Make the most of Rakuten’s $30/3,000 Amex points bonus for referrals

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Rakuten is one of my favorite cash back sites because it allows users to choose between earning pure cash back or Amex points in place of that cash back, and as we wrote about how you can choose to earn Amex points through Rakuten yesterday, today seems like a good time to write about the referral bonus that Rakuten also offers.

Rakuten friend referral program

The program and the referral promotion couldn’t be simpler:

• Refer friends to Rakuten (link)
• When a referred friend spends $30 through the Rakuten portal (across any of the hundreds of stores the portal offers), the friend earns $30 and you (the referrer) get $30 too.
• The current offer period runs through 31 March 2024 (the offer period seems to get extended time and time again so I wouldn’t worry about this too much).
• The offer is valid only if the referred person signs up and completes their qualifying purchase within 90 days of signing up on Rakuten.

Clearly, $30 for not doing very much is an attractive offer all on its own, but because cash back earned through Rakuten can be taken as Amex Membership Rewards points, the referral bonus can be even more valuable for both parties.

Collecting Amex points through Rakuten

Follow this link to see how to elect to earn Amex Membership Rewards in place of cash back.

Rakuten offers 1 Membership Reward point in place of every 1 cent of cash back earned through the portal, and that fact brings with it three pieces of good news:

1. As I value Membership Rewards points at 1.5 cents each, every cent of cash back earned can be said to be worth 1.5 cents if you choose to earn Membership Rewards points.
2. If you choose to earn Membership Rewards points, this promotion will see you earn 3,000 points for every friend you successfully refer (as long as they go on to spend $30 in the 90 days from signing up).
3. Every person who is referred to Rakuten and who chooses to earn Membership Rewards points can earn 3,000 bonus Membership Rewards points from the referral, and that’s on top of whatever other points are offered for the purchases being made.

Be careful how you pay

There’s more on offer here than just the great cash referral bonus or the Membership Rewards Points that Rakuten is offering – this is an opportunity to make the most of all the other deals that will stack with this promotion.

For example:

• Check the Amex offers that your American Express cards have been targeted for as a number of retailers that appear on the Rakuten portal often have Amex deals going as well (e.g Levis, Sunglass Hut, Saks 5th Avenue, etc…)
• If you’re shopping with a retailer in a category that won’t earn any credit card bonus points (e.g. Bloomingdales) make sure you use a credit card that will earn you the points you value most or use a great cash back card (like the Citi® Double Cash credit card or the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express).

Bottom line

This is a very nice promotion for all sides from Rakuten as the referrer and the person being referred can both do very well out of this, just don’t forget that the person being referred must spend at least $30 through the Rakuten portal (within 90 days of signing up) for everyone to walk away a winner.

Click here to be referred to Rakuten by me and to qualify to earn $30 cash back or 3,000 Membership Rewards points