Rachel Craft Rachel Craft Travel writer Rachel Craft is a travel writer at TPG. She's excited about introducing more people to the world of points & miles and helping fellow travel newbies make the most of their points. also contributed to this story July 10, 2026 • 7 min read Jump to section Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Copy URL Email The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Editor's Note This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Act now if you want to join one of TPG's favorite online shopping portals and get a $50 one-time bonus.
Rakuten extended its best-ever offer for new members yet again: If you join Rakuten through a referral link by September 30 and spend at least $50 at eligible retailers within 90 days of becoming a member, both you and your referrer will receive a one-time bonus of $50.
If you aren’t familiar with Rakuten, you can start your online shopping there and then continue on to many popular merchants, such as Target, Macy's and Lowe's.
Joining without a referral usually only gets you a one-time bonus of $10, so it’s worth using a referral link to access a larger bonus to get started. The common referral bonus is $30, and we’ve seen a number of $40 offers in the past. However, Rakuten raised it to $50 and has now extended that deal through the end of September — so if you’re not a member, now is your chance to take home the site’s best-ever bonus.
Read more: How to earn bonus cash back or Amex points on your online shopping purchases with Rakuten
Rakuten is an online shopping portal that partners with hundreds of online retailers, from household brands like Target and Nike to smaller merchants like Gorjana.
By starting your purchase at Rakuten and clicking through to the merchant from there, you’ll take home cash back or valuable transferable points on every eligible purchase you make — in addition to the earnings on the rewards credit card you use for the purchase.
You can even download the Rakuten plug-in to make things easier. Once this is installed, you can just go directly to the merchant’s site. The browser extension will then notify you if there’s cash back available.
This friendly reminder makes it easier to earn more rewards for your online shopping.
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You may wonder how all of this is possible. Rakuten makes marketing agreements with individual retailers, which pay the site commissions on purchases that begin there. Rakuten then passes a portion of those commissions on to the customer. The retailer gets additional business, and you and Rakuten enjoy a cut of those purchases — a win-win for all parties.
To join as a new member with that $50 bonus up for grabs,…