The one thing to understand first
Rakuten isn’t a store. It’s a middleman that gets paid a commission when it sends a shopper to Bergdorf Goodman or Sony or Hyatt, and it hands most of that commission back to the shopper. You buy exactly what you were going to buy, at exactly the price on the store’s site. The only change to your routine is one click before you start shopping.
By default the rebate comes as a check or PayPal. Buried in account settings is a second option: pay me in American Express Membership Rewards instead, at 100 points for every dollar of cashback. Flip that once and a 15% rate at Bergdorf becomes 15 points per dollar spent, on top of whatever your card earns. That’s the whole trick, and it’s why Rakuten shows up in every points-and-miles playbook.
Where the 5,000 comes from
Join through a referral link (ours is below and at the top of the page) and Rakuten’s current offer is $50 for you once you spend $50 or more within 90 days. On a points-set account, points people count that as 5,000 Membership Rewards, since a dollar of cashback is 100 points.
A note on what’s promised, because this site doesn’t round up. Rakuten’s referral terms say the $50 is “added to your next Cash Back payment.” Rakuten’s Membership Rewards FAQ goes further: bonuses “will be confirmed at the same time as the points,” and a referral bonus pays once the friend’s cashback or points are confirmed. In other words the bonus is paid in whatever currency the account is set to when the payment runs. Set it to points before your first payment date and the $50 is 5,000 points; leave it on cash and it’s $50. Both links are in the sources at the bottom of the page.
A first order that clears 5,000 on its own
Suppose the thing you were going to buy anyway is a $400 order at Bergdorf Goodman while Rakuten is paying 15% there (it was on September 15; the rate watch tracks when it moves).
| Layer | Points |
|---|---|
| Rakuten 15% on $400, paid as Membership Rewards | 6,000 |
| Welcome bonus, $50 on a points-set account | 5,000 |
| Amex Gold or Platinum on the purchase itself, 1x | 400 |
| Total for one purchase you were making anyway | 11,400 |
At a conservative 1.5 cents per point in a transfer, that’s about $171 of travel from a $400 bag. At a 2% store (most of the site on an ordinary day) the same order is 800 points plus the bonus, which is still the best return you’ll get for clicking a link.
How to set it up, in order
- Join through the referral link. The $50 tier is only for referred new members; a direct signup gets a smaller welcome bonus.
- Before you buy anything, open your Rakuten account settings and change “how you’re getting paid” to Membership Rewards. Rakuten hands you to an Amex login to authorize the link. Any US Amex card enrolled in Membership Rewards works.
- Make a $50-plus purchase within 90 days by clicking through Rakuten to a store that pays. Pay with the Amex if you want the card’s own points on top; the Rakuten points come regardless of which card you use.
- Confirm the order shows as pending in your Rakuten account within a couple of days. If it doesn’t, file a missing cashback claim with the order confirmation.
- Wait for the quarterly payout (February, May, August, November 15). Points post to Amex within a few days of it.
Who should skip the points setting
Anyone without a Membership Rewards card, obviously; the option won’t appear. Anyone who’d redeem the points for a statement credit, where they’re worth less than a cent and $50 cash wins. And anyone who doesn’t want one more thing to manage: cash is simpler, and a $50 check is a fine outcome. The stack on every retailer page works identically either way. This page exists for the people who’d rather have the 5,000.
Honest downsides
Rakuten tracking fails sometimes (ad blockers, a coupon code the portal didn’t list, a second tab), and a purchase that never tracks earns nothing in any currency. Payouts are quarterly, not instant. Transfer bonuses come and go, and points sit at the floor value until you have a redemption in mind. None of that is specific to the points setting; it’s the portal, and the trade-offs are covered in Is Rakuten legit?.
How Rakuten works, and how to get the $50 welcome bonus →
Set it up once, before the first purchase
Join through our link, switch the payout to Membership Rewards in account settings, then make the $50 order at a store you were buying from anyway. The bonus arrives with your next quarterly payout, and every stack on this site pays in points from then on.
FAQ
Sources
What we read to write this page. Every link is the company's own page, not a summary of it.
- Rakuten: Membership Rewards points FAQrakuten.com10% cash back = 10x points; referral bonus paid once confirmed
- Membership Rewards at Rakuten program termsrakuten.comEligibility and account linking
- Rakuten Referral Program Termsrakuten.com90-day qualifying window
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