Bad news for anyone who’s been using the Rakuten Visa credit card for online gift card purchases – Rakuten has announced that purchases from GiftCardMall, GiftCards.com and Raise.com will no longer earn 3%/3X.
Dear Member,
Starting February 15, 2020, Rakuten Cash Back Visa® Credit Card purchases made through Rakuten on GiftCardMall.com, GiftCards.com and Raise.com will be eligible for 1% Cash Back instead of an extra 3% Cash Back.
Due to circumstances unique to the retail card business, Rakuten is no longer able to offer an extra 3% Cash Back for purchases from these stores.
All other benefits remain the same. You’ll continue to earn an extra 3% Cash Back on qualifying purchases made through Rakuten.com, In-Store Cash Back offers, Rakuten Hotels and Rakuten travel.
Seeing as you usually earned 1%/1x through the Rakuten portal for those three retailers, paying with the Rakuten Visa card meant you were effectively earning 4%/4x on gift card purchases.
That was a fantastic return, so it’s not too surprising to see them make this change. Still, it’s disappointing for everyone who’s been taking advantage of this, especially since you could switch from earning cashback through Rakuten to Membership Rewards which are more valuable.
As the email notes above, this change kicks in from February 15, so you only have a few more days to place your orders to earn 3%/3x.