For several months, Rakuten has been offering rewards when applying for and being approved for the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card, as well as two different Bank of America cards. Now, Citibank is getting into the game.
At the moment, Rakuten is offering $100 cashback or up to 10,000 Bilt points if you apply and are approved for a Citi Strata Premier℠ credit card. The earning rate of Bilt points depends on whether or not you have Bilt elite status. If you do, it’s converted from cashback at a rate of 1 cent:1 point. If you don’t, it’s 2 cents:1 point, making cashback more appealing.
This offer is not available if your Rakuten account is set to earn Membership Rewards and doesn’t currently show any expiration date.
The Deal
- Rakuten is offering $100 cashback or up to 10,000 Bilt Rewards points after being approved for a Citi Strata Premier card
- Must be a new Strata Premier cardholder to receive bonus
- Direct link to offer
If you’re new to Rakuten
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Key Terms
- Expiry date unknown.
- To be eligible for Cash Back, you must click the “Learn More” link on the Rakuten store page and complete the entire credit card application online in the same browser session.
- Cash Back is only available for new, approved Citi Strata Premier® cardholders who apply via the Rakuten link and keep the account open for a minimum of 3 months after approval.
- Using an existing card or applying through a non-Rakuten link will not qualify for this bonus. Only one cash back bonus per Rakuten member account.
Quick Thoughts
Rakuten first started offering rewards for the Freedom Unlimited card a year or two ago, and then added two different Bank of America cards. All of those cards are somewhat tangential parts of BOA and Chase’s portfolios.
Not so with Citi, as the Strata Premier is its flagship, ThankYou Points-earning card. It arguably has the best overall set of category bonuses on a single card, awarding 3x on dining, gas, groceries, and travel (albeit with a narrower travel category than other cards). The ThankYou Points the card earns offer an appealing, underrated mix of air and hotel partners. As such, this can be a great player 2 card or a good option for folks looking for the simplicity of a one-card wallet.
Getting an extra $100 (or up to 10K Bilt points) on top of the welcome offer is just cashback frosting on the ThankYou Points cake. It is worth noting that the current welcome offer of 60K points after $4K in spend isn’t the best that we’ve seen, but the extra $100 does lessen the blow without having to wait for a 75K offer to come around.
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Is there anything to stop you from switching to Bilt points, applying and getting the $100, and then switching back to Amex? Anything in the T&Cs speak to this?
Of course, the terms and conditions are just a few clicks away.
Not if you have Amex selected. I guess I could unselect Amex, select Bilt, and then look. Or could ask helpful folks that wrote an article for an answer that might be of interest to some. Thanks though!
You can switch back and forth freely.