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I have been a mega Rakuten fan for a very long time. Personally, I like the old name Ebates even better, but they could call themselves anything they want, and I would still love the program. I have, over the years, literally made THOUSANDS of dollars in rebates using Rakuten. Why do I love them so much (#ProTip – you can join FREE here and EARN $40)? Here is a short list:
- Tracking: Many third-rate shopping portals are unreliable. You have to guess if your shopping trip will track (meaning you visited the site from wherever). I rarely, if ever, have this issue with Rakuten. Trust matters when it comes to cash back.
- Customer Service: Again, with other sites, if you do track correctly, there is a significant chance you will still not earn what they said you will earn. Customer service with Rakuten is not just reliable but quick and very good. Again, there have been very few times I have not earned what I expected and if an e-mail to customer service was needed – they resolved the issue. Here also trust matters.
- Yields: Rakuten has consistently paid back some of the highest levels of any site. Even if they are a tiny bit lower than other sites I tend to stick with Rakuten because of the two points above. If I go with another “higher” portal and get nothing or just frustration I have net earned zero!
OK so now we know why I like them so much in regards to shopping but what about when it comes time to cash out. Some dislike portals because they take so long to pay out since they only pay out 4 times a year. Well Rakuten has a solution for this but should you consider it?
If you use both Rakten.com as well as the Rakuten APP, the latter has the option for you to cash out early and not wait so long and get gift cards instead. The choices are somewhat limited but there is one that does get my attention.
For me, with all points, it is all about value. All you have to do is look at my recent Delta post about their award program to see how low a value I put on their travel currency. So cashing out Rakuten I want max value. With early payout, I have the choice to pick a Sam’s Club gift card. I shop regularly at Sam’s so to me this choice would almost be as good as cash. Plus, if I use this option, I get the gift card VERY quickly and can spend it when I want to and not wait.
But there are two downsides to gift card cash out. Clearly, at least for me, cold hard cash gives me more choices. With cash, I can spend it, well, as cash anywhere. Even better, I can deposit the cash and then if I want to say pay for something, I can then use a high-earning travel points card and earn even more and use the cash Rakuten sent me to pay the bill. I know this is ultra basic points math but it matters and is worth mentioning.
The other elephant in the room of cashing out my Rakuten balance via gift cards is I would miss out on the chance to earn American Express® Membership Rewards® points as my quarterly bonus instead of cash. Membership Rewards points are some of the most valuable travel points as well as points in programs that can have their points transferred to many airlines or hotels (i.e., American Express® Membership Rewards® points, Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Capital One Miles, etc.) because they HOLD real value and can be sent to so many programs I use regularly and even more so now that I am no longer blindly a Delta loyalist as before.
It is VERY simple to switch your earning from either receiving a check or PayPal cash payout to Membership Rewardspoints by going into your Rakuten account and clicking “Account Settings” and then choosing Membership Rewards and following the prompts to log in to your Amex account. (Examples of Membership Rewards cards include The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Gold Card, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.)
Bottom line Rakuten (again you can join FREE HERE and EARN $40) is offering the chance to cash out early via a select few gift cards. While this could have value for some in a pinch – personally I will stick with the greater value (to me) of earning some of the highest value travel points you can earn today and that is Amex Membership Rewards points! – René
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please visit this link.
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
