Katie has been in the points and miles game since 2015 and started her own blog in 2016. She’s been freelance writing since then and her work has been featured in publications like Travel + Leisure an...
Edited by: Kellie Jez
Kellie’s professional experience has led her to a deep passion for compliance, data reporting, and process improvement. Kellie’s learned the ins and outs of the points and miles world and leads UP’s c...
22 comments
Daren
July 16, 2019
You forgot to mention that people signing up for new accounts have the option of getting paid in Amex Membership Rewards points instead of cash.
Stephen Au
July 17, 2019
Hi Daren,
Thanks for reading! That’s a great piece of feedback we’ll incorporate into our piece. Thanks again.
Peter
February 19, 2020
I don’t believe they are distributing funds back to customers that they’re getting from the vendors. I personally recently checked my account and only showed 4 transactions for 2019. I am missing a lot transactions from over the holidays. So I feel that they are a fraud and keeping the funds.
Christine Krzyszton
February 19, 2020
Hi Peter. You should simply file a missing cash report. It is super easy. Just go to the Rakuten website, click on HELP in the upper right corner, and select MISSING CASH. There are just
4 boxes to fill in and you’re done. I submitted 2 of these and both were corrected quickly.
Chris
July 20, 2019
I have an ebates account, but I cannot sign in to Rakuten with my password. If I try to create an account with Rakuten, it states my email is already linked to Rakuten. Help!
Jarrod West
July 20, 2019
Hi Chris,
Have you tried resetting your password? That may be the easiest fix here! Thanks for reading!
Rhonda
July 22, 2019
Do you get 1099 for taxes on the cash back you get?
Stephen Au
July 23, 2019
Rhonda,
These cash back programs are generally not taxable as they are treated as rebates. However, this may change, and we advise you to contact the company and/or your tax professional. Thanks for reading.
Sue
November 22, 2019
If I used a store card (Neiman Marcus, Saks, etc.) for my payment method for an online purchase through Ebates, can I still receive cash back from Ebates?
Christine Krzyszton
November 23, 2019
Hi Sue. Yes, you will receive the cash back regardless of the payment method. You just need to go through the Rakuten website first and be directed to the merchant site to make your purchase.
Pamela Smith
November 25, 2019
I purchased $230 of items from Walmart using Rakuten. As far as I could tell, it said that on furniture, clothing and other items I would receive 5% cashback. I paid for my order and put it through and it is showing that I have $3.99 cash back when it should be $11.50. I thought I purchased items that were eligible for 5% cash back. How do I dispute this so that I can get the rest of my money and it onto my account?
Christine Krzyszton
November 26, 2019
Hi Pamela. In your Rakuten account, under the HELP button, you can click on “Missing cash back” and submit a request. You will need to have your order number, and other order details ready to complete the request but it is quite easy. Hope this helps.
Tiffany
December 14, 2019
Does the cash back in your account expire? Or can you build it up and receive a check whenever you want?
Jarrod West
December 14, 2019
Hi Tiffany,
Rakuten sends out all the cash-back you’ve earned once every quarter.
Thanks for reading!
Beth
December 21, 2019
When using Rakuten with Amazon, how do you know what category or category id an item belongs in? For instance, a low-cost surge protector. Thanks!
Andrew Kunesh
December 23, 2019
Hey Beth, you can see the product category next to the “Best Sellers Rank” box underneath the “Product information” header on a product’s page. It will show the category (example: electronics) and subcategory (example: power strips). Thanks!
Marshall
March 10, 2020
Thank you for the article! It’s really useful! Can you say where I can read more reviews for Rakuten?
Kelley Legault
March 28, 2020
Hi!
Thanks for the great info on this page… I just thought I would add some current info regarding Amazon, and Walmart, Canada – since the onset of this COVID-19 (stuff LOL) – Walmart.ca and Amazon.ca have stopped allowing Rakuten to provide cash back. The standard message is, “we are working on resolving this quote – however, when Rakitin is contacted via Twitter (or otherwise) they elaborate with the message, Stores “reserve the right to withdraw At any time… We hope they return to us soon.”
I feel this is a pretty insensitive time for them to withdraw themselves… Considering how much more reliant people are on filling their needs via online shopping.
I have reached out to both Amazon.ca, and Walmart.ca, to get ‘their side’ of it – neither has contacted me back.
Just thought I’d pass that information along – as a Canadian, I don’t know if Amazon.com, or Walmart.com are playing by the same rule book…
Everyone stay safe… Best wishes to all!
~ Kelley
Haig Panoyan
January 02, 2021
Can someone send me a link to a list of stores in the U.S. where I can link my card before shopping, and earn cash back?
Christine Krzyszton
January 03, 2021
Hello Haig. If you go to Rakuten.com, then look towards the top of the page, you can click on “In-Store Cash Back”. This will take you to the list of stores. Here is also the link. https://www.rakuten.com/in-store.htm
Haig panoyan
February 01, 2021
Thank you very much!
Jesse
May 12, 2021
I think an easier way to explain membership rewards conversion is “1 MR point for each $0.01 in cash back”. Sounds much more enticing too. This is a primary reason I have the AMEX Platinum, I get oodles of points through Rakuten at a faster rate than spending on the card. Case in point, I got $44 in Rakuten cash doing absolutely nothing more than regular online shopping this past quarter. That’s 4400 MR point. I’d have to spend $880 on a flight or hotel through the Amex store to get the same return. This is a GREAT perk.
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