How to Stack the Rakuten American Express Card Into a Membership Rewards Machine

By Bryce Casson, Founder · Cardocrat · Updated August 2026

The short answer: The Rakuten American Express Card is quietly one of the best Membership Rewards accelerators out there, because it lets you double-dip: the Rakuten portal can pay you in Amex points, and the card’s own 4% Rakuten bonus can convert to Amex points too, so a single purchase throws off Membership Rewards from two directions at once. Stack an Amex Offer on top, time it to a Rakuten Double Cash Back event, then move the whole balance during a transfer bonus, and an ordinary online order can generate a startling number of transferable points, none of it requiring a dollar more than you already planned to spend.

That is what makes it special. Rakuten is the only shopping portal that pays out in Amex points, and this card layers its own bonus on top of that portal, so the same online order earns you Membership Rewards from two independent places at once. Add the levers every Amex user already has, and you have a genuine points machine hiding inside a no-annual-fee card. Here is how to run it without spending an extra cent.

Why this card is a Membership Rewards machine

The trick starts with a quirk of Rakuten: alone among shopping portals, it can pay Amex cardholders in Membership Rewards points instead of cash back, at about 100 points for every $1 of cash back you would have earned. That already turns ordinary online shopping into a points earner. The Rakuten American Express Card then adds a second layer the portal alone cannot: its own extra 4% back on Rakuten purchases, and because the card’s rewards can be converted to Membership Rewards too, that 4% becomes more Amex points.

So on a Rakuten purchase you are earning from two separate systems that do not know about each other. The portal pays you for clicking through, and the card pays you for spending on it, and both streams end up in your Amex Membership Rewards balance. That is the double-dip, and it is the foundation everything else stacks on. If you have not set up the portal side yet, our guide on turning Rakuten cash back into Membership Rewards walks through it.

The full stack on a single purchase

Here is every layer you can pile onto one eligible online order, from the store’s Rakuten page to the moment you redeem:

Rakuten portal payout, taken as Membership Rewards. Click through Rakuten to the store and earn its listed rate, anywhere from 1% to 10%+, as Amex points.
The card’s 4% Rakuten bonus. Pay with the Rakuten Amex Card to earn an extra 4% on Rakuten purchases (up to $10,000 per year, then 1%), also convertible to Membership Rewards.
A live Amex Offer. Add a targeted merchant offer in your Amex app first for a statement credit or bonus points on the same spend.
A Rakuten Double Cash Back event. Rakuten regularly doubles its rates during promotions, so timing a purchase to one of those multiplies the portal layer.
The store’s own sale or promo code. Coupons and sales stack cleanly because they lower the price without touching any of the rewards.
A transfer bonus on the way out. Move the accumulated points to an airline or hotel during a transfer bonus for a 20% to 40% multiplier on the final redemption.

Every one of those pays through a different mechanism, which is why they stack instead of cancelling out. The order of operations matters: add the Amex Offer first, click through Rakuten second, then check out with the card. See our full reward-stacking guide for the mechanics.

A worked example

Numbers make it real. Picture a $1,000 online purchase at a store showing 10% back on Rakuten during a Double Cash Back event, paid with the Rakuten Amex Card. The portal pays 10%, or $100, which as Membership Rewards is about 10,000 points. The card’s 4% Rakuten bonus adds another $40, which converts to roughly 4,000 more points. If an Amex Offer is live for that store, say spend $1,000 get $50 back, that is a statement credit on top.

You have turned one planned purchase into roughly 14,000 Membership Rewards points plus a credit, without spending a dollar more than you intended. Then move those points to an airline during a 30% transfer bonus and the 14,000 becomes about 18,200 miles. To be clear, 10% is an elevated Double Cash Back rate, not the everyday number, and typical store rates run lower, but the structure is the point: several independent rewards on one purchase, compounding into a currency worth far more than cash when you redeem it well.

