I have heard of Rakuten(Ebates) here and there from friends, my TV, and various online ads, but always thought it was a scam. A too good to be true, has to be a catch, downright waste of time. I was SO SO wrong. It really is a website that literally gives you free money. Free money off of purchases you are making regardless. Why didn’t I join this years ago?!
I think Rakuten (Ebates) is nothing short of magical. And here is why you should think the same…
What is Rakuten?
First and foremost Ebates and Rakuten are the same company; the name officially changed from Ebates to Rakuten in 2019. So now we’ll just call it Rakuten from here on out 🙂
It is a site founded in 1998 that offers shoppers like you and myself cash back on purchases. These stores pay Rakuten a commission for sending us their way, and instead of keeping all of the commission, Rakuten shares it with us! And they keep it absolutely FREE to sign up.
How does Rakuten work?
You get cash back for the purchases you make at various retailers. And by various, I mean 2,000+ retailers (see list below); 9 times out of 10, the place you are shopping is an Rakuten partner. Some retailers offer cash back on all things you purchase, and some only offer cash back on certain categories, so make sure you look to see if your purchase qualifies for cash back that day. For example, I might go to buy a skirt and a pillow on Amazon, but ‘women’s apparel’ isn’t a category that day so I would not get cash back from Rakuten for the skirt; however, ‘home & garden’ is offered that day so I would get cash back on my pillow.
Some of the top retailers partnered with Rakuten:
Amazon
Target
Old navy
Wal-Mart
Groupon
Kohls
Overstock
Expedia
Sephora
How Do I Use Rakuten?
It is so incredibly simple. Once you are on… say Macys.com, by simply clicking ‘Activate Offer’ on the Rakuten button that you’ll install onto your browser, the purchase you just made is tracked by Rakuten, and whatever amount of cash back is offered that day (typically around 3-5%, but sometimes (way) more) goes straight to your Rakuten balance.
When Do I Get Paid?
Once a quarter! Here are their payout dates:
Is It Only Cash Back?
Of course not! As a sweet bonus, sometimes Rakuten even has exclusive promo codes to save you money at checkout. I had to pay $60 to file my taxes this year (boo!), but Rakuten had a code for $15 off (yay!). And to top that off, I still got cash back from the $45 I did have to end up spending.
Here’s the proof from my account:
And that’s not all… Once you fall in love with Rakuten (and you will), invite your friends and get a nice referral bonus for yourself! Sometimes even up to $25 per person! Make. That. Dough. (Then pay off that debt, of course 😉)
Here’s the proof (of just 2 weeks’ worth of referrals) from my account:
So, as you can see, I LOVE this site, and have learned it is indeed completely legit. I have introduced a lot of my friends to it, and they have all fallen in love as well. It is 100% free to join & you get $10 of free money by signing up here with my link!
MrDomain says
Yes, I did. I have just received $30 from ebates. It is not a lot of money but it makes me happy.
Jessica Elberfeld says
Awesome!! $30 is $30! Glad it made you happy 🙂