I almost committed a sin. I was about to order something online without activating my rewards, which is basically my personal version of forgetting my passport at home. I was leaving money on the table for no reason.

That’s why you need to know about Rakuten.

Rakuten is a shopping portal that rewards you for starting your online shopping trip through its link instead of going straight to a store’s website. You can choose whether those rewards come as cash back, American Express Membership Rewards points, or Bilt Rewards points. Same purchase. Better return.

Think of Rakuten as a middleman between you and your favorite stores.

It partners with thousands of retailers, including major names like Apple, Sephora, Target, and Marriott. When you click from Rakuten to one of these sites, the retailer pays Rakuten a commission for sending them the customer. Rakuten then shares a slice of that commission with you.

Nothing about your shopping changes. Same items. Same prices. You just start in a different place.

Most people use Rakuten for cash back, which is already a win. But if your goal is to book flights or hotels, points can often stretch much further.

Rakuten lets you switch your payout from cash to points, which means the same shopping trip can help fund your next vacation.

Cash back is the default and the easiest option.

Rakuten pays out via PayPal or check on a set quarterly schedule, roughly every three months. You generally need at least $5.01 in confirmed cash back to get paid that cycle.

If you want more flexibility, you can also redeem your rewards for gift cards. Those can be redeemed at any time, and you do not need to wait for the quarterly payout window.

If you have an eligible American Express card that earns American Express Membership Rewards points, you can set Rakuten to pay you in points instead of cash.

The math is simple: $1 in Rakuten cash back converts to 100 Amex points.

So if a store offers 10% back on a $100 purchase, that is $10 in rewards, or 1,000 points if you are in points mode.

These points can be worth around two cents each when redeemed for flights through transfer partners like Air Canada Aeroplan or British Airways Executive Club, so this effectively doubles the value of your return.

Rakuten sends points on the same quarterly schedule. You usually need at least 501 confirmed points for the transfer to happen that cycle.

Rakuten also lets you earn Bilt Points as your payout option.

This is useful since those points can then be transferred to airline and hotel programs like Alaska Atmos Rewards, United MileagePlus, and World of Hyatt.

The important part is that the conversion rate depends on your Bilt status and can change over time.

For the first six months, all Bilt members receive 100 Bilt Points per $1 of cash back.

After six months:

One important rule applies to every option. You must choose your payout method before you shop. You cannot buy an item and then decide later that you wanted points instead of cash.

If you’re new to Rakuten, now is the time to join. For a limited time, new users can earn a $50 bonus.

To trigger it, you simply need to sign up via a referral link and make qualifying purchases totaling at least $50 within your first 90 days. It is effectively getting $50 worth of stuff for free.

Getting started is simple:

As a heads up, if you shop in private browsing mode or use ad blockers, tracking can fail so you might not get your rewards. For Rakuten purchases, use a normal browser session with cookies enabled.

If you buy anything online, even a few times a month, Rakuten is a low-effort way to earn real value.

Choose cash back if you want simple savings. Choose American Express Membership Rewards points if you want to maximize travel value. Choose Bilt Points if you have elite status or want to top off your Alaska or Hyatt balance.

Whatever you choose, the smartest move is consistency. Make it a habit, and let your regular shopping quietly pay for your next trip.