Rakuten Rewards works like a shopping portal that offers coupons and cashback from over 2,000 online retailers. It earns a commission when shopping sessions are initiated through affiliate network links. Then, Rakuten Rewards share a percentage of the commission with its members in the form of cashback.
Key Takeaways
- Ebates is a cash-back and shopping rewards company established in 1998 in Menlo Park, CA
- Ebates now become Rakuten Rewards as Rakuten acquired Ebates in 2014
- In 2019, Ebates’s name was officially changed to Rakuten Rewards
- Rakuten Rewards offers discounts and cashback offers for online shopping
- Rakuten has browser extension for Chrome and Firefox browsers
How Rakuten Rewards (Former Ebates) Works
Rakuten Rewards is a free program that provides cashback for online purchases. Discounts and cashback offers for online shopping are considered too good to be true. There are lots of cash-back websites available that actually work and Rakuten Rewards is a very popular one. In fact, Rakuten is one of the largest and most commonly used cashback sites the site has more than 10 million users and has paid out more than $1 billion in cashback rewards.
Many people think cashback sites like Rakuten are a scam. Many readers asked us how Rakuten pays out all that cash back. The misconception occurs largely because most people don’t understand how these types of cashback companies make money. Usually, cashback companies like Rakuten work with affiliate networks that represent online retailers. Then Rakuten receives a percentage of the purchase price for referring new consumers. A little amount from that percentage goes to the shopper and the rest goes to Rakuten’s account.
According to Chelsea Hudson, senior public relations officer for “TopCashback” –
“When users make a purchase via a cashback site, the site places a cookie to track your activity. Cashback sites use cookies to remember the link you used to get to the retailer’s site from the cashback site. This is vital to your cashback journey; without a cookie, the cashback site and affiliate network can’t confirm your purchase or your referral. ”
After the purchase, the retailer confirms whether the referral was made by a cashback site. It will take several additional weeks to receive the money from the cashback network. In fact, it might take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months to pay the rewards to its members. It takes time mainly because of the affiliate networks’ process for confirming purchases. So if are thinking that cashback sites will pay the rewards immediately then you are wrong.
How To Save Money With Rakuten
There are quite a few ways you can save money with Rakuten. You can easily signup with Rakuten using your email address, Google, or Facebook account. You can earn the rewards when shopping online but the reward system also works for in-store purchases.
For online shopping, go to Rakuten.com and find the products that you want to buy from the site’s participating retailers. Then find the best deal from the available cashback offers. Once you find the best deal, click through to the retailer’s site, and proceed with your purchase.
There is a Rakuten browser extension for Chrome and Firefox browsers. So when you are on a retailer’s website that offers cashback; the extension will show a notification about the offer. When you click on the notification, a drop-down menu will appear and it will show how much cashback you can get.
Apart from the cashback offers, you can also find online coupons and promo codes on Rakuten’s website. With these coupons and promo codes, you can earn additional discounts when purchasing a product.
FAQs About Rakuten Rewards
1. Is Rakuten Free?
Yes, Rakuten is completely free. You can easily open an account using your mail address, or Facebook account.
2. Do You Get A Discount At Checkout By Simply Clicking Through Rakuten?
No, you don’t get a discount at checkout by simply clicking through Rakuten. You will earn a percentage from the amount you shop via the Rakuten website. However, you can use coupon codes to get a discount and save additional money.
3. Can You Use Coupon Codes While Using Rakuten?
Yes, you use coupon codes while using Rakuten. You can use any discount codes you want.
4. How Do You Get The Money You’ve Earned In Rakuten?
Rakuten sends the cashback amount three times a year. You can receive the money via PayPal or directly receive the cash by a check. However, in order to get the cashback, you must earn $5 or more. If you earn less than $5 then your money will stay in your account until you break the $5 threshold.
5. Does Rakuten Link To Amazon?
Yes, Rakuten links to Amazon. For selected categories, you can avail of the cashback offers of Rakuten from Amazon.
References:
1. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ebates-online-shopping-cash-back_n_5c0f1d5fe4b0edf5a3a7eec0
2. https://toughnickel.com/self-employment/ebates-review-2
Last Updated on October 22, 2022 by Magalie D.
Magalie D. is a Diploma holder in Public Administration & Management from McGill University of Canada. She shares management tips here in MGTBlog when she has nothing to do and gets some free time after working in a multinational company at Toronto.
