It’s not about the credit card.
It’s about the portal.
Rakuten. Formerly Ebates, before they got serious and cleaned up their act. It is my absolute favorite way to generate Amex Membership Rewards points. No swipe required. Just click, shop, watch the numbers climb. And right now? The bonus structure for new members is genuinely the best I’ve seen. Ever.
Link below. Do it.
Sign up for a Rakuten account. Grab that $50 bonus while the ink is dry.
What Actually Is Rakuten?
You know the drill. You buy things online. Why not get paid for it?
Shopping portals sit between you and the retailer. They negotiate deals. You click their link. The retailer pays a commission. They share a cut with you. It’s points or cash on top of whatever credit card reward you might already get. I check the rates every single time. Habit now. Rakuten usually wins on interface alone, but the real hook is the ability to turn that slush fund of cents into hard currency points. Specifically, Amex points. Which matter more.
The Amex Conversion Play
Here is how the trick works. You tell Rakuten: “Don’t send me cash. Send me points.”
It requires an Amex card. Just one. Any card that earns Membership Rewards. Once you link them, Rakuten converts your cash-back potential into points at a 1:1 ratio.
One cent of cash back? That becomes one point.
Simple math. But wait. The value isn’t one-to-one.
Cash back is worth what it is. One cent. Points are worth more if you know where to put them. I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7¢ each. Conservative estimate, actually. When you redeem them for travel—redemptions, transfers, upgrades—they punch way above their weight.
So taking 1% cash back isn’t really 1% anymore. It’s roughly 1.7% value.
Should you bother?
Ask yourself. Do you understand how to book award flights? Can you sit in business class without screaming? If yes. Do Amex.
If you just want the cash to pay off a car loan. Stick with the green stuff. But you’re leaving value on the table. Think of it this way: a first-class ticket on ANA from Tokyo to Honolulu via Virgin Atlantic might cost you 57,500 points. If those points “cost” you one cent each via Rakuten conversions, you “spent” $575 to get there. The cash fare is often triple that. Four times that.
It’s almost cheating.
Setting It Up. It’s Painful But Short
First, you need the account. And again, use a referral link. Do not go directly to Rakuten.com if you can help it. You’ll miss out.
- Sign up.
- Log in. Go to Account Settings.
- Find “Payment Settings.”
- Choose the third option: American Express.
- Confirm.
- Log into your Amex online account (US based, enrolled in Membership Rewards ) to link it.
Done.
Note a few quirks. The site will still show you cash-back percentages while you browse. Don’t panic. It’s a display artifact. The backend knows you want points. The switch only applies to future purchases. Anything you already bought stays in the cash-back column. You can buy with any card, by the way. Chase. Citi. Debit. It doesn’t matter. Rakuten doesn’t care who processes the payment, only that the click came through them.
Amex vs. Bilt? The New Rival
For years, Amex had this locked up. No contest. Then Bilt entered the chat last year. Now you have a choice.
Bilt works differently. The tiers matter here.
- Bilt Elite (Silver/Gold/Platinum): 1:1 conversion. Just like Amex.
- Bilt Non-Elite: You get 1 point for every two cents of cash back. It’s half as efficient.
So who wins?
If you have elite status with Bilt (from using their Real Estate Rewards card, presumably), it’s a toss-up. But Bilt has a nice retroactive feature. All rewards from a quarter—including referral bonuses—convert if you set the preference. Plus, you don’t need a credit card to open the account. Amex requires one.
Personally? I’d stick with Amex unless you’re deep in the Bilt ecosystem. The point flexibility of Membership Rewards is just harder to match long term. But the key takeaway remains the same: always aim for one transferable point per cent earned. That is the holy grail.
The Wait. The Agony of “Big Fat Paydays”
Rakuten pays quarterly. It used to be called Big Fat Payday. Now they’re cooler. Just “payments.”
It happens every three months, provided you have at least $5.00 in earnings. The dates are rigid:
- Jan 1 – Mar 31 activity: Paid May 15.
- Apr 1 – Jun 30 activity: Paid Aug 15.
- Jul 1 – Sep 30 activity: Paid Nov 15.
- Oct 1 – Dec 31 activity: Paid Feb 15.
You wait. You check the dashboard. The balance ticks up. You tell yourself to spend less, but then you see the bonus rate for your favorite retailer hit 20% and you’re clicking links anyway.
The Free $50 Trick
If you are brand new, listen closely. The sign-up bonus is $50. Not $20. Not $30. Fifty bucks.
You just need to spend $50 in your first 90 days. Through a referral link.
Buy gift cards. Buy that thing you were going to get anyway. Buy noise-canceling headphones for the plane. As long as the purchase goes through the portal, the $50 drops into your balance three months later. It is basically free money. Or free points, if you’re doing the Amex switch.
The Bottom Line
Rakuten isn’t magic. It’s discipline.
It requires checking rates before you check out. It requires linking that Amex account once. But the ROI is solid. I calculate a 70% uplift in value just by switching from cash back to points. For some redemptions? Higher.
If you travel for points. If you hate leaving free money on the table. Use it.
Sign up with a link. Wait for the bonus. Enjoy the view from business class. Or at least from the aisle seat if that’s what the points buy you this month.