The one setting that makes it work

None of this happens by default. Inside your Rakuten account settings, under how you want to get paid, you have to switch your payout from cash back to Membership Rewards points and link your Amex account. Miss that step and your portal earnings arrive as a check instead of points. Do it once and every future Rakuten purchase routes into your MR balance automatically.

From there the routine is simple and repeatable: check your Amex app for an offer at the store, click through Rakuten so the portal tracks, and pay with the Rakuten Amex Card so its 4% lands too. One important honesty note on card choice: paying with this card captures the 4% Rakuten bonus, but the portal payout itself does not care which card you use, so if another Amex earns more in that category you can still click through Rakuten and pay with that card, you just trade the 4% for the other card’s multiplier. On Rakuten purchases specifically, the 4% usually makes this card the one to reach for.

Where the points really explode: transfer bonuses

Accumulating a big Membership Rewards balance is only half the game. The other half is redeeming it well, and this is where the stack pays off, because Amex runs frequent transfer bonuses of 20% to 40% to airline and hotel partners. Move a pile of points you earned largely for free during one of those, and the whole balance jumps in value in a single step.

This is why the honest framing matters. We value every point at a flat 1 cent, so the goal is not to pretend the points are magically worth more, it is to accumulate a large balance cheaply and then time the exit to a bonus and a good award. Keep an eye on live promotions on our transfer partners cheat sheet, and see the strongest uses in our guide to the best ways to use Membership Rewards.

The honest caveats

A few things keep this grounded. Rakuten rates fluctuate constantly and many stores earn only 1% to 3%, so the eye-popping examples come from elevated events, not every day. The card’s 4% Rakuten bonus is capped at $10,000 of Rakuten spending per year before dropping to 1%. And the entire strategy only makes sense on purchases you were already going to make; chasing points by buying things you do not need is how you lose money, not earn it.

Used the right way, though, this is close to free money on spending you cannot avoid. It is a no-annual-fee card that quietly turns your normal online shopping into a steady stream of transferable Amex points, which is exactly the kind of honest, low-effort value worth building a wallet around. Pair it with the plays on our points and miles strategy page to get the most out of it.

See exactly what an award costs

Stop guessing at point values. Look up the real award price and live availability for a specific trip before you transfer.

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The bottom line

Set your Rakuten payout to Membership Rewards points, not cash back.
The portal payout and the card’s 4% Rakuten bonus can both become Amex MR.
Layer an Amex Offer and a Rakuten Double Cash Back event onto the same order.
Transfer the accumulated points during a bonus to multiply the final value.
It only works in your favor on spending you were already going to do.

Frequently asked questions

Can the Rakuten Amex Card really earn Amex Membership Rewards points?

Yes. Its rewards can be converted to Amex Membership Rewards points, and separately, the Rakuten shopping portal can pay Amex cardholders in Membership Rewards instead of cash back. So on a Rakuten purchase you can earn MR from both the portal and the card’s 4% bonus at the same time.

How do I set Rakuten to pay in Membership Rewards?

In your Rakuten account settings, under how you want to be paid, switch from cash back to Membership Rewards points and link your American Express account. After that, your Rakuten earnings arrive as Amex points automatically.

What can I stack on one Rakuten purchase?

Up to several layers: the Rakuten portal payout as MR, the card’s 4% Rakuten bonus as MR, a live Amex Offer, a Rakuten Double Cash Back event, the store’s own sale or promo code, and finally a transfer bonus when you move the points out. Add the Amex Offer first, then click through Rakuten, then pay with the card.

Is chasing these points worth it?

Only on spending you were already going to do. On that spending it is close to free value, since a no-annual-fee card turns normal online shopping into transferable Amex points. Buying things you do not need just to earn points loses money.

When should I transfer the points I earn?

Wait for an Amex transfer bonus, typically 20% to 40% to an airline or hotel partner, and have a specific award in mind. Transferring during a bonus multiplies the value of a balance you accumulated cheaply. Check current bonuses on our transfer partners cheat sheet before moving points.