Is it Worth it to Join Rakuten?

How Much Cashback You Can Get for Rakuten Purchases?

The amount of cash-backs you can get for your purchases with Rakuten varies from store to store. Let’s review some of the most popular brands and how much cash-back they offer you for Rakuten purchases below.

1. Nike – you can get 8% cash-back on qualifying orders.
2. Samsung – you can get 3% cash-back on categories like mobile phones & accessories, tablets, laptops, wearables and home appliances. And 2% cash-back on TVs & home theater and other categories.
3. AT&T – currently offers cash-back of up to $150
4. Sephora – you can shop most cosmetics brands on Sephora online with a 6% cash-back.
5. Macy’s – shopping at Macy’s can get you a 1.5% cash-back on furniture and mattresses and 3% on all other categories.
6. Ray-Ban – Rakuten offers 4% cash-back for purchases from Ray-Ban along with official discounts of up to 50%.
7. Anker – along with discounts of up to 60%, you will get a 4% cash-back.
8. Groupon – cash-back on Groupon is currently up to 6%.
9. Canva –  you will get 40% cash-back when you sign up for Canva paid subscription
10. Postmates – get $5 off your first 5 orders and additional cash-back of up to $7 from Rakuten.

What Are Other Ways to Earn With Rakuten?

Rakuten cash-back visa card

Rakuten offers you a free Visa card so you can earn even more cash-backs every day. You will get a $10 bonus for your first purchase with a Rakuten Visa card. 

You will earn an additional $1 cash-back everywhere, where payments with Visa are accepted. 

The card also gives you an opportunity to get back an additional 3% on qualifying orders through Rakuten.com, In-store, Rakuten Travel and Rakuten Hotels.

In-store cash-back

Rakuten allows you to earn cash-backs even when you shop in physical stores. Cash-back of up to 6% is available in 77 shops, including H&M, Guess, Intimissimi, Gap, BareMinerals and many more.

You can check out the full list of available stores as well the amount of cash-back each one offers here. To claim in-store cash-backs, you need to link the offer to your debit card using the Rakuten app.

Hot deals

Hot Deals feature special discounts, including the following:

• Buy Online, Pick Up in Store – lets you purchase something online and pick it up in store to eliminate the time needed to ship the item.
• Free Gifts – shows you which shops are offering free gifts with qualifying purchases.
• Free Shipping – shows you how to qualify for free shipping for certain stores.
• Gift Cards – allows you to earn cash-backs on gift card purchases.
• Buy One, Get One (BOGO) – shows you where to find BOGO deals with popular brands.

Events and double cash back

Rakuten offers double cash-backs on certain stores. This means you will get what you could have earned in these stores doubled. This is a great option for when you want to shop, but don’t have a certain store in mind. You can check out which shops Rakuten features for Double Cash-Back promotion.

Refer friends

When you refer a friend to Rakuten, both you and your friend will get paid. Use this link to refer Rakuten to a friend. Your friend will get $10 when he/she joins Rakuten with your referral link. And you will get $25 once your friend spends at least $25 using Rakuten.

Who is Rakuten Best for?

Rakuten is designed for Couponers and everyday shoppers who want to earn Cash Back and find deep discounts when you shop. This platform is also best for those who want to save money on things they’re already buying.

How to Sign Up With Rakuten

To get started with Rakuten;

• Go to the website and click join
• Create a secure account by submitting your email and password
• Confirm your email
• Complete your profile
• Get a $10 welcome bonus
• Start using the website

Rakuten Sign Up Bonus

Rakuten offers you a $10 sign up bonus as a cash or gift card to thank you for joining the company. To claim your bonus, first, you need to sign up on Rakuten.com or using a mobile app.

Once you spend at least $25 through Rakuten within 90 days, the $10 bonus will be applied to your account.

Rakuten Partner Stores

The platform partner stores include Sephora, Amazon, Walmart, Hotels.com and 2,500 more.

You may find that some stores are not listed in the Rakuten directory. Amazon, for example, is not listed whereas Target and Walmart are.

Rakuten Features: What Does Rakuten Offer?

Favorite stores

Rakuten has a Favorite Stores tab that gives you a list of the stores and cash back percentages. To check whether your favorite retailer is listed, just type in the name of the store in the search bar and click add.

In-store cash back 

Rakuten has an In-Store Cash Back feature if you’re not into online shopping. You will need to activate the in-store offer through either the site or the app to use it. You also need to link your credit card so that it can track your purchase. 

Browser extension 

When you download the extension, Rakuten can track when you’re on a retail partner’s site. It will create a little popup at checkout to indicate that you’re eligible for cashback rewards. 

Cashback credit card 

With the Rakuten Cash Back Visa Credit Card members, you can earn up to 3% cashback on qualifying purchases through Rakuten and 1% cashback everywhere else Visa credit cards are accepted. You can also get a $10 bonus after your first purchase.

Since each store has some excluded items, it’s important to look through the list before you shop at your favorite stores on Rakuten.

Is Rakuten Free?

Rakuten is free to sign up and use.

If you don’t want to navigate to Rakuten every time, you can always install their chrome browser extension. This way, it will show a popup whenever your purchase is eligible for cashback. 

Rakuten Payout Terms and Options?

The company will release the funds from your account to your PayPal or mail you a check quarterly, according to the schedule below. 

Rakuten Reviews: is Rakuten Legit?

Rakuten is not a scam but a legit company that gives you free money when you shop. Rated 4.1 on Trustpilot and 4.3 on Sitejabber, most users described it as a great site that offers great opportunities to earn. Other users also said its customer service is one of the most responsive.

One user even confessed that they’ve never had such a good experience with any online site customer representative. But like other sites, some users said it’s not the best, claiming that they don’t pay great rewards. 

Others also commented that their accounts were terminated without reason. That said, Rakuten is a site that you can use to make extra money online. The company also takes all the necessary measures to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations.

What Are the Rakuten Pros & Cons?

Rakuten Pros

• Cashback on regular purchases
• Simple and easy to use
• Great variety of shops to choose
• Offers a referral program

Rakuten Cons

• Offers quarterly payouts
• May encourage impulse buying

How Good is Rakuten Support?

Rakuten features an extensive knowledge center page with frequently asked questions and a help section that you need to scroll to the very bottom of the page to find. They also have a contact us page that operates on a ticket system. 

Rakuten Review Verdict: is Rakuten Worth it?

If you are a frequent shopper and would like to earn rewards on your purchases plus bonuses up to $25, Rakuten is definitely worth joining.

However, I recommend using Rakuten to purchase only the products you had planned to buy anyway. Don’t shop just because of a cash-back offer.

Make sure you read the cash-back terms as they usually contain important exclusions of getting the advertised cash-back.

Sites Like Rakuten

Rakuten vs. Swagbucks

Swagbucks Summary

• 18 ways to earn money and e-gift cards
• $5 sign up bonus
• Up to 10% cashback when shopping online
• $1 minimum e-gift card withdrawal

Swagbucks is an online Swagbucks is a portal that offers reward points for doing simple tasks online like searching the web and watching videos both sites are simple to sign up for. You don’t need to do anything more than provide your email address. 

While Swagbucks provides a range of cashback percentages, from 1% to 25%, Rakuten offers 2% to 25% cashback. Rakuten pays in cash, compared to Swagbucks, which pays in points that can be redeemed for cash or gift cards

Rakuten vs. BeFrugal

BeFrugal Summary

• Guaranteed to have the highest cashback
• More than 5000 stores to get cashback
• Over 5 different ways to get rewards
• 6 different ways to cash out your earnings

BeFrugal is a money-back website that lets you earn cashback rewards when you make purchases through its website, mobile app, or browser extension. Like Rakuten, BeFrugal offers a $10 signup bonus all the time and allows you to earn through cashbacks. 

While BeFrugal focuses on cashback amounts, Rakuten often runs double cashback days and other promotions. It also gives between $5-$25 when you refer friends, depending on what promotion they are running. That said, Rakuten offers more deals that are profitable for you and is more reputable.

Rakuten vs. TopCashback

TopCashback Summary

• Get 100% of all the cash back you earn
• No minimum threshold to cash out
• Earn cash back at over 4400 partner stores
• Earn up to 25% cash back and discounts

TopCashBack is a cashback website and coupon site that allows you to buy products online through their links and earn cashback on your purchases. Like Rakuten, TopCashBack offers you discount codes, special sales, and cashback when shopping with different retailers. 

While TopCashBack allows you to request a payout, assuming the cashback has reached the payable status, Rakuten has a quarterly schedule for receiving any payouts over $5.01. Overall, Rakuten is more robust and reputable among shoppers.

Rakuten vs Ibotta

Ibotta Summary

• 2 ways to earn – app or browser extension
• Earn up to 30% cash back on purchases
• Get a $5 bonus by referring friends
• Over 1500 stores you can earn cash back at

Ibotta mainly helps you save on your grocery purchases. Ibotta shows you the coupons and offers that you can download to your Ibotta app. After you finish shopping, you need to scan the receipt in order to redeem any eligible offers. 

Unlike Ibotta, Rakuten is much more diversified offering you coupons and promotions on various shopping categories.

Rakuten vs Honey

Honey Summary

• Automatically applies discounts
• More than 30,000 partner stores
• Use app or browser extension for shopping
• Extensive Help section to guide new users

Both Rakuten and Honey offer many of the same features, but your choice depends on what you want to buy and which company offers you a better deal for your needs.

Other Sites Like Rakuten

Rakuten FAQ

What is Rakuten?

Today, Rakuten is offering you cash-backs, deals and shopping rewards on the world’s largest selection of products and services.

The reason Rakuten offers you cash-backs is simple. When you shop through Rakuten, brands like Amazon pay them the commission for referring you to them. Rakuten then splits this commission and pays you so-called cash-back to thank you for helping them out.

To date, the company has paid members over $2 billion in cashback.

Is Rakuten legit?

Rakuten isn’t a scam but a legit site that allows you to earn cashback.

Can I use both Rakuten and honey at the same time?

Unfortunately, the programs can’t be layered on top of each other, meaning you can’t use both simultaneously. 

How does Rakuten make money?

Rakuten makes the bulk of its money via affiliate marketing. The retailer pays Rakuten a referral fee when you purchase something using Rakuten. 

What is Rakuten cashback?

The Rakuten Cash Back Button is a free browser extension that automatically allows you to find cashback, coupons, and deals.

Can I have 2 Rakuten accounts?

No. Each person is limited to one Account.