How To Use Rakuten Cash Back For Online Purchases (It’s Free!)

Ever wondered how to use Rakuten?

I looooove online shopping, so you can imagine my happiness when I discovered Rakuten, a FREE online portal that gives you cash back on most of my online purchases with no strings attached!

Signing up for an account is totally free (no hidden fees, I promise) and Rakuten will give you a defined percentage of cash back from your purchase whenever you click a store’s link from the Rakuten website first.

I explain how to use Rakuten and share six tips that will help you earn the most cash back with Rakuten.

If you have not used Rakuten before, sign up using this link now to receive $10 bonus when you spend $25 online*. 

*this post contains affiliate links*

How Does Rakuten Work? Is Rakuten Free? 

Rakuten* is super simple, all you have to do to start getting cash back when online shopping is:

1 – Create an account through the website with your email and password (it’s free, no hidden fees!).

2 – Enter your PayPal account and mailing address in the account setting to ensure you get paid!

3 – Select the participating online store you want to shop from the Rakuten website – you have to click the retailer link on the Rakuten website first, you will then be routed to the online retailer’s site and your cash-back amount will be applied to your purchase

4 – Shop and get the Rakuten listed percentage for that store in cash back!

 

Participating Retailers & Cash Back Amounts

Rakuten has a HUGE listing of online retailers (750+) for you to shop from. Most retailers have a default percentage of cash back they provide, but every so often they increase the cash back amount or have special coupons or deals running to save you money.

Cash back amounts range from 1-15% depending on the retailer and deals going on that day. These rates are always changing!

 

Also, beware of retailers that have “up to” cash back amounts (e.g. Amazon usually offers “up to 5% cash back” – this means that not all products will qualify for the full 5% cash back – there’s usually a “read more” link that you can click to see how much cash back different product categories qualify for. Also beware of product exclusions!

To see if an online retailer is linked to Rakuten, simply search the store on the Rakuten website search  bar and the percentage cash back for that retailer will be listed for that day (it’s always changing, so keep checking!).

For example, I like to shop online at Sephora, which normally offers 2-4% cash back, but they’ve gone up to 8% and 10% cash back periodically, while my last skin care order gave me 15% cash back. You can see Sephora’s cash back percentage on the date of this post from the Rakuten store search in the pic below:

Rakuten has discounts for tons of stores in the travel, beauty, tech, home and clothing categories. You can create a favourites list on in your account to find your participating retailers and their applied percentages for the day even faster.

There are hundreds of participating stores in all types of shopping categories, so I always try to look for the store I want to order from on the Rakuten site first, before I make my online purchase to see if it qualifies for cash back.

Currently, I’ve received almost $200 in cash back since I opened my account and I’m hoping to get more back during my Christmas shopping!

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How Does Rakuten Know You’re Shopping Through Them?

Learning how to use Rakuten is easy! When you click on a store’s website listed on Rakuten, it uses your web browser’s cookies to track you and all your online purchases through this store during that browsing session (always wait until you are ready to make your purchase before going through the Rakuten portal!).

Be sure to disable any adblockers you might be using on your browser when shopping through Rakuten, as they can prevent Rakuten from properly tracking you to the store’s website and may not validate your purchases.

 

Shopping with the Rakuten Browser Extension

It’s easy to make an online purchase and forget to go through Rakuten first, which means missing out on getting a percentage of your purchase back (which totally sucks!).

Luckily, Rakuten has a special browser extension you can install that will automatically notify you when you are on a retailer’s website that deals with Rakuten as a reminder.

In addition, this browser extension also keeps a repository of known coupon codes for the store you are shopping at. When you are checking out, you can hit the Cash Back Button and see if there are any valid coupon codes to bring the price of your shopping cart down even further – bonus!

Lastly, if you are shopping on a site that doesn’t offer cashback through Rakuten, the browser extension will alert you to a store that has it for a cheaper price with cashback. Rakuten currently offers the Cash Back Button on Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari browser. To simply install the Cash Back Button, get started here.

