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I remember the first time someone told me I could “earn money just for shopping online.”
I laughed. How could spending money equal saving money? It just didn’t make sense.
Because nothing in life, especially mom life, works like that.
But then one night, after ordering school shoes, a birthday gift, and groceries online (all in one sitting because… life), I checked my Rakuten account and saw real money sitting there. Not points. Not fake rewards. Actual dollars waiting to be paid to me.
That was the moment I got it.
Rakuten isn’t some gimmick. It’s just one of those simple tools that quietly saves you money while you live your life.
If you’re brand new to stacking points and cash back in a way that actually leads to free trips, my Beginner’s Guide is the easiest place to start.
What Is Rakuten?
Rakuten is a shopping portal.
All that means is you start your online shopping trip through Rakuten instead of going directly to the store website.
It’s actually so easy to use. You download Rakuten, then click where you want to shop, and your cash back is automatically applied once you checkout! You can learn how to set it up automatically here, but this is what it looks like in the app store if you want to get started.
Stores pay Rakuten a referral fee for sending customers to their sites. Rakuten simply shares that money with you.
You won’t have another subscription or membership to deal with, and there’s no weird loopholes either.
You just click Rakuten first, pick your store, and shop like normal.
Who Runs Rakuten?
Rakuten is owned by Rakuten Group, a massive international tech company based in Japan.
In the U.S., Rakuten used to be called Ebates; you might remember that name. Rakuten bought Ebates years ago and rebranded it, but the system stayed exactly the same.
It’s important you know who runs Rakuten so you know this is NOT a scam! This is not a startup in someone’s basement. I know it sounds too good to be true, but I promise it’s not!
Rakuten processes billions in purchases every year and has partnerships with thousands of retailers.
How You Actually Get Paid
Rakuten pays you in a few different ways that you can choose:
• Cash deposited to PayPal
• Check mailed to your house
• Gift cards
• Or (this is the best part) points instead of cash
Most payouts go out quarterly, but some gift cards are instant once your cash back clears.
No minimum required spend or hoops to jump through.
The Big Update: Rakuten + Bilt Rewards
This is where Rakuten went from “nice” to “amazing.”
Rakuten now lets you convert your shopping rewards into Bilt Points instead of cash.
That means the shoes, birthday gifts, and Target runs you’re already spending on can quietly turn into vacations. It still blows my mind that spending money can actually get me on vacation. For years I thought the only way to do it was to save.
Rakuten also converts to American Express Membership rewards points!
I wrote a full guide on how this works here:
How to Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points with Rakuten
If travel is your long-term goal, I’ll always say this: Points are usually more powerful than cash.
How I Find the Best Rakuten Deals (Without Adding Another Task to My Life)
Rakuten has thousands of stores, but not every deal is amazing.
If it’s going into my cart, I check Rakuten before I click buy. Every time.
Rakuten pops up automatically when a store offers cash back. No memory required.
Rates jump during holidays, back-to-school season, and Black Friday.
Rakuten works on top of store sales and coupon codes. You’re not choosing, you’re layering.
If you’re curious how Rakuten compares to other shopping tools, I broke that down in All About Shopping Portals: Rakuten vs. Capital One.
How Rakuten Fits Into the Way I Travel
Rakuten is purely a shopping portal, so it doesn’t book flights or hotels.
What it does is quietly fund your travel in the background that can:
• Cover a flight fee
• Offset a hotel stay
• Pay for luggage
• Earn points toward a bigger redemption
And when you start pairing Rakuten with flexible travel cards and airline strategies?
That’s when trips start happening that felt impossible before.
If you want to understand how I stretch points further, these are great next reads:
How to Transfer Credit Card Points to Travel Partners and Why Its Worth It
The Simple Way to Start Using Points and Miles for Travel
My Honest Take
Rakuten isn’t flashy.
It won’t change your life in a week.
But, over time it will:
• Cut your holiday spending
• Build real rewards
• Support future trips
• Pay you for things you already buy
And once you link Rakuten to points instead of cash?
You start seeing vacations inside your online shopping cart!
Want to Start Turning Shopping Into Free Travel?
If you’re ready to go beyond “cash back” and actually build toward trips your family can afford, start with my Free Beginner’s Guide.
And if you want help choosing the right cards to stack with Rakuten and shopping portals, I keep my favorites here.
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