Update 9/28/26: $200 bonus is back again, today only
Update 8/23/26: $200 bonus is live through 8/25
Update 8/21/26: Upcoming $200 bonus on August 23 – 25. Also note, last month they increased the annual 4x category limit from $7k to $10k. (ht sullim4)
Update 6/8/26: It’s back to $200, today only
Update 5/28/26: Back to $200.
Update 5/6/26: Bonus back to $100. Next time it’s back to $200 I’ll open a referral thread (more details here).
Update 5/3/26: Back to $200.
Update 4/10/26: Back to $200.
Update 2/13/26: Increased again to $200 after $2,000 spend. (hat tip Morgan and defaulting)
Update 12/17/25: Today only the signup bonus is increased to $200 (or 20,000 Bilt/AmEx points).
Update 10/16/25: Bonus is now $100 after $1,000 spend within 90 days.
Original Post 7/22/25:
Rakuten announced today their new credit card which card runs on the American Express network and is issued by the fintech Imprint and their banking partner First Electronic Bank.
- Direct card link
- No annual fee
$25 signup bonus spending $500$100 after $1,000 spend within 90 days- Looks like there is no foreign transaction fee
- Card earnings:
- Earn an extra 4% cash back on top of what you already earn while shopping on Rakuten’s platform of more than 3,500 stores (in-store or online). This is limited to the first
$7,000$10,000 of credit card spending each calendar year. Afterwards 1%. - Earn an extra 5% cash back on top of the 5% you can earn with Rakuten Dining at more than 22,000 partner restaurants. That’s a total of 10% cash back on Rakuten Dining.
- Earn 2% cash back on Grocery and Restaurants.
- Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- Earn an extra 4% cash back on top of what you already earn while shopping on Rakuten’s platform of more than 3,500 stores (in-store or online). This is limited to the first
The move comes years after discontinuing their Synchrony Bank issued credit card which earned 3% back on Rakuten merchants with no limit.
Our Verdict
The 4% for online shopping is nice, but given the $7,000 $10,000 limit I don’t see major value there. I’m not sure how useful the Rakuten Dining program is and how it compares to other similar programs. That could be something to look into.
A positive factor to consider is that the ‘cashback’ apparently pools with your Rakuten balance. And so, if you have your Rakuten set to Membership Rewards points, you’ll get those as points which some value significantly more.
I suppose there can be some people for whom this card can make sense. It’s probably more of an edge case since it would mainly be for someone who does a lot of Rakuten Shopping and uses Rakuten Dining a lot.
Going to have to file a complaint with CFPB since the idiot CSR’s refuse to acknowledge the error.
I gave them my passport & a selfie and was denied. Then again gave them my driver license & a selfie and denied again. I think “ID verification” is just an excuse to deny you. They don’t like something about your credit profile.
Applied twice with LOL/24, and both times they failed to verify my ID. I’m not buying that. I think they don’t like something about my credit profile, although my FICO is very high.
Just a warning for everyone. My $100 bonus posted as a charge, not a credit. Going to contact customer service on Monday: Welcome Offer: Earn $100 9/25 $100.00 Payment 9/2 -$327.64 Staples Inc PUTNAM CT 8/30 $40.10 BHN*GIFTCARDS.COM 8/30 $287.85
Denied due to ID verification. I’m not sure what more these guys want, I submitted my passport and a selfie. Kind of glad I don’t have to deal with it at this point. Maybe the next time this comes around, I’ll give it another try.
Hopefully you remembered to take screen shots of the process. good luck!
STILL haven’t heard back yet from my application submitted on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Now the offer is expired and it appears from the below they will not honor the offer. These guys are worse than Cardless.
Applied on 8/24, both the signup page and approval text showed $200 bonus but after accepting the offer, the bonus changed to $100 after $1000 spend in the main portal. The $200 promo is still live on their main webpage. Has anyone gotten this before and were success in getting them to change it to $200? I called and filed a case.
Applied again and still waiting… Based on my previous experience, it took them several days to review my application. By the time it was approved, the offer had already dropped back to $100. My previous pre-approved CLs were only $500, and Imprint currently doesn’t seem to increase CLs at all. The $200 bonus offer seems to be determined by the offer available at the time of accepting the card. After my application was approved and the offer had dropped to $100, I ignored it. A few weeks later, when the $200 offer came back again, my offer was automatically upgraded to $200. Still, that $500 CL was a joke… My other imprint card Booking was 5000+
I haven’t yet heard back. If I try checking status through Imprint’s website, I get: “Application in review – We’re still reviewing your application, but will update you within 3 business days.”
What online shopping portals have you found with better rewards offers than rakuten?
Yes that’s really bad. These really invasive data harvesting methods of “verifying identity” need to be made illegal
Did you hear back from them? Were you Approved?
Approved with high income at $500 CL. What a joke. Is CL increase possible within 1st year?
Thanks for the data point!
Does it work on sites which don’t have a current cashback amount?
Unfroze TU, submitted an app, went through the identity verification steps. Got a “more info in next 72 hours” text message from Imprint. My guess is they want to verify the income I entered, but we’ll see. I’m 2/24 (one of which is an AU account) with an 830 FICO. I’d laugh if I were denied for this card.
$500 credit limit… I have never been offered a limit this low before. It’s lower than even my first credit card. 810 FICO Not sure if it’s even worth accepting unless there’s a way to increase limits rapidly after signing up? I can’t even hit the $2000 spend for the SUB unless I credit cycle
No issues on my end. Still have the card, no hard pull, and got paid out the $200 bonus.
Did you run into any problems in the long run doing this? HP avoided and card kept?
This is live!
George Costanza, is that you?
“It became very clear to me sitting out