Rakuten (formerly Ebates) is a cash back and shopping rewards site that allows you to use their affiliate links to make purchases and earn cash back in the process. You can utilize the Rakuten website, the browser extension, or the mobile app.

Earn Rewards with Rakuten

Shoppers can earn anywhere from 1% to 40% back or more on their purchases depending on the retailer, and Rakuten has partnerships with over 2,500 retailers. They also partner with American Express and allow you to get your cashback in the form of Membership Rewards points. This is an amazing partnership because I value Membership Rewards points at around double the value of straight cashback. 

Another neat thing about Rakuten is that you don’t have to link a credit or debit card when you sign up, so the cash back in independent of whatever card you choose to use for your online purchase. Once you start raking in the bucks, you can “cash out” in two ways, either with a check or a deposit into your PayPal account. The cash out happens once a quarter, and you have to earn a minimum of $5 back to get your cash out.

A wildly useful feature of Rakuten is their browser extension, which alerts you when you are on a site of one of their participating retailers; all you need to do is click a button to get cash back for your purchase on the site. If you prefer to do your shopping in person, you still have the option to link a card to Rakuten, activate the offer for the retailer, and then use that card for your purchase to get cash back. Just remember to re-activate the offer for the store for each purchase, and you will get cash back every time.

Another great feature of Rakuten is their referral program; right now if someone you know makes a purchase of $30 or more, you get $30 cashback and they get $30. Rakuten also runs various specials, such as double cash back promotions and deals for specific stores and items.

Perhaps most importantly, there are no costs or hidden fees associated with using Rakuten; retailers pay Rakuten for referring potential customers to their site with the service they provide. Rakuten really is a no-brainer in the cash back game for these reasons, and it is so easy to use there is no reason you shouldn’t be taking advantage of this service. Now go start earning!

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*In the interest of full disclosure, Travel is the Point. earns a referral bonus for anyone that’s approved through some of the links we post. These are the best publicly available offers that we have found for each card/service. We choose our picks based on the combination of benefits the card/service provides, and the ability to earn outsize rewards. Thanks for your support!