 

When You Get Your Cash Back Payments

Cash back payments are made quarterly at fixed dates throughout the year in February, May, August add November. You will be reimbursed a percentage of your purchase via a mailed cheque to you, an e-deposit to your PayPal account or a family member account or charity of your choice (I prefer to receive my cash back in my Paypal account).

Note – you will only receive payment once you hit the payment threshold set by Rakuten.

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Check out these 6 Rakuten hacks below to earn more money!

 

Hack #1 – Get The Cash Back Button & Mobile App

Rakuten offers a cash back button (a browser extension) that allows shopping at your favorite Rakuten stores without having to visit Rakuten.com first. A lot of the time, I get so excited about online shopping that I forget to check the Rakuten site first to see if my retailer qualifies for cash back before I make my purchase, meaning I lose out on the cash back – this sucks!

The browser extension button helps me remember to use Rakuten when I’ shopping online and is even more handy because it shows the current cash back percentage and coupon codes available when I’m on my favourite retailer websites.

Rakuten also offers a mobile app so you can access all your cash back savings potential when shopping online using your smartphone, because let’s be honest – we’re not always in front of our desktop when online shopping, right? The Rakuten app gives you the convenience of shopping online with your smartphone so you never miss a chance to earn cash back – ever!

 

Hack #2: – Use The In-Store Cash Back Feature (US Only)

In-Store Cash Back is a new way for Rakuten members to earn cash back and it’s super easy! All you need to do is to add one or more credit or debit cards to your Rakuten profile and link the cards to the available cash back offers.

When you shop in the store where you’ve linked your card to, you earn cash back on qualifying purchases. There aren’t a huge number of stores offer in-store cashback yet, but there are definitely some that we often shop from, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Macy’s, GNC, Gap, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Body Shop, American Eagle, and Petco.

In-Store Cash Back is currently available only to US cardholders who shop in-store at participating merchant locations in the U.S.

You can view the video below to get more details on how in-store cash back works:

 

Hack #3 – Love To Travel? Save More Money When Booking Through Rakuten 

Most of us think of online shopping for accessories, makeup and supplies, but why not use your new account to save more money when you’re booking a trip? On Rakuten “travel and vacations” page, you can find popular travel sites (e.g. Expedia, Hotwire), car rental companies (e.g. Avis, Hertz), hotels (e.g., Hilton, Marriott, Days Inn), and even airlines (e.g. Air France, Virgin America).

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Hack #4 –  Buy Gift Cards & Earn Money Back

Thinking of getting someone you know a gift card for their next birthday or for Christmas? You can purchase that gift card using your Rakuten account and earn cash back on that purchase. Simply buy gift cards from your favourite retailers from the Rakuten site (you can find some here), and earn cash back from the purchase and free shipping on the gift cards you purchased.

 

Hack #5 – Combine Coupon Codes To Get Save More

Rakuten allows you to use coupon/promotion codes when you shop through their website at your favourite online retailers. They actually provide various coupon codes and deals information for people to maximizing savings, such as free shipping options or additional discounts on certain purchases.

You can find all the applicable coupon codes/promotions when you click on the retailer you want to shop at on the website and scrolling down on that retailer page. When shopping through Rakuten , be sure to apply relevant coupon codes at checkout. You get cash back automatically, but you have to add the coupon code manually to get the discount on the retailer website at checkout.

 

Hack #6 – Take Advantage of Hot Deals and 2x or 3x Cash Back

Rakuten features retailers that have doubled or tripled their cash back percentage for the day and some retailers will offer a higher percentage back if you shop through their mobile app versus the desktop site.

You can find these higher paying retailers by clicking on their 2x Cash Back or 3X Cash Back link in the site menu bar. There’s also a “up to 15% cash back” link to retailers paying higher cash back and/or coupon codes offering free shipping or more discounts on your purchase.

I hope this Rakuten review is helpful for learning more about how to use Rakuten to get more savings when you shop online!

Sign up for Rakuten and start to get CASH BACK from participating retailers today!