When the news leaked a few weeks ago that Bilt Rewards would become an avenue to receive earnings from shopping portal Rakuten, the miles and points world got very excited. Transfers are now live, and while the process to link accounts is easy, it is not as straightforward as you might expect. Read on to learn how to link your accounts to earn Bilt points from your Rakuten shopping and a way to 2X the intro bonus if you are not already a Rakuten member!
Why does this matter?
This partnership is exciting because Rakuten offers great earning opportunities for everyday shopping, including frequent increased payouts of 5-15% at many popular merchants. You have long been able to take your earnings as either cash or Amex Membership Rewards points (my current approach).
The Bilt partnership is important because it unlocks another method to earn very valuable transferrable points, namely the only transferrable currency that can transfer directly to Alaska Atmos. Other valuable partners include Hyatt (only available through Chase or Bilt at a 1:1 ratio) and Japan Airlines at a 1:1 ratio which is unique to Bilt. The other important factor is that it is not currently easy to earn Bilt points in large quantities like the bank transferrable points through credit card sign-up bonuses. This may change in February when Bilt launches its new lineup of cards.
The timing is also important because the 1:1 transfer ratio is only guaranteed for 6 months unless you have Bilt status and because the next transfer date from Rakuten is coming up very soon on 11/15. Since I have 36k points that will transfer on that date, the timing is perfect for me!
How to link accounts and earn Bilt points
If you already have accounts in both programs, it is easy to link them if the same email is used for both. The process starts on the Bilt side, in the app or website. First, click on the Get Started button from the above image. That will take you to a page to “create” and link your Rakuten account as shown in the below image. This is the somewhat confusing part – there is no place to link a current account!
But do not worry, click through the “Create account & link” button and it should confirm your Bilt account email address. Confirm it and the accounts will be linked immediately and you should get a confirmation like this:
This will also automatically update your earning to Bilt points; no further action required on the Rakuten side. I also received email confirmations from both programs instantly! If you want to confirm it, go to your Rakuten account settings and it should look like this:
But wait, you said you could get a 2X bonus!?!
That’s right, if you are a new Rakuten member, you can do better than the 2500 point bonus when creating the new account through Bilt. To get 5000 Bilt points (or $50), create your new Rakuten account BEFORE linking it on Bilt. 5000 points would be enough for 1 night in a category 1 Hyatt hotel or a short nonstop flight on American Airlines when booked through Alaska Atmos!
If you have a friend who can create a Rakuten link, do that. If not, feel free to use my link to get the elevated bonus: www.rakuten.com/r/ASELVY7?eeid=28187
To learn more about Rakuten, you can check out my post on it here.
TL;DR: Exciting news broke today that Rakuten shopping portal earnings can now be transferred to Bilt Rewards points, unlocking some exciting and high value travel partner redemptions. To connect existing accounts, start on the Bilt side and confirm your Rakuten account with the same email address. If you are new to Rakuten, use a referral link to get double the bonus, 5000 Bilt points.
