A Review Of Rakuten Canada

If you love shopping online but hate the feeling that you’re missing out on deals, check out Rakuten. This cash back site partners with hundreds of retailers to offer discounts and rewards on purchases.

We’ll explain how to get started and show the best credit cards to use to maximize your earnings.

What is Rakuten Canada?

Rakuten is a cash-back platform that partners with over 750 stores, allowing you to earn money on purchases made through its website or app. You can shop with big brand names like The Bay, Canadian Tire, Amazon, and more.

Rakuten Canada advertises earnings of up to 30% cash back, but it also offers bonus cashback offers, coupons, and referral bonuses. Users are paid quarterly for purchases made during the previous 3-month time frame. The company makes its money by collecting a referral fee from retailers when it gets a sale.

How Rakuten works

The first step is to sign up using your email address, Facebook profile, or Apple ID.

Once you've got the green light, you'll be bombarded with pop-ups asking you to:

• Install the official Rakuten browser extension. This notifies you about cashback offers you can apply for while you’re browsing the web.
• Select your favourite retailers. This allows Rakuten to deliver personalized offers.
• Choose your payment method. You can receive payments by PayPal or cheque.

You can skip any of these pop-ups and just get to shopping. Use the search bar to search stores, products, and coupons.

On the homepage, you’ll see popular offers and deals, including which retailers are offering above-average cashback rates for the month.

To claim an offer, click on it (or choose "Shop Now" on the app) and you’ll be whisked away to the retailer’s website, where you can make your purchase. To receive your cash, Rakuten must be able to verify your purchase – for this reason, it’s best to complete your purchase in the same session.

Rakuten gets paid a small sum for bringing customers to their partner's retail sites. That's where the money for your cashback bonuses comes from.

Take Note: It typically takes about 48 hours to receive your cash following a purchase, but some retailers won’t confirm purchases with Rakuten right away. For instance, travel sites might wait to credit your account until after you’ve completed your trip.

Rakuten sends out payments every 3 months as long as you have at least $5.01 in your account. If you have less than that, your balance rolls over into the next payment period. Note that Bonus Rewards don’t count towards your $5.01 minimum.

Pros and cons of Rakuten Canada

Over 7 million members use Rakuten Canada, so it’s obvious that there are some good benefits. There are also some drawbacks to consider.

• Get cash back to shop: You’ll earn anywhere from 1% to 30% cash back from some of the most popular merchants in the world.
• Earn money with the Rakuten Referral program: Make an easy $30 by referring a friend to sign up for Rakuten Canada. Just share a custom referral link that your friend uses to sign up. Once they sign up and spend $25, you get $30!
• The Cash Back Button extension helps you catch partner deals: Never miss a Rakuten deal by shopping online with the Rakuten Cash Back browser extension.
• Get coupons in addition to cash back: Search the Rakuten site by coupon to see deals offered by each retailer. You’ll get the discount and earn cash back on your purchase.

• Payments are infrequent: You’ll only get paid 4 times a year and you must meet the minimum $5.01 balance before you’ll get paid. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait another 3 months.
• The cash back amounts fluctuate: Until you make your purchase, you never know what the cash back percentage from a retailer will be. This makes it hard to research an item or comparison shop. Wait too long and you might not get as much cash back.
• The payouts can be pretty small: Unless you do a lot of online shopping or make big-ticket purchases, you probably won’t see huge payouts from Rakuten.
• Not all products qualify for cash back: Read the fine print when you shop online since not all purchases earn you cash back with Rakuten.

Earn more cash back with the right credit card

If you want to double-dip on the rewards, use a cash back credit card to earn even more. Plus, many cards let you redeem your cash back rewards whenever you want. Here are some of our top picks.

Category	Credit card	Current offer	Rewards	Annual fee & income requirements
Best for cash back	BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard	$150 GeniusCash + Up to $480 cash back in the first year, first year free (terms)	* 5% cash back on groceries, up to $500 in monthly spend * 4% cash back on transit, up to $300 in monthly spend * 3% cash back on gas, up to $300 in monthly spend * 2% cash back on recurring bills, up to $500 in monthly spend * 1% cash back on all other purchases	* $120 * $80,000 personal/ $150,000 household
Best for flexible rewards	MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard	$150 GC Boost + 30,000 bonus points (terms)	* 5 points for every $1 spent on restaurants, groceries, and select recurring bills (up to $50,000 spent annually per category) * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases	* $120 * $80,000 personal/ $150,000 household
Best Visa for cash back	Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite	$20 GeniusCash + 10% cash back for the first 3 months, first year free (terms)	* 4% cash back on groceries and recurring bill payments * 2% cash back on gas and transit * 1% cash back on all other purchases	* $120 * $60,000 personal/ $100,000 household
Best Amex for cash back	Amex SimpleCash Preferred	10% cash back for the first 3 months + $50 (terms)	* 4% cash back on gas and groceries * 2% cash back on all other purchases	* $119.88 * [Add income requirements]

Did you know that the GeniusCash app can help you maximize your rewards? GeniusCash is a cash back rewards app that sends real cash straight to your bank account. It also helps you get the most credit card rewards, find the best deals, and unlock exclusive offers to get you even more cash back on your everyday purchases.

Is Rakuten Canada worth it?

Rakuten Canada can be worthwhile if you don’t mind installing the browser extension or always checking the Rakuten site or app. That said, don’t expect to earn large amounts of cash unless you’re a serious online shopper.

If you’re looking for convenience and don’t want to worry about checking cash back balances, you might be frustrated with Rakuten. Several Redditors on the Rakuten Canada thread were annoyed that Rakuten was taking a long time to approve purchases – or wasn’t approving them at all, especially around the holidays.

However, one user had this to say:

Our take? If you’re already doing the shopping and don’t mind occasionally staying on top of your approved purchases, you might enjoy using Rakuten and receiving periodic rewards. It doesn’t hurt to try it out.

FAQ

Does Rakuten work in Canada?

Yes, Rakuten purchased Ebates in 2014 and rebranded the company. Rakuten Canada launched in 2019 and now has over 7 million Canadian users.

How much cash back do you get from Rakuten?

There’s no limit to how much cash back you can earn from Rakuten, but you’ll only be paid out once you have at least $5.01 in your Rakuten account.

How do I cash out my Rakuten money?

When you set up your account, specify whether you’d like to get money via PayPal or a physical cheque. Every 3 months, you’ll get paid as long as you have at least $5.01 in your account.

Does Rakuten charge a membership fee?

No, Rakuten does not charge a membership fee. Instead, Rakuten makes its money by receiving a portion of the sales it helps generate.