Rakuten is one of the absolute best shopping portals out there: It's an easy way to earn extra cash back – or better yet, valuable Amex Membership Rewards points or even Bilt Rewards points – on your online shopping. And there's never been a better time to get started.

First-timers can also earn a $50 referral bonus to new members who sign up and make a purchase of $50 or more. That's right: Sign up, spend $50, and get at least $50 (or 5,000 points) back. That's the biggest bonus we've ever seen, and reason enough to start doing some online shopping through Rakuten.

Beyond that first-time bonus, Rakuten is currently running a site-wide promo with many stores offering 20% (or 20x points) back – with some as high as 100%! These promos are changing all the time, which makes checking Rakuten.com before making any online purchase a no-brainer.

 

Rakuten "Big Give Week" 20% Cash Back

 

Want points to fund your future travels instead? This is why we really love Rakuten: It allows you to convert your cash back to American Express Membership Rewards points and, most recently, Bilt points, too! You get 1 point for every cent of cash back you earn, so a $50 cash back bonus could be 5,000 Amex or Bilt points instead.

No matter which route you take, it's worth checking Rakuten before making any online purchase. Rakuten is perhaps the easiest online shopping portal out there – and this bonus for signing up and making your first purchase, combined with standard cash back bonuses, can add up quickly.

Thrifty Tip: Add the Rakuten browser plugin to Google Chrome, and Rakuten will alert you when you can earn cash back on your purchase through that retailer!

 

How Rakuten Works

Taking advantage of these huge bonuses is as simple as navigating to Rakuten.com, clicking through to the retailer, and making your purchase.

First things first, sign up for Rakuten if you haven’t already. First-time users will earn an additional $50 bonus after completing their first purchase of at least $50 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 Walgreens and Chewy 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 (or a deposit of points in your Amex or Bilt account).

Here's an example of just how powerful stacking these bonuses can be. Let's say you're planning a trip to Europe and want to book a $200 food tour for two in Amsterdam. Book through Viator, and you'll get 20% back via Rakuten as of publication.

  1. First things first, sign up for Rakuten
  2. Click through from Rakuten over to Viator, then make your purchase as normal
  3. You'll earn up to 20% cash back on that $200 purchase: $40 – or 4,000 Amex or Bilt points
  4. You'll also earn $50 cash back (or 5,000 points) for your first purchase of $50 or more

Add it up, and that's $90 back in your pocket, reducing your net cost to roughly $110! Or, you're earning 9,000 valuable points on a purchase you were going to make anyhow.

Read more: No Bonus, No Problem: How to Keep Earning Points Without a Welcome Offer

 

Best Rakuten Offers for Earning Points

Rakuten is a points-and-miles aficionado's best friend, not because of the big cashback bonuses … but because you can instead opt to earn more valuable Amex or Bilt points instead. 

With some of the big promo rates Rakuten is currently offering, it could even make sense to buy something you have little intention of using, solely for the points. With rates as high as 100% back (or 100x points), you're essentially buying Amex or Bilt points for as little as one cent each when doing this. 

To be perfectly clear, this won't be a no-brainer, slam dunk strategy for everyone. But if you know what you're doing, buying points at 1 cent each and then using them to fly business or first class for pennies on the dollar can make for a good deal.

Here are a few of our favorite (current) offers for “buying” points on the cheap.

  • Incogni (100x points): Purchase a “Family Unlimited” plan and earn approximately 27,500 points for your $275 purchase
  • Surfshark (97x points): Purchase a Surfshark One+ plan for $113 and earn approximately 11,000 points
  • Kraken: Get a $160 bonus (16,000 points) when you sign up for Kraken and make a trade of $200 in the first 30 days.
  • NordVPN (100x points): Purchase a “Prime” plan and earn approximately 18,800 points for your $188 purchase
  • SoFi Banking: Get a $300 bonus (30,000 points) when you open a SoFi checking and savings account and complete a direct deposit of at least $500 within 45 days. 

Just know: If you've been using Rakuten to pad your Bilt balance the last few months, you'll need some level of Bilt status to continue earning points through Rakuten at a 1:1 ratio. Non-status members will see their payout cut in half come Aug. 15, with $1 of Rakuten cashback converting to just 50 Bilt points.

Check out the full list of current Rakuten promos here!

 

Bottom Line

Rakuten is one of the best online shopping portals out there – and the easiest to use, too. With these elevated cashback rates and a $50 Rakuten bonus after making your first purchase, it's a no-brainer way to do your online shopping. No shopping portal is easier to use, and these big bonuses make it even more rewarding.

Sign up for Rakuten today to start earning rewards on your online shopping.