarter, they will roll over into the next payout period.
How to use Rakuten (browser extension and app)
In addition to its website, Rakuten offers a browser extension and mobile app that make it easier to earn rewards without having to start your shopping on Rakuten’s site.
Once you install the browser extension, it works in the background. Simply visit whatever merchant you want to shop from, and the extension will notify you if a specific merchant is offering rewards. To make sure your purchases qualify, select “Activate Cash Back” and complete your purchase as usual.
If you prefer shopping on your phone, Rakuten’s app allows you to browse offers and shop directly through the platform. To earn rewards, you’ll need to complete your purchase within the app. This option can be a bit clunky, since the store’s website loads within the Rakuten app.
The browser extension is often the easiest choice because it will remind you to activate rewards before checking out on a website. Keep in mind that even if you’ve installed the browser extension, you’ll still need to activate cash back for each shopping session. If you make multiple purchases on the same site, you may need to activate the offer again each time.
How to maximize Rakuten earnings
If you think shopping through Rakuten is the only way to maximize your rewards, think again. These simple strategies can help you earn even more points.
Stack with credit card rewards to earn bonus points
The credit card you use for your purchase can net you even more Rakuten points. Some credit cards offer bonus points on purchases in specific categories. If the store you’re shopping at aligns with a bonus category on one of your cards, you can really maximize your rewards.
For example, let’s say you need to make a $100 purchase from Staples. If Rakuten is offering 6 points per dollar, you will earn 600 points from that purchase. However, if you have the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, which earns 5 points per dollar at office supply stores, and you use this card to make your purchase, you can earn an additional 500 points.
By stacking these offers, you’ll earn 500 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points and 600 Bilt or AmEx points from this $100 purchase at Staples.
» Learn more: 4 best credit card combinations to maximize rewards
Look for bonus events
Rakuten frequently runs promotions where cash-back rates increase across many retailers. These can offer significantly higher returns than usual. If you have purchases coming up, and you want to maximize your points, it's worth waiting for a Rakuten promotion.
Refer friends
Rakuten offers referral bonuses when someone signs up using your link and completes a qualifying purchase. The current offer allows you and the person you refer to earn $50 (or 5,000 points). If you’re looking to earn rewards even faster, referring someone to Rakuten is an easy way to do so.
Consider the Rakuten American Express credit card
Rakuten also offers a co-branded American Express card that earns additional rewards on purchases made through the platform. The Rakuten American Express Card earns:
- 4% cash back on purchases made through Rakuten (on up to $7,000 in spending per year, then 1% after that).
- 5% cash back on top of the 5% cash back you’d earn at Rakuten restaurant partners.
- 2% cash back on groceries and restaurants.
- 1% on other purchases.
Although the card is issued by American Express, you won't earn AmEx points automatically. To do so, you’ll need to have an eligible American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points and then link your AmEx account to your Rakuten account.
» Learn more: 5 things to know about the Rakuten credit card
The bottom line
Rakuten is an easy way to earn rewards on purchases you were already planning to make.
Its real value depends on how you use it. If you take cash back, it functions like a simple rebate. If you opt for AmEx or Bilt points, it can become a way to earn valuable points on everyday spending.
Although you can use Rakuten for all your shopping needs, to truly maximize rewards, you're better off checking Cashback Monitor and shopping from whatever portal provides the highest return. As with the Macy’s example shown above, a cash back rate of 15% from RetailMeNot might be a better value than earning 6 points per dollar from Rakuten. The best approach is to use Rakuten when its rewards rate is high for the store you want to shop at and stack those rewards with a credit card that allows you to earn the most on your purchase.
All information about the Rakuten American Express credit card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The Rakuten American Express credit card is no longer available through NerdWallet.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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