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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 just got even better.
Rakuten has officially added Bilt Rewards as an earning partner. And starting today, you can now earn Bilt Points when shopping online via the Rakuten portal.
Here's everything you need to know about this new partnership.
Not a Bilt Rewards member yet? Sign up here.
Rakuten Officially Adds Bilt as an Earning Partner
A little over a month ago, Bilt Rewards mysteriously appeared as a payout option on Rakuten’s FAQ pages. At the time, Bilt didn’t have much to say beyond “no comment.” But that partnership has now come to life, and it launched officially on November 5, 2025.
Starting today, you can redeem the cash back you earn from Rakuten as Bilt Points. This new redemption option joins Rakuten’s existing choices, which include the Big Fat Check, Amex Membership Rewards, or cashing out to your PayPal account.
To switch your earning preference to Bilt, start by linking your Bilt and Rakuten accounts. This automatically changes your preference, but you can then change it again in the “How You're Getting Paid” section of your Rakuten account.
Note that Bilt Rewards has clarified that the email addresses on your Rakuten and Bilt accounts must match in order to successfully link accounts.
How to earn Bilt Points via Rakuten
For the first six months, things will resemble Rakuten’s partnership with Amex. Through May 6, 2026, $1 in Rakuten cash back equals 100 Bilt Points. But, after that, the rate drops to 50 Bilt Points per $1 — unless you hold Silver, Gold, or Platinum Bilt status.
In other words, the 100-points-per-dollar conversion for all members (Blue and above) applies to Rakuten’s next two payout dates — November 15, 2025, and February 15, 2026 — before things change just ahead of the May 2026 payout.
Bilt is also sponsoring a new-member bonus for those who haven’t joined Rakuten yet. If you sign up and link your Bilt account, you’ll earn 2,500 bonus Bilt Points after your first qualifying purchase of $25 or more. While that’s not as generous as the 5,000-point bonus (Bilt or Amex) offered through a Rakuten referral link, both options give you a solid incentive to hop aboard the Rakuten train if you haven't already.
Related: Shopping Portals Explained: Earn Bonus Rewards Without (Much) Extra Effort
Bottom Line
There’s now another way to reward your Rakuten purchases, and it comes in the form of Bilt Points. This is an exciting addition, and for at least the first six months of the partnership, you can choose between earning Bilt Rewards points or Amex Membership Rewards points through Rakuten.
Both programs have extensive lists of transfer partners, but earning Bilt Points through Rakuten opens the door to coveted options like World of Hyatt, Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, and others.
If you’ve been stockpiling Rakuten cash back ahead of the November 15 payout and want to earn Bilt Points instead of Amex points this time, make sure to update your earning preferences before the payout date. And if you haven’t yet signed up for Rakuten or joined Bilt Rewards, now’s a great time to do both.
Related: What You Get By Signing Up for the Free Bilt Rewards Program and Why You Should
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