Update: While some of the rates below were valid 8/10-only, some are still at 15% as of the early morning of 8/11. It’s still worth linking up a card if you plan to use it in-store at included merchants.
Rakuten is offering increased cash back rates for in-store shopping today as high as 15% cash back. Those whose Rakuten accounts earn Membership Rewards points would alternatively get 15x at those stores offering the largest bonuses (and enjoyed increased bonuses on many others as well). If you’re out doing some shopping today, it’s worth linking your preferred card(s).
The Deal
- Get 15% back or 15x Membership Rewards points for in-store shopping at select stores via Rakuten (8/10/19 only)
- If you are new to Ebates and want to earn Membership Rewards, you’ll want to sign up via this link: https://www.rakuten.com/american-express (not an affiliate link)
- If you are new to Rakuten and prefer to earn cash back, you can sign up with our affiliate link with our thanks.
- Direct link to all in-store offers
Key Details
- Available August 10, 2019 only
- Must link offer to your card
Quick Thoughts
My better half is spending the day at the mall today with a friend. It wouldn’t be unprecedented for her to make an unplanned purchase at a place like Macy’s. Getting 15x on that purchase sure would be nice. Note that I believe you must link these offers to your card before using them — see this post at Running with Miles for instructions on how to do so.
Keep in mind that this can be a deal even for some stores which aren’t at 15x — Rakuten includes in-store offers for stores like Staples, Sephora, Bed, Bad & Beyond and more — though I’ll note that gift card purchases may be inadvisable. Some people reported not receiving the cash back / points on gift card purchases and others have reported getting their Rakuten accounts locked or shut down for excessive in-store gift card purchases. YMMV.
Overall, I’d say it’s worth linking up here to earn a little bit if you do plan on doing any shopping at physical stores today.
H/T: Running with Miles
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Does anyone know if instore works, if a store associate places an order for me an item not in store, from customer service desk computer?
Maybe others have better luck than I have with Rakuten. Of the last 5 shopping trips I’ve done through Rakuten, only 1 was paid automatically. The other 4 required filing for missing cash back before they paid.
I’ve done a ton since signing up for the Membership Rewards earning account back in March. Other than Marriott earnings that are slow to pay after the stay, everything else has posted really quickly with the exception of shopping trips where I purchased something that was specifically excluded or used a coupon code that was excluded but saved me more than I would have earned in points. 73,000+ Membership Rewards in just over 4 months is fantastic! Were the 4 you had to file for missing points on one specific retailer?
My comment was more about Rakuten in general, and not about the Membership Rewards part. The missing cash back was from 3 separate retailers over 4 shopping trips and the purchases all qualified for cash back. Still waiting for Rakuten to “investigate” 2 of them. Frankly, I’m not sure I’ll continue to attempt to use Rakuten.