Rakuten Shopping Portal and why you should use it (to save money)

Chances are… due to the current circumstances you might have purchased a few more things than usual, online. And if you haven’t heard of Rakuten or shopping portals in general, you might be leaving money on the table! Curious? Read on to learn more about how Rakuten can help you save money-

Rakuten Shopping Portal

Put simply, shopping portals are the modern version of coupons.

But as cumbersome as coupon clipping may be… shopping portals take just a couple extra clicks and can save you way more money than coupons ever could have – both in actual time spent and dollars earned.

All you need to get started is your email!

Of course not all stores participate in the Rakuten cash back program, but many do.

If you think you’re spending too much time and money shopping online but don’t get much in return, Rakuten could be a great fit for you.

Especially if you’re keen on earning cash back, discounts, and precious AMEX points – that can be leveraged for travel and many other ways.

Curious? Read on to learn more!

So how do you profit through discounts and cashback?

If you do any shopping online, you should always check if there are shopping portals to click through.

Like most shopping portals, you can earn points, miles or even cash for clicking through their links.

Rakuten will pay you in cash (via paypal or check) or AMEX points (more valuable than cash) for shopping with them!

How’s that sound?

They always have regular promotions like 10 to 15% cash back promotions.

And they have a good referral program, so you can earn a quick bonus for every person you refer.

So if you know someone who shops online, you might want to consider signing up and sending them your link.

And if you plan to buy something large, it’s something worth considering as well.

Wouldn’t you like to spend less money than you would shopping at the local store?

That’s one of the benefits of shopping online, through the Rakuten shopping portal~!

And that 10-15% can add up quickly – even if you only make a few small purchases throughout the year! 

Here’s how you’d use Rakuten as a first timer

These are the steps i follow –

1. create your account
2. find an item to buy and add it to your cart (login if you already have an account)
3. when you’re ready to make a purchase ( you added the item to your cart)
4. go to rakuten and search for the store and see if it’s got a cash back offer, if it does click through the Rakuten shop link
5. once your returned to the store click and your cart and checkout
6. after a day or two, you can see the transaction in your rakuten account history
7. and just like that you’ve saved money!

NOTE (if your store is not listed, consider using a different shopping portal, or searching for a store that carries the same item and participates in the Rakuten cashback program)

Are you an online business owner? (if not skip this section)

Rakuten is an affiliate company that houses local to corporate business owners. It’s a reliable online shop that has been in the service for more than 2 decades.

Are you familiar with ebates.com? 

Ebates was an online shopping reward company that offered a great deal of discounts, cashback, coupons, etc. to its shoppers. It was a Califonia based company that became popular due to its customer-friendly services and big rebates. Rakuten bought Ebates last 2014 to get into the global market. Since then, it’s grown significantly.

If you’re an online seller and want to widen your e-commerce business, listing your store Rakuten is one sure way to get more exposure! Part of their core mission is to support small and local entrepreneurs worldwide! Rakuten is a helping-hand that brings traffic into your online shop for more potential customers.

A couple random facts worth noting –

• Rakuten is Japan’s biggest internet bank that offers extensive loyalty programs.
• And, it’s the third-largest credit company reliable for safe and hassle-free banking services.

Not sure if Rakuten shopping is for you?

here’s some of the pros and cons of using the shopping portal

Rakuten Pros

why you should shop with Rakuten:

1. You can buy online and pick it up at the actual store. (site to store shopping)
2. Daily discounts and credits. (Basically, discounts are for those who want rebates right away and credits can be saved to buy other items in the future. *Credits can be in the form of cash or AMEX points)
3. You’ll enjoy a standard rate that can vary between 0.5% to 5%+  cashback (points) on a variety of stores. And there are regular promotions on top of that which increase the rates to 20% +
4. You’ll get in-store cashback on almost all the items sold on the platform. (The store pays Rakuten for customer referrals while Rakuten gives you a part of that payout.)
5. You can download the app or add the browser extension to get notifications and the list of stores that offers the best deals.

( Note:  if you’re using ad blockers, you may need to disable it before you purchase.)

Rakuten Cons

1. It’s an extra step – you must click through the Rakuten platform so they can track your purchase.
2. You can’t go through multiple portals and get multiple credits at the same time. but there are opportunities where you can ‘stack’ promotional offers.
3. Not all stores participate
4. Sometimes there are better values can be found elsewhere, for example when other shopping portals offer a higher bonus as a promotion (e.g. 5,000 United miles for spending $500 on mileageplushopping.com)

Rakuten is a simple and effective way to save money

With just a few clicks, you’ll get access to generous cash back offers and discounts.

And it adds up (see above)

Because of that Rakuten (and ebates formerly) is my go to shopping portal for most online purchases.

Maybe you’ll find it just as useful!

if you’ve found this post at all helpful, consider using this link to setup your first account

they have a limited time offer through June 30, 2020

if you join and spend $30, you’ll get a $30 bonus and so will I.

thanks in advance and enjoy!

Sound like Rakuten is something worth trying?

Do you already use it?

share your experiences and thoughts in a comment below!