Rakuten is one of the best (and easiest to use) online shopping portals to earn cashback or extra points on your online purchases. For Black Friday, it's better than ever.
Rakuten is offering an outstanding 15% cashback at 300-plus stores today only, Nov. 25. What's more, you can find cashback rates of up to 12% at 800 additional stores for Black Friday. But remember: These bigger bonuses only last today, so act fast!
Never used Rakuten before? You're in luck: You can stack those cashback rates with a huge bonus for first-time users, earning a $40 bonus after signing up and making your first purchase of at least $40 or more. Just sign up, click through Rakuten to the store you're shopping at, make your purchase, and you're in the money.
This is one of the most lucrative bonuses we've seen from Rakuten for first-time users. Combined with those huge cashback bonuses available at hundreds of retailers, this is a great time to pull the trigger on an online purchase … and do it through Rakuten.
Got a card that earns American Express Membership Rewards points, like The Platinum Card® from American Express or the American Express® Gold Card? It gets even better. Rakuten allows all members to earn Amex points instead of cashback.
So that $40 initial cashback bonus nets you 4,000 Amex points – plus the bonus you get from the retailer itself. That's a great return if you've got some online shopping to do.
Thrifty Tip: Add the Rakuten browser plugin to Google Chrome and Rakuten will alert you when you can earn cashback on your purchase through that retailer!
Taking advantage of these huge bonuses is as simple as navigating to Rakuten.com, clicking through to the retailer, and making your purchase. Combined with this initial bonus, you can earn a sizable sum of cashback in just one purchase through Rakuten.
Need to use your $50 Saks Fifth Avenue credit, Amex Platinum cardholders? Do it now through Rakuten, which is offering a best-ever 16% bonus (or 16x Amex points) at Saks today! Or get 15% back through Dell using the shopping credits on The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
How Rakuten Works
Getting in on these cashback bonuses is easy. First, sign up for Rakuten if you haven’t already. You’ll earn an additional $40 bonus after completing your first purchase of at least $40 in the first 90 days. Full disclosure: We also get a bonus, so we appreciate it if you use our link!
Whether you’re shopping at Amazon and Target or buying a Blue Apron subscription, you’ll get a percentage of your purchase price back from hundreds of stores. You’ll get paid every three months, through either a paper check or a PayPal transfer.
Here's an example of just how powerful stacking these bonuses can be. Let's say you've been eyeing a $200 pair of shoes at Saks Fifth Avenue as a gift for someone … maybe even yourself. Here's what you'd want to do:
- First things first, sign up for Rakuten
- Click through from Rakuten over to Saks Fifth Avenue, then make your purchase as normal
- You'll earn 16% cashback on that $200 purchase: $32 – or 3,200 Amex Membership Rewards points
- You'll also earn $40 cashback (or 4,000 Amex points) for your first purchase of $40 or more
Add it up and that's $72 cashback, reducing your net cost to $128 – or you're earning 7,200 valuable Amex points on the purchase. And if you've got an unused $50 Saks Fifth Avenue Credit on an Amex Platinum Card, the savings go even further by using that card at checkout.
Read more: Use Online Shopping Portals to Earn More Points & Miles!
Bottom Line
Rakuten is one of the best ways to get something more out of your online shopping. With this $40 referral bonus and huge, 15% cashback bonuses (or more) available for Black Friday, it's a fantastic deal and a no-brainer to check out while you're doing some online shopping today.