Disclosure: Some links may contain referral links and I may be compensated for this.
This blog post is my review of Rakuten one of the websites I use to earn cash back when I purchase something online.
In this Rakuten Review I will tell you what Rakuten is, how to join, how to earn the welcome bonus, how you earn cashback, and if Rakuten is legit or not.
Let’s get into our Rakuten website review.
Rakuten Quick Facts:
- Passive – Yes after payment setup. You’ll need to shop to earn.
- Cost – Free to join.
- Device – Android, iOS and website.
- Earning potential – Depends on your shopping habits.
- Points system – Nope, you’ll see USD on your Rakuten account balance.
- Minimum cashout – $5.01.
- Cashout I prefer – PayPal.
Rakuten Cash Back Review
So how does Rakuten cashback work? Rakuten is an affiliate marketing company and they have partnered with thousands of retailers.
Examples of retailers include Walmart, Target, PetSmart, Lowe’s, Nike, Macy’s, Ulta, Overstock, ebay and so much more.
Big retailers pay Rakuten a commission for sending shoppers to their storefronts and then Rakuten shares a portion of the commission to their shopping members as cash back.
When you shop through the Rakuten website you will earn up to 20% cash back. The more you shop the more cash back you get.
You can also use the free Rakuten Chrome extension to get cash back. The extension will also find and apply coupons and compare prices to get you the best deal.
Rakuten Amazon
At the time of writing this post it is sad to learn that Amazon is no longer affiliated with Rakuten.
I shop at Amazon a lot and you need to know this information before you decide to join Rakuten.
How To Join Rakuten
Joining is free and you can even earn a $10 Welcome Bonus.
You’ll need to provide an email address and a password to join or you can also choose to use your Google, Facebook or Apple account.
I use a separate email address for this site to keep my emails organized.
When you join Rakuten through my link below, you will get a free welcome bonus and I will share more below on how you can earn that free bonus.
You will also become one of my referrals and I may be compensated at no extra cost to you.
For now you can sign up to Rakuten and come back on this post to continue learning more of Rakuten.
Click my link below to Join Rakuten now.
Rakuten Welcome Bonus
This welcome bonus changes from time to time but it is commonly at $10 that’s why I use $10 in this writing but it could show you more depending on the time when you clicked the link.
As I mentioned, you will get free $10 when you join through my link and there are things you need to do to earn this free $10.
You will need to make a minimum qualifying purchase. Just scroll below the sign up page and look for the fine print right below the ‘Privacy Policy’ link.
Right now the welcome bonus is at $20 and the minimum purchase is at least $20 as shown on the screenshot below.
The fine print will tell you how much you need to purchase to earn the welcome bonus. And you will need to make the purchase within 90 days of becoming a Rakuten member.
How To Use Rakuten Cashback
Log in to your Rakuten account and browse the site for great deals or you can search for the specific store where you want to make a purchase.
It is easy to scroll around the Rakuten website.
Once you’ve found the shop you want to make a purchase from, just click on the card.
Then click that ‘Shop Now’ button.
This will take you to that shops official website, and you will need to complete your purchase there.
If you don’t want to open Rakuten everytime you want to purchase something then you might want to consider installing the Rakuten Chrome browser extension.
With the extension installed you will get notified with a popup when you are purchasing something that is eligible for a cashback.
There will be a Rakuten button you need to click at checkout and you get cashback for that purchase.
Rakuten In-Store Shopping
Now I don’t use Rakuten for in-store shopping but Iv’e read that you can also earn Rakuten cash back in a physical store.
To be able to do this, you will need to activate the in-store offers shown in their website or on the Rakuten app.
You will also need to link a card and use the linked card to pay for your in-store purchase, reminds me of a similar app named Pei.
If you really need to go to the store then this is another way to earn Rakuten cashback.
How To Get Rakuten Cashback After Purchase
With Rakuten you can get your cashback via check, American Express Rewards Points or via PayPal cash.
I use PayPal with mine and it is easy to setup. You will need a verified PayPal account.
You will earn $ amount as cashback, there is no confusing points system here.
Everytime you make an eligible purchase, Rakuten will automatically give you $ amount cashback on your account. This process will take time (days to weeks) so a little patience will be needed here.
The minimum payment amount is $5.01. You’ll need to earn at least $5.01 to be able to cashout.
Cashback payments are sent every 3 months following the schedule below.
Is Rakuten Legit?
In my honest opinion Rakuten is a legit site and you can save more from your purchases by earning cashback from Rakuten.
Rakuten is easy to use, it is free to join and they will even give you a welcome bonus if you make a qualifying purchase.
Note: Make sure to only buy items that you are going to buy anyways. Never buy something you don’t need or anything out of budget.
Also note that different stores will have different offers for cashback, you will need to read each offer and know which products have cashback offers.
Some products may not be eligible for cashback like gift cards.
Cashback is based on your net purchase amount, excludes taxes, shipping, gift-wrapping etc.
Rakuten has a great referral program, where you could earn more cash for referring your friends to join.
All in all I would recommend Rakuten and it is a way to save by earning cashback.
Give Rakuten one of the top cash back sites that I use a try and let me know what you think about this cashback site in the comments below.
Another Best Cash Back Site
Another good website for earning free rewards is Swagbucks. Swagbucks has a good reputation and is also a legit site to earn free gift cards or cash back. There is a $5 bonus when joining Swagbucks.
You can also earn passively by watching videos on your mobile device using the Swagbucks Mobile Applications!
App Site Make Money 