One of the best ways to earn extra rewards is through online shopping portals like Rakuten. By starting there (rather than on a specific retailer’s website), you can make your online shopping trips even more lucrative.
With Rakuten you can earn cash back or American Express Membership Rewards points. By converting your savings preference to Amex points, you’ll earn 1 Amex point on a purchase that normally earns 1% cash back. We value Amex points at 2 cents each, which means switching to Amex points can double your returns – or more, if you know how to best use Amex points.
How to Earn Amex Points with Rakuten
The first step to double your Rakuten earnings is to go to rakuten.com and create an account.
(If you’re not currently a member and join through this link before September 26, you can earn a one-time $40 bonus after you spend $40 in the first 90 days.)
After you sign up, you can start earning rewards by shopping at rakuten.com or through the Rakuten app. But the easiest option may be to install Rakuten’s browser extension, which checks online merchants for eligible cash backs.
To install the browser extension, hover your mouse over your name in the top right corner and select “My Account” from the drop-down menu. Select the widget that says “Add to Chrome” to add the Rakuten browser extension.
Related: How to maximize shopping portals for your online purchases
It’s important to note that new users will automatically set their earning preference to cashback (and your initial $40 bonus will be paid out in cash as well). However, once your account is created, you can switch to Amex points, and all future purchases through Rakuten will earn points.
To do that, select “Account Settings” from the list of options on the left side of the screen.
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The page contains the message ‘How would you like to be paid?’ section with three options. Rakuten requires you to first select one of two cashback options.
For this example I chose ‘Big Fat Check’. However, after you complete the necessary verification, you will see the option to convert your earning preference to Amex points.
When you select the link to “Switch to Membership Rewards® Points,” Rakuten will direct you to the American Express page. Just follow the on-screen prompts to sync your accounts. Once that’s done, you can start shopping.
However, it is important to note that this is a one-time switch. If you choose to switch back to one of the cashback payment methods, the option to earn Membership Rewards points will disappear completely from your account settings page.
Once you earn rewards, you will receive them quarterly, usually about six weeks after the end of the quarter. For example, points earned between July and October will be paid out on November 15.
And of course, for this to work, you’ll need to have a card that earns Membership Rewards points. If you don’t have one now, here are some popular options:
In short
Rakuten is simple, free to use, and essentially pays you to shop. While many readers may prefer to earn cash back during their online shopping trips, you can also choose to earn Amex Membership Rewards points – which is a great way to increase your potential rewards.
Sign up today for a one-time referral bonus and then switch your earning preference to Amex Points.