(EXPIRED) 12x Membership Rewards / 12% back at many stores via Rakuten today

Shopping portal Rakuten is offering 12x / 12% back at many stores today. There are a number of stores included where there are stacking Amex Offers or Chase Offers, so this is worth a look if you’re shopping online today. It’s also a great deal to stack with the new member offer if you’re eligible.

The Deal

• Shopping portal Rakuten is offering increased cash back at 12% back or 12x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at many stores

New to Rakuten?

• You can choose whether to earn cash back or Membership Rewards points when signing up.
  • Sign up with our refer-a-friend link
    Deal: Sign up with a refer-a-friend link and make $25 in qualifying purchases in 90 days to get $30 bonus or 3,000 Membership Rewards points (just be sure to choose Membership Rewards as your earning preference)

Quick Thoughts

As noted at the top, I immediately noticed several stores that are simultaneously running Amex Offers or Chase Offers. For example, a new Petsmart offer has come out on some Amex cards good for $20 back on $100 or more and I found Chase Offers for Under Armour (5% back up to $5 or 10% back up to $10) on a couple of my Chase cards this morning. That could make for some nice combined return on spend.

Obviously if you value Amex Membership Rewards at more than 1c each, you’ll want to have your account set up to earn Membership Rewards points and the return here can be significant. That said, two things to keep in mind:

1. You can check cash back rate history using a tool like Cashbackmonitor. Here’s an example for the 15-month history on Under Armour. Check to make sure that 12x / 12% is really a good payout for your chosen store, particularly if this payout is a significant factor in your purchase decision. At CashBackMonitor, you’ll see that if you prefer cash back, TopCashBack is offering 15% back at Under Armour today and Alaska Mileage Plan is offering 15 miles per dollar spent. Given that Alaska miles are generally difficult to earn, I’d probably go with Alaska in this instance. Also keep in mind that not all portals are listed at CashBackMonitor: UPromise is offering 20% cash back today. Also look for stackable opportunities through apps like Dosh or Acorns.
2. Amazon’s Prime Day is tomorrow and Wednesday. I anticipate that many stores will have Black Friday-like sales all week to compete. I imagine there are some good deals out there today to try to beat Amazon to the punch, but I doubt today will be the only day to score a deal this week.

All that said, this is worth a look. I personally placed an order at Macy’s in the early morning hours for 9x Wyndham points. I’d have much rather had 12x Membership Rewards points.

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