Rakuten is a cash back shopping platform that pays you a percentage of your purchase price when you shop at over 3,500 partner stores online. It is completely free to use, and new members receive a $30 welcome bonus when they sign up and make their first qualifying purchase of $30 or more. If you shop online at all — at Walmart, Nike, Hotels.com, or any of thousands of other stores — Rakuten is one of the easiest ways to save money on purchases you are already making.
How to Claim Your $30 Rakuten Bonus
- Click the sign-up link on this page to create your free Rakuten account.
- Install the Rakuten browser extension (optional but highly recommended — it activates cash back automatically).
- Shop at any Rakuten partner store and spend at least $30.
- Your $30 welcome bonus plus your regular cash back will be paid in your first quarterly payment.
- Cash back is paid via PayPal or check every quarter.
How Much Can You Actually Earn with Rakuten?
Cash back rates vary by store and change regularly. Common rates range from 1% to 15%, with some stores offering higher rates during promotions. If you spend $500/month on online shopping at partner stores at an average 5% cash back rate, you would earn $25/month — $300/year — in addition to your $30 welcome bonus. Heavy shoppers who use Rakuten consistently report earning $500–$1,000+ per year.
Rakuten Pros and Cons
| Completely free | No fees, no subscriptions, no catches |
| 3,500+ partner stores | Walmart, Nike, Hotels.com, eBay, and thousands more |
| $30 welcome bonus | One of the best welcome bonuses for a free service |
| Browser extension | Automatically activates cash back — no effort needed |
| Quarterly payments | Cash back paid every 3 months, not instantly |
| Must shop through Rakuten | Easy to forget without the browser extension |
Rakuten is one of the easiest ways to save money on purchases you are already making. The $30 welcome bonus is generous for a free service, and the browser extension makes it nearly effortless to earn cash back on every online purchase. If you shop online and are not using Rakuten, you are leaving money on the table.
Written by the StackMyReferrals Editorial Team. We review products independently and only recommend products we believe are genuinely useful. When you sign up through our links, we may earn a referral bonus — this never affects our editorial opinion.