So I know most of you guys use Rakuten or something similar to get cash back for online shopping, so this post is for the handful of you guys that don’t use it. Plus isn’t Cyber Monday the perfect time to talk about it (especially since for many retailers Rakuten has a larger than usual cash back percentage today)? Anyway Rakuten (and other cashback sites) are a little like affiliate networks where they get a commission when you purchase something through their link, except they give that commission back to you. I’ve been a member of Ebates (which was what Rakuten used to be) since I don’t know when, but that’s why my cashback balance is around $1200 (it’s a cumulative total since 2009).

So you might be thinking what’s the catch? Well your shopping history is definitely being collected in someone’s data. But that doesn’t faze me since it’s all big data anyway. And then there’s the hassle of having to remember to go to the Rakuten site first to click through to then get to your destination site. I used to forget all the time (so that cashback total could be a lot bigger believe me). But I recently installed the Rauten Browser Extension and it pops up everytime the site is a participant in the Rakuten program. And though you’re again giving up more of your data, I find it super convenient. I now have used Rakuten for sites that I never would have thought to check like Target, eBay, and Carters. And even though it’s only 1-5% cashback at a time it totally adds up. Also I got $20 cashback to add the browser extension so that was nice. I linked my Paypal account so all my cashback gets automatically deposited there, but you could also receive it in a form of a check that’s mailed to you.

Now a days because I mostly shop at small businesses, I haven’t really collected much cash back from Rakuten. But I still get cashback for my makeup and skincare purchases (like the AB cream from Netaporters back in June) and my one-offs from eBay and Carters. I wish I had used Rakuten on my past purchases from Glossier and Mejuri, but suffice it to say there are a lot of stores on the Rakuten network. The next time I review something where I got cash back from Rakuten, I’ll try to remember to mention it in the post to give you guys a heads-up (like my U Beauty Resurfacing Compound review). Also the cashback doesn’t have anything to do with the retailers own promotions so you could get 10% cashback on a 20% off Cyber Monday deal. It all adds up to quite savings!

Anyway if you’re interested in signing up, Rakuten currently has a $40 sign-up offer (which by the way is much more than the $25 I got when I first signed up) if you sign up through my Rakuten referral link here (I will also get $40 so a big thank you to anyone who signs up from this link). Plus if you do the extension (which I think is 100% worth it for the savings) you’ll get an extra $20. So that’s $60 already which isn’t chump change imo. Anyway let me know if you guys have any questions and I hope you get some cash back on your shopping today!

{January 2021 Update: So I noticed that Rakuten kicked the referral bonus back down to $20, which makes me think the $40 was just a promotional for Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping.}

{March 2021 Update: Now it’s up to $30 fyi}