Easy Way To Maximize Rakuten New Member Bonus

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New members who are referred by existing members will receive a best-ever bonus.

• If you refer a friend to Rakuten and they spend $40, then both the person referring and the person being referred receive $40
• In order to be eligible, the person being referred needs to make a purchase within 90 days

The easiest way to take advantage of this offer is highlighted in this post, as it is an option that a lot of people overlook. If you are eligible, there is no reason to not do this.

Easiest way to make a Rakuten purchase

You can get Amex Membership rewards points for purchases you make anyway, if you use the online shopping portal Rakuten. We are seeing elevated bonuses right now.

I get that a lot of people might be thinking, "Well I can't think of anything I need to buy right now that costs around $40", but getting $40 back on a $40 purchase is awesome.

The easiest way to get this bonus is to buy a gift card. I will outline the process for anyone who isn't a member yet.

Step 1: Sign-up for a Rakuten account

Signing up for a Rakuten account is the first step. You can either sign up through my link or leave your link in the comments section.

The process of signing up should take a few minutes.

One of my favorite things about Rakuten is how you can earn Amex Membership rewards points in lieu of cash back for online shopping. Once you have signed up for your account, you can choose to use Amex Membership rewards points instead of cash back.

This change won't apply to the sign-up bonus, but will apply to everything going forward. I value one Amex Membership Rewards point at more than one cent, so this is an excellent opportunity.

Step 2: Buy a $40 gift card

You will need to make an eligible purchase when you log into your account. Raise.com, giftcards.com, and giftcardmall.com are some of the websites that sell gift cards that partner with Rakuten.

You should buy a gift card through one of these websites because the terms allow you to earn credit for gift card purchases, which isn't the case when buying gift cards through many of Rakuten's retail partners.

I have had issues with raise.com, but giftcards.com works well in my experience.

You can enter giftcards.com at the top of the website.

Click the button to take you to giftcards.com. All of your purchases will be tracked.

The website sells gift cards with many popular retailers.

If you buy a DoorDash gift card at face value, the code will be delivered by email within minutes.

Step 3: Wait for your credit to post

You should see that the purchase is tracked by Rakuten once it is complete.

Within an hour the purchase should be reflected in the account, with a credit in the amount of the sign-up bonus, plus the rewards for the actual purchase. Giftcards.com offers either 1% cash back or one Membership Reward point for every dollar spent.

The delayed payment period is one of the biggest problems here. You will only be paid once a quarter, and there is a cutoff for payments.

• For activity between January 1 and March 31, get paid on May 15
• For activity between April 1 and June 30, get paid on August 15
• For activity between July 1 and September 30, get paid on November 15
• For activity between October 1 and December 31, get paid on February 15

Is buying a gift card with Rakuten worth it?

If you spend $40 now, you will get $40 in a few months. I would say that based on that.

• This is a great deal and no-brainer if you were going to spend $40 with a merchant that you could buy a $40 gift card from anyway; if you’re going to spend $40 with DoorDash anyway, why not earn $40 in cash back a few months down the road in the process?
• This could be especially lucrative if you can refer a friend or family member, since between the two of you you’ll be getting $80 in value (or potentially $40 and 4,000 Amex points, which is even better)

The person being referred through the refer-a-friend program will get a $40 bonus. I'm a huge fan of the company, and there's lots of value to be had here.

If you're looking for the easiest way to complete this offer, you can purchase a gift card for a retailer of your choice through giftcards.com. You will get $40 in cash with your next payment.

If you would have spent money with a retailer and not yet a Rakuten member, then this is a no-brainer. It will get you into the habit of using Rakuten and earning rewards for all your online purchases.