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If you shop online, chances are you’ve heard of the Rakuten shopping portal. And if you’re a Rakuten user with a Membership Rewards-earning card, you might already be using the portal to rack up extra Amex points on your purchases. It’s one of the easiest ways to boost your rewards with almost no effort — and it might be about to get even better.
According to a recent Rakuten leak, you may soon have the option to earn another rewards currency when you shop through the platform. Here's what to know.
Rakuten Teases the Launch of Bilt Rewards Partnership
At the time of writing, there are three ways to cash out your Rakuten shopping portal earnings: a “Big Fat Check,” PayPal, or Amex Membership Rewards points. But there may soon be a fourth.
Eagle-eyed Reddit users were the first to notice that Bilt Rewards briefly appeared as a payout method for Rakuten earnings. But just as quickly as it appeared on Rakuten's FAQ page, the mention vanished from the site completely.
It’s big news if it turns out to be true.
In the hopes that Bilt might confirm the launch of a new partnership or even hint at when it could happen, we reached out to ask. Unfortunately, though, all a Bilt spokesperson would say was “no comment.”
Hopefully, that’s just code for “soon.” We’ll have to wait patiently and see what happens.
Related: Shopping Portals Explained: Earn Bonus Rewards Without (Much) Extra Effort
Implications of a Bilt-Rakuten partnership
If the potential Bilt-Rakuten partnership turns out to be anything like the current Amex-Rakuten partnership, there’s a lot to be excited about. Bilt Rewards has an excellent lineup of transfer partners, and beyond that, members can redeem Bilt Points in several ways, including offsetting rent payments, booking travel through the Bilt portal, and even covering student loans.
The real draw, though, is in the transfer partners. Bilt offers access to programs that Amex doesn’t, including World of Hyatt, United MileagePlus, and Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, among others. Depending on which of those matters most to you, it could be worth changing your Rakuten earnings from Amex to Bilt if this partnership comes to fruition.
However, one big question we have is whether this partnership would be a carbon copy of the Amex arrangement. Specifically, will payouts be identical? If so, things could get really interesting. If Rakuten payouts translate to fewer Bilt Points than they do to Amex, we’ll need to crunch the numbers to see if it actually makes sense to choose Bilt over Amex.
Of course, Bilt isn’t a Rakuten partner just yet. So it’s best to keep excitement in check until things are official. But that's easier said than done.
Bottom Line
There might soon be another way to reward your Rakuten purchases, and it could come in the form of Bilt Points. A leak on the Rakuten website suggests a partnership is in the works, though there’s no word yet on when it might launch.
But in the meantime, there are three things worth doing.
First, if you’re not already a Rakuten member, sign up for this free-to-join shopping portal. Right now, you can earn a bonus of $50 cash back or 5,000 Amex Membership Rewards points after spending $50 within 90 days of joining.
Second, if you aren't a Bilt member yet, here's the link to join the free loyalty program.
Finally, if you have The Bilt Mastercard® (Rates & Fees), take a minute to link it to your Rakuten account. That way, if the partnership launches, you’ll be ready to take advantage of it right away.
Related: What You Get By Signing Up for the Free Bilt Rewards Program and Why You Should
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