Unsung Heroes: Rakuten Visa

It’s rare to see anyone talk about the Rakuten Visa, likely because it doesn’t pay bloggers a commission for pushing it on you. If you don’t have this card though, seriously consider getting it. Here’s why:

• It earns Membership Rewards (if you do it right when you create your account)
• It has no annual fee
• It pays +3x for purchases when you start at the Rakuten shopping portal, above whatever the portal is paying
• It’s from Synchrony bank, so it’s not taking up a Chase, AmEx, or Citi card slot

There is an asterisk or two to consider (giftcardmall.com and giftcards.com are excluded from the bonus 3x), but in general this card is a powerhouse for online spend. For example, yesterday the Rakuten portal was paying 10x for purchases at Sam’s Club. With the Rakuten card awarding an additional 3x by clicking through the portal, you were earning 13x for Sams. (And there were plenty of gift card deals at Sams that could be resold at or above cost, not including the insane MR earnings.)

If you don’t have a Rakuten account, get a referral from a friend. If you don’t have a friend with a Rakuten account, maybe use George’s at TravelBloggerBuzz. (He’s someone I respect and he won’t lead you astray.)