If you love getting a deal, you may already be familiar with Rakuten, a cash-back website and app where eligible purchases can net you a periodic payback.
Image courtesy of Rakuten
The Rakuten American Express Card kicks Rakuten’s usual cash-back rates up a notch. The $0-annual-fee card, issued by First Electronic Bank, earns additional rewards on top of what you’d already get by making a purchase through Rakuten.
You’ll have to wait on collecting those rewards, but if you’re already a heavy Rakuten user, you’re likely used to that.
Here are five things to know about the Rakuten American Express Card.
1. You must be a Rakuten member
To be able to apply for the Rakuten AmEx, you must first be a Rakuten member. Thankfully, you can join Rakuten for free, so there’s no hidden fee involved.
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Rakuten previously offered another card, the Rakuten Cash Back Visa credit card, which also allowed holders to combine cash back earned with the card and rewards earned with Rakuten. That card was issued by Synchrony and stopped accepting applications in 2022.
2. Earn cash back on top of cash back
Whenever you access a merchant’s site through Rakuten’s website, app or browser extension, your purchases will earn cash back, no matter what card you’re using. You can also use Rakuten in stores by linking your card to your account and adding an offer to your card before you make an eligible purchase.
But the Rakuten credit card can supercharge those earnings. It offers:
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An extra 4% cash back on top of what you’d earn on a purchase through Rakuten, on up to $7,000 of spending per calendar year (1% back after that).
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An extra 5% cash back on top of the 5% cash back you’d earn at Rakuten restaurant partners. Use this benefit by linking your credit card to your account, finding eligible restaurants on the Rakuten app, and using your linked card to pay at the restaurant.
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2% cash back on groceries and at restaurants.
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1% cash back on everything else.
New cardholders can earn a welcome bonus (as of this writing): Get a $25 bonus when you spend $500 in the first 90 days.
The Rakuten card’s rate on Rakuten-specific shopping will be tough to beat, and the company features thousands of U.S. partner merchants on its portal — but it doesn’t feature them all. If you spend a lot of time shopping online and you don’t always buy from major household-name retailers, the $0-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express might cover more ground for you. It earns, among other things, 3% back on U.S. online retail purchases on up to $6,000 spent per year. Terms apply; see rates and fees.
Plus, unlike the Rakuten AmEx, it features a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.99%-28.99% Variable APR. That can help you finance a large online purchase.
3. You can opt for AmEx Membership Rewards instead
If you have another card that earns American Express Membership Rewards points, you can choose to earn your rewards with the Rakuten card in the form of Membership Rewards points, as opposed to cash back. You must first link your Rakuten and Membership Rewards accounts. Then, any $1 you would have earned in cash back will net you 100 points instead.
This makes the Rakuten American Express the only currently available $0-annual-fee card that can snag you Membership Rewards points. However, because you must have an existing AmEx card to be eligible for this option, you could be paying an annual fee on that other card.
4. Rewards are paid out quarterly
Rakuten pays out earned rewards four times per year: Feb. 15, May 15, Aug. 15 and Nov. 15. You must earn a minimum of $5.01 to be paid that quarter. If you don’t, your rewards will remain in your account until a future payment date when you’ve earned the minimum.
If you earn rewards in the form of AmEx Membership Rewards points, you’ll still be subject to the same quarterly payout dates.
5. The card is part of the AmEx payment network
The Rakuten American Express Card isn’t issued by American Express, but it does run on the AmEx payment network. (This means that AmEx processes payment transactions when you use the card.)
Because of that, the card features a number of additional benefits, including AmEx Offers for discounts at participating merchants, event ticket presales and event venue perks with AmEx Experiences, purchase protection and extended warranties.
But it’s worth noting that American Express cards aren’t as widely accepted overseas compared to cards on the Visa or Mastercard payment networks. For international travel, bring a backup credit card just in case your primary card isn’t accepted by a merchant.