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I wanted to tell you about my favorite way of earning Amex Membership rewards points. Rakuten is my favorite online shopping portal because it allows me to earn Amex points for online shopping. The best bonus for new members is available this time of year.

What is Rakuten?

There are online shopping portals that can be used to pick up additional miles. You can earn bonus points or cash back if you follow a specific link.

I always check to see which portal has the best bonus when I buy online. One of the largest online shopping portals, and also my absolute favorite, thanks to the great interface it offers, and also due to the ability to earn Amex Membership rewards points, which offer disproportionate value. I wanted to learn more about how that works.

Amex Membership rewards points can be earned in lieu of cash back for online shopping. Anyone who has an Amex card can use this feature.

This isn't just great because some of us would rather save up for our next travel adventure rather than get cash, but it's also great because of how much it costs. It's possible to earn a points currency for online shopping, which gives you more flexibility.

Redeem Amex points for Lufthansa first class

Should you earn Amex points with Rakuten?

One Amex Membership rewards point can be earned with Rakuten. If a retailer offers 10% cash back, you can earn 10 Membership Reward points for every dollar you spend.

Since I can get a lot more value with one Amex point than with one cent, I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each.

Should you earn cash back or American Express points?

You could transfer 60,000 Amex points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Blue and then redeem for a one-way first class ticket on All Nippon Airways from New York to Tokyo, assuming you can find available seats.

It would cost more than 10 times as much to pay cash for such a ticket if you paid Amex points.

Redeem Amex points for All Nippon Airways first class

How to register to earn Amex points with Rakuten

How do you register to earn Amex membership rewards points? To get a bonus for your first purchase, you need to refer a friend to sign up for a Rakuten account.

It's easy to convert your account to earn Amex points instead of cash back once you have one. Click on the account settings section to log into your account

You can choose the third option, which is American Express, if you want to be paid how you want.

The screen will confirm that you want to do it.

You will be asked to log into the Amex account with which you want to earn Membership Rewards points, this needs to be a US account that is Enrolled to earn Membership rewards points.

And that is the end. You should see that your account shows that you are earning points.

The rewards section of your account should show your earnings in both cash back and Amex points.

There are a few things to keep in mind when you earn Amex Membership rewards points.

  • Even after making the switch with your earnings preference, the rewards you see with retailers will continue to show cash back, but will automatically be converted into points
  • Existing rewards earned won’t be converted into Amex points, but rather this preference will just be applied to purchases going forward
  • You don’t actually have to pay with an Amex card in order to earn Amex points through Rakuten; you can pay with any credit card
Redeem Amex points for JetBlue Mint

How often do you get “paid” with Rakuten?

You should be able to see the purchase in your account within hours. You only get paid once per three months. If you have a balance of $5 or more, you will be paid.

  • 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

Rakuten’s refer-a-friend program

You can earn a reward for your first activity if you sign up through a referral link. If you make a purchase of at least $40 within the first 90 days, you'll receive a best-ever $40 bonus, which you can use to join the site. You can purchase gift cards if you want to get a lot of stuff for free.

Everything you need to know about the refer-a-friend program can be found here.

Redeem Amex points for SWISS business class

Rakuten is my favorite online shopping portal due to the fact that I can earn Amex Membership rewards points in lieu of cash back for online purchases, and it is also my favorite shopping portal. The conversion rate increases the value of rewards.

If you want to earn travel rewards, you need to use Rakuten to get the most value. You can get the biggest bonus if you sign up through a referral link.

Is anyone else a fan of the ability to earn American Express points?