Earn Cash Back or Membership Rewards Points with Rakuten

Followers of Savings Beagle know that you can earn cash back on select online and in-store purchases with Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates). What may be news to some, though, is that you can also earn American Express Membership Rewards points when you set up a separate Rakuten account.

Depending on your preference, you can earn cash back or Membership Rewards points based on the account through which you make your purchases.

While this option has been available for a few months now, there’s been a question as to how current Rakuten users with a traditional cash back account can earn Membership Rewards points.

A recent email inquiry with Rakuten resulted in an answer.

Current Rakuten cash back users can sign up for a separate Rakuten Membership Rewards earning account simply by using a different email address.

Thank you for your email. We are very excited about this partnership with American Express. We can’t convert your existing account to points, but you are welcome to create an account to use for earning Membership Rewards Points.

Please follow these steps to sign up for an AMEX Membership Rewards Points account:

1. Log out of your existing Rakuten account
2. Visit www.rakuten.com/American-Express
3. Create a new account using a unique email address
4. Enroll using your existing American Express user id and password

Please let me know if you need help with anything else.

G. S.
Member Services
Rakuten.com

This tactic has been considered/used by others for a while now, but it was questioned whether Rakuten approved of such a maneuver.

Based on my recent Rakuten response, they don’t have a problem with one person having both a cash back and Membership Rewards earning account.

Rakuten Cash Back

If you’re new to Rakuten, the process for getting cash back is simple.

Sign up for a Rakuten account – limited information is needed, and can be completed in a few minutes or less.

Once your account is set up, simply make sure you’re signed in to your Rakuten account, click through the Rakuten site to your desired retailer (you’ll be automatically directed to the retailer’s website) and make your purchase.

By clicking through the Rakuten site first, your purchases will be registered with Rakuten, and the appropriate cash back based on the amount spent will be credited to your Rakuten account.

It may take a week or so for the credited amount to appear in your account. And payments are made quarterly, so any cash back accrued during the current quarter will be held until payment is disbursed at Rakuten’s pre-determined payment times.

Savings Beagle’s Affiliate Offer

First time Rakuten cash back users can use this link to sign up, and Savings Beagle will get a referral credit while you’ll get an extra $10 cash back bonus in your account after your first cash back purchase of $25 or more.  A win-win for us both.

Rakuten Membership Rewards Points

The process for earning American Express Membership Rewards points is similar to earning cash back.

You must, however, already have a Membership Rewards account, with an active Membership Rewards earning credit card (can be personal or business).

When you set up the Rakuten Membership Rewards account, you’ll be asked to sign in to your American Express Membership Rewards account (your Amex online login) to verify and connect the two accounts.

And almost immediately, your Rakuten Membership Rewards account is active and any shopping via that account will earn Membership Rewards points that will be automatically deposited into your American Express Membership Rewards account on Rakuten’s quarterly payment schedule.

The Rakuten Membership Rewards earning portal looks the same as the cash back earning portal, which may be confusing for some.

Make no mistake, though, when logged in to your Rakuten Membership Rewards earning account, you’ll be earning points rather than cash back.

The amount of points is equivalent to the cash back amounts show.

In the image above, cash back amounts are shown. But when logged in to a Membership Rewards earning account, the earnings would be:

• 6 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at Macy’s
• 8 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at Ulta
• 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at American Eagle
• 8 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at The Container Store

Obviously, these are just examples based on the current Rakuten cash back/Membership Rewards earning amounts.

Cash back/points earning amounts will change regularly.

As you can see, especially during Rakuten bonus promotions, the ability to earn significant amounts of Amex Membership Rewards points is pretty good.

You can set up a Membership Rewards earning account with Rakuten at the link below. You’ll earn 1,500 Membership Rewards points after you make qualifying purchases totaling $25 or more within 90 days of becoming a member.

*You’ll need to be signed out of your Rakuten cash back account / use incognito mode on your browser to use the link below.*

Rakuten Membership Reward Earning Account Sign-Up Link

In case you’re worried about having two different Rakuten accounts and knowing what you’re earning at any given time, don’t be.

At least for the Membership Rewards earning account, you’ll get the pop-up below when you go to shop…at least until you permanently dismiss it, that is.

And, just like with the cash back earning, you can earn Membership Rewards points with Rakuten’s in-store program, too.

Just link a credit card to your Rakuten account and once an in-store offer is linked to that account and a purchase is made, you’ll earn the associated Membership Rewards points.

Rakuten Dining

A recently introduced Rakuten program allows Rakuten app (iOS and soon Android) users to enable cash back/points earning at participating restaurants when a linked credit card is used to pay.

You can read more about this new program and download the Rakuten app here.

This is just one more way to add to your cash back stash or Membership Rewards points balance thanks to Rakuten.

Wrap Up

Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates) is making it easy to earn not only cash back on regular purchases, but Membership Rewards points, too.

Based on information provided to me by Rakuten, both a cash back and a Membership Rewards earning account can be held by one person.

Which means, depending on your preference at any given time, you can earn cash back or Membership Rewards points via the Rakuten site. You’ll just need to use a different email address to sign-up.

And with the new Rakuten dining program, earning either cash back or Membership Rewards points is that much easier.

Now that you can choose, which Rakuten earning option do you prefer?

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