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Up to 20% Back at Rakuten Today Only
If you have an American Express Platinum Card, you have a bi-annual (once Jan-June and once July-Dec) $50 credit to use at Saks. And if you have an American Express Business Platinum Card, you have a bi-annual $100 credit to use at Dell.
The best time to go on those shopping trips is when you can also earn additional points or cash back via a shopping portal.
Today only, Rakuten is offering 20% back (or 20X Amex Membership Rewards points) at Saks and 15% back (or 15X points) at Dell.
Referral Bonus Offer: $30 / 3,000 Points
On top of that, if you don’t yet have a Rakuten account, you can get 3,000 bonus Membership Rewards points after you spend your first $30 via Rakuten. It’s like any shopping portal – just click through to track the purchase and then checkout however you’d like.
If you already have an account, refer your friends by May 13th to get them 3,000 bonus Membership Rewards points while earning 3,000 yourself.
Earn Amex Membership Rewards Instead of Cash Back
If you don’t already know, you have the option to earn American Express Membership Rewards points instead of cash at Rakuten (formerly Ebates) at an even 1:1 ratio. Since Amex points are worth more than a penny each (I value Amex points at 1.7 cents each).
So in an example where you earn 10% cash back on a $100 purchase, you can earn 1,000 points instead. Given my approximate 1.7 cent value per point, I look at this as getting ~$17 cash back instead of just $10.
Even if your account is set to earn points instead of cash, you can change your mind and switch over to a check or PayPal deposit of cash, so you aren’t locked in for life to the points.
You should always be using a cashback or mileage / points portal for all of your online shopping anyway. If you aren’t already in the Rakuten ecosystem, now is the time.
Thoughts?
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You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
