Why Rakuten Is One the Best Ways to Earn Travel Points

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If you’re thinking about ways to ramp up your points earning for travel, you may decide to apply for several new credit cards to earn generous sign-up bonuses.  This approach, when taken to an extreme, will get you flagged as "high risk" and can damage your future relationship with financial institutions. There is a better strategy that is both repeatable and sustainable with no potential downside   Enter Rakuten.

Best known as a cash-back shopping portal, Rakuten is also a powerful tool for earning American Express Membership Rewards points—often in large quantities—simply by shopping online and purchasing items you were already planning to buy. Rakuten has been a game changer for me since I started using it in 2023. Here’s why it deserves a permanent spot in every point-earner’s toolkit.

How Does Rakuten Work?

Rakuten partners with thousands of retailers, including Best Buy, Macy’s, Nike, Sephora, CVS, and major hotel chains, as well as online travel/tour agencies like Viator, Booking.com and Expedia.

When you start your shopping session through Rakuten, the retailer pays Rakuten a commission. Rakuten then shares a portion of that commission with you in the form of cash back or points for travel.

While most users earn cash back, you can opt to earn American Express Membership Rewards points (or more recently Bilt Rewards points) -- and that’s where the real value lies.

How to Earn Points with Rakuten

To start earning points, follow these steps:

• Create a Rakuten account (it's free) and link your American Express card in your Rakuten wallet.

• You must have an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points, such as the Amex Platinum, Gold, Green, or Blue (personal or business card).  An airline or hotel-branded Amex card will not work. 

• Install the Rakuten browser extension on your laptop and phone so offers will automatically appear when you visit participating retailer websites.

• Always activate the Rakuten offer before completing your purchase.

Earn Travel Points Instead of Cash Back

When you link an eligible American Express card, Rakuten allows you to convert earnings from cash back to points at a 1:1 ratio. That means:

• 5% cash back becomes 5x Amex points per dollar spent

• 10% cash back becomes 10x Amex points

• Special promotions can offer as much as 15x or even 20x points

A $100 purchase can earn anywhere from 500 to 2,000 Membership Rewards points!  Rakuten often boosts earning rates for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other holidays throughout the year, so savvy shoppers wait to make large purchases.

The Amex points you earn can be transferred to more than a dozen airline and hotel partners, including:

• Air Canada Aeroplan

• British Airways Avios

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue

• ANA Mileage Club

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

For travelers who understand how to maximize points redemptions (hint: use transfer partners), Rakuten earnings can be worth two to ten times more in value vs. cash back.

Stack Rakuten with Your Credit Cards

One of Rakuten’s biggest advantages is how easily it stacks with credit card earnings. For example:

• Rakuten offers 10x points at CVS (limited time offer).

• You pay with a Chase card that earns 3x points on purchases made at pharmacies.

• In total, you earn 13x points for every dollar spent on items like toiletries, OTC medications, cosmetics and household goods.

While you must have an Amex card linked in your Rakuten wallet to earn Membership Rewards, you do not need to use that Amex card for every purchase. Just make sure your other credit cards are added to your Rakuten wallet.

As i mentioned earlier, Rakuten has been a game changer for me. In 2025, I earned an average of 12x points per dollar spent on Rakuten – and that doesn’t include points earned from my credit card. This has enabled me to build a stash of points by incorporating two key strategies: knowing which credit card to use to maximize point earnings on every transaction and boosting those everyday earning opportunities with Rakuten promotions.   

Easy to Use (So Don’t Forget)

Rakuten makes earning rewards easy, but it takes a little time to get used to it.

• Download their browser extension so you’ll be reminded to activate offers when you shop on your laptop or phone.  If you don’t activate the offer, you won’t earn points.

• The Rakuten mobile app also works for in-store shopping and dining

• A tracking dashboard in the Rakuten app shows pending and confirmed rewards

• Missing points can be requested through the Rakuten Help Center

The Bottom Line

Rakuten is one of the simplest and most effective tools for earning travel points. Used consistently, it allows you to build a sizable points balance that can be redeemed for free flights and hotel stays.

For anyone serious about building a stash of flexible points, Rakuten is essential.

👉 Create your free Rakuten account here

👉 To apply for an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points - start here