I’ve been a huge fan of the cashback site Rakuten (formally Ebates) for several years now. It certainly takes a bit of work to cash in on big savings but they make it easy to do as long as you have the account set up and think about it as an extra savings tool for online purchases.
The basic idea is that you click through a special link on Rakuten’s site before you make a purchase at select retailers. The retailer gives Rakuten a kickback for having referred you as a customer and Rakuten, in turn, gives a portion of that to you. These little kickbacks can vary from just a few cents to large dollar amounts depending on the agreement with the retailer and how much you spend. You’ll get a check (or PayPal direct deposit) quarterly with your earnings.
Here are my top tips and tricks for maximizing how much you earn!
Install the Google Chrome Plug-in
Rakuten partners with Google Chrome to activate notifications when you arrive at a website that offers cashback. A little pop up will appear in the top right corner of your screen with a large red button for you to press to activate the cashback. Once you click that button any purchase you make through that site will be active on Rakuten and they’ll add the cashback in the percentage promised to your account.
By installing this plugin, you don’t have to remember to go to Rakuten’s site before your purchase to check to see if that retailer is a partner. Chrome will automatically notify you if it is a partner and your cashback is just a click away!
If you want the pop-up to go away while you do more research, just click “activate later” and it will disappear. Just don’t forget to go back and activate it before you make a purchase.
Check Other Retailers
Now, if you want to get fancy and really start to maximize, you can percentage compare several retailers before pulling the trigger.
For example, if the item you want to buy is available at Macy’s, Amazon and Kohl’s and the prices are similar including shipping – check each one on Rakuten’s site to see who will give you the best post-purchase cashback incentive. Sometimes certain stores will be running a promotion with Rakuten that could be worth switching retailers for.
Price Compare
It’s not always about getting the most cash back, remember that you can save a lot more by price comparing on your own as well. I like to use Google’s shopping portal to search for items that I need and be sure that I am getting the best price.
In the same vein, you can use a site like Cash Back Monitor to confirm you are getting the best rate of cashback with Rakuten. Sometimes you’ll get a better points ratio if you use a different online portal. Think airline miles and credit card offers.
Cash Out in Gift Cards Rather Than Cash
From time to time, Rakuten will incentivize you to cash out your check in the form of a gift card instead of a physical check or PayPal transfer. If you’ve made a lot of money from clicks that quarter this little bump can really add up.
To activate this, just watch out for a targeted email around the time your payment is expected.
Use the In-Store Feature & Link Cards
Recently, Rakuten also added a feature to link your credit cards so that you can also earn cashback when you shop in-store. This is a really nice feature if you prefer to do in-person shopping or get better deals that way. You just have to remember to “activate” the deal by clicking through on their website and that will like your cards to that retailer. This can also be done through their phone app so that you can do it on the go if you forget before you leave for the store. Just be sure to do it before you swipe your card at the brick and mortar store.
Download the Phone App
As mentioned above, this helps greatly when you are on the go and buying things in the store. But it can also help when you are making purchases through other phone apps and doing mobile shopping.
Don’t Forget About Travel
You don’t have to stop at just retail purchases. Rakuten partners with travel booking sites like Orbitz, Travelocity, and Hotels.com. They also partner with travel brands like Hertz, Avis, Holiday Inn, and even Swiss Airlines. When you think about how much you spend on trips even just 1% cashback could be a pretty big kickback.
Rakuten also has its own travel booking portal where you can book directly through them to earn even more. I’ve used this when booking hotels and got a pretty large percentage.
Refer Your Friends
Rakuten wants to grow and they’ll incentivize you to help them do it. The referral bonus varies from month to month but you can earn quite a bit from sending your friends over to their site to make their first purchase.
If you are new to Rakuten, use my link to sign up and get a $10 gift card after your first purchase – I’ll get a kickback as well.
Has anyone else used Rakuten to earn extra money from online or in-store purchases? What are your favorite tips and tricks? Let us know in the comments!