How to Use Rakuten to Save Money Online

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If you’re like most people, you’re always on the lookout for easy ways to save money, especially when shopping online.

What if there were a simple tool that could put cash back in your pocket every time you clicked “checkout”?

That’s where Rakuten comes in.

In this article, we’ll show you how to use Rakuten to save money online effortlessly.

Whether you’re buying clothes, booking travel, or just restocking household essentials, Rakuten can help you earn real cashback with zero hassle.

Ready to stop leaving money on the table and learn how to earn money ? Let’s dive in.

11 Ways to Use Rakuten to Save Money Shopping Online

#1. Make Sure You’re Shopping With Brands You Normally Shop With

The one piece of advice I always offer when using platforms like Rakuten (formally ebates), is that it’s easy to get excited about a sale.

Some will sign up for a cash back platform and start shopping immediately to start building their cashback balance.

But not every sale is a deal. Just because you can get Rakuten cashback through their shopping portal doesn’t mean that you necessarily should.

When you’re looking to use Rakuten to save money online, always make it a top priority to only shop with vendors that you normally shop with otherwise.

The next time you go shopping and you see shopping rewards for eligible purchases from your top vendors, you’ll be getting an actual deal on your online purchase.

Getting extra cash from your purchases means nothing if you’re shopping for things you don’t normally buy.

Avoid the excitement of cashback earnings and thoroughly research Rakuten’s shopping portal so you know where to source your everyday goods form.

#2. Install the Browser Extension

It’s easy to forget to use Rakuten if it’s not right in front of you.

After all, many of us have lived without Rakuten for a while, so to consistently think about shopping through Rakuten for major sales events and other purchases isn’t something that’s immediately top of mind.

This is why it’s a good idea to install the browser extension.

The Rakuten browser extension helps you get deals in just a few clicks.

When you visit a store that offers a qualifying purchase, the browser extension will immediately notify you that you can activate cashback there.

It will also help you find coupon codes and special promotions, price check everything at your favorite stores in case you could get it elsewhere for cheaper, and track your earnings (which you can receive via physical check, American Express Membership rewards points, or PayPal).

The Rakuten browser extension can be a lifesaver when you forget to go through the Rakuten website.

Make sure to download this so you have a convenient way to start building cash in your account after you make your first qualifying purchase.

#3. Get a Cheaper Vacation With Rakuten Cash Back Offers

Most people think that using a Rakuten account is a way to earn cash back on everyday, eligible purchases.

It absolutely is.

But there’s more to find with a Rakuten account than just the basics you’ll come across when online shopping.

This is where my second major piece of advice comes in: use Rakuten for experiences, not just Rakuten cash back on things like shoes, beauty products, and other basic goods.

For example, did you know that you can earn cash back when you use Rakuten to make a purchase at a participating restaurant?

Did you know that you can get coupon codes and cash back when you book a vacation rental through Rakuten?

Were you aware that you could get Rakuten cash back on activities like booking an Uber or on rental cars?

Using the Rakuten app to get Rakuten cash back on experiences allows you to do all the things you’ve wanted to do while saving money along the way.

Take a look at all the Rakuten cash back offers to see what you can use Rakuten to save on.

#4. Double-Up With Cash Back Credit Cards

Every dollar spent through the Rakuten portal will help you earn rewards.

But don’t think that you’re limited to the cashback offers from Rakuten.

Besides Rakuten offers, you should use rewards credit cards when you make your purchases.

Savvy shoppers will first need to activate cashback at participating merchants and Rakuten partners via the website or browser extension.

Then, when you check out, use your credit card instead of your debit cards if you have an Amex account or other credit cards like Citi, Discover, or Chase.

This helps you reap the rewards of shopping from online retailers with Rakuten, then helps you earn double when you spend cash with a participating retailer by giving you money back via your credit card.

When it comes to savings opportunities, thinking outside of the box is always going to get you more savings and better results.

#5. Embrace Coupon Codes for More Savings

Double cash back is one great feature of Rakuten. You can get double cash back when you use a cash back credit card and Rakuten offers.

However, one other strategy that I find to be quite useful is taking advantage of the coupon codes that Rakuten manages to dig up when you’re shopping at various retailers.

One might logically assume that you wouldn’t be able to use a coupon and earn cash back at the same time while online shopping.

But that’s not the case with Rakuten. They’ll give you coupons on top of the cash back offers that they provide, allowing you to take advantage of even more savings.

Always check for a coupon code before you finalize your purchase.

Even if you’re still getting cash back, that extra coupon code or promo code can help you get a much better deal on the things that you want or need.

#6. Get the Most Out of Rakuten Account by Shopping In-Store Too

Online shopping is the primary focus of this guide, but it’s worth noting that Rakuten cashback offers aren’t limited to online purchases only.

The Rakuten app can be used for in-store purchases, helping you activate cash offers on physical products you’re purchasing in person.

All you have to do to use this is link a credit card to your account, add the offer to your card, and then use that card while shopping at the desired retailer.

Once the store confirms your purchase, the Rakuten membership rewards points will be added to your account.

#7. Keep Rakuten on Every Device

Most modern consumers rarely limit their shopping activity to just one device.

If we’re at the computer and it’s convenient, we may shop from our desktop or our laptop.

If we’re elsewhere and we have a smartphone or a tablet on hand, we’ll likely shop online using that device instead.

This is why it’s important to keep Rakuten on every device.

As per the advice above, make sure to install the Rakuten extension on your web browser so that you get notifications each time you end up on a merchant that there’s a Rakuten offer for.

When you’re shopping with a mobile device, having the app on your phone makes it so that you can access your Rakuten shopping portal through there for more convenient cash back access.

If you have Rakuten installed on every device, it becomes much harder to forget to use it and miss out on cash rewards.

#8. Refer Others to Get a Referral Bonus

The point of Rakuten is to save money, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make a little extra Rakuten cash on the side.

Rakuten’s referral program is one of the best out of the many cash back apps out there.

In fact, you can make $30 per referral who also signs up for Rakuten to earn membership rewards points.

So long as they live in the 50 US states or qualifying territories, sign up for Rakuten using your referral link, and make a qualifying purchase within 90 days of activating their Rakuten account, you can make $30 with their purchase and they can make $30 as well.

If you have friends who love to save, earn cash, and tap into coupon codes for more savings, send them your referral code and encourage them to join. Everyone wins!

#9. Buy Gift Cards on Rakuten

One under the radar feature of Rakuten is that you can buy gift cards and earn cash back doing so.

They offer hundreds of popular stores to choose from.

Just pay attention to see if it’s a physical gift card or an egift card.

Also, pay attention to the cashback amount you earn, as you might get a better deal somewhere else.

For example, with my American Express card, I earn 6% cashback at grocery stores.

Because of this, I buy my gift cards there.

There is no reason to earn 1% shopping through Rakuten, (and getting another 2% from my credit card), when I can earn more shopping somewhere else.

#10. Shop Strategically

Black Friday and Cyber Monday is when cash back at Rakuten is highest.

In some cases, you can earn 25% cash back at many retailers.

If you have a large purchase and it can wait, it benefits you to be patient.

This past season, I needed a new laptop. I saw the one I wanted and that Lenovo offered cash back on Rakuten.

So I waited until Black Friday. The cash back about jumped from 2% up to 15%.

I ended up getting over $200 in cash back on my purchase.

Now, I’m not saying you have to wait until the end of the year to buy everything you want.

Rakuten does offer double cash back and higher rates throughout the year.

The trick is being patient and buying when a bonus offer is higher than usual.

#11. Stay Updated With Their Social Media Profiles

Rakuten is a busy company, which is why it’s important to keep up with them to see what’s going on and learn about upcoming opportunities and promotions.

If you don’t already, follow them on Instagram, X, and Facebook.

This will keep you up-to-date on new developments, sales, giveaways, and other things that will help you save money or even get free stuff from Rakuten.

How Do I Save Money Using Rakuten

So there are some general ways you can use the Rakuten shopping portal to earn cash back.

In this section, I will outline the specifics I use to earn rewards.

First, when I see something I want to buy, I visit Rakuten to see if they offer cash back.

Even if they do, my next step is to visit Swagbucks, as they also offer cash back deals.

(The biggest difference here is that with Rakuten, you earn cash, whereas with Swagbucks, you earn points, or SB as they call them. You redeem these SB for gift cards or PayPal cash. Also, Rakuten offers a percentage back while Swagbucks offers a number of SB per dollar spent. In the end, the amounts are the same. So 2% cash back from Rakuten is the same as 2 SB per dollar spent with Swagbucks.)

If I need the item now, I buy through whichever option offers the highest cash back.

If I don’t need it immediately, I check back occasionally to see if the reward amount has changed.

In most cases, I simply go to the Rakuten website and activate cash back there as opposed to using the browser extension.

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t, it’s just that I prefer not to.

When I do buy, I use a credit card to earn extra cash back.

The payment method I use depends on the reward.

For example, if my Discover card is offering 5% cash back at electronics stores, then I’ll use that card. Otherwise, I’ll use my Wells Fargo card that offers me 2% cash back.

After I make my purchase, I keep note of the purchase as sometimes, I’ll be missing cash back.

This doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen.

Since each retailer reports to Rakuten at different times, you might get your money immediately whereas other times, it takes a few days.

If after a few days I don’t see my rewards or it’s not pending, I’ll reach out to see what the issue is. Usually, Rakuten credits my account at this time.

When it comes to payment, I choose PayPal over having a physical check mailed.

It’s just my preference to have the money in my PayPal account that I can then transfer to my bank.

A Warning on Shopping Rakuten and Using Discount Codes

When I shop online, I love using coupon codes to save extra money.

But when it comes to Rakuten, using third party coupon codes voids the Rakuten cashback offer.

And even if there is a sale and you use a coupon code from the website you are shopping, your cash back could be voided.

Recently, I was buying vitamins on Vitacost and used their promo code for a sale they were running.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t credited after my purchase.

When I reached out, Rakuten claimed I used a third party coupon, even though I didn’t.

After some back and forth, I was credited with the money I earned.

But reading the fin print, I saw this:

The bottom line, if you use a coupon code, make sure you save your proof of purchase including email receipt so you can show Rakuten if they don’t credit your account.

Final Thoughts

Saving money while shopping online doesn’t have to be complicated, and Rakuten proves that.

With just a few clicks, you can turn your everyday purchases into real cashback rewards.

Whether you’re a seasoned online shopper or just getting started, using Rakuten to save money online is a smart move that pays off over time.

So before you hit “buy” on your next order, make sure Rakuten is working for you.

It’s free, easy, and one of the simplest ways to keep more cash in your wallet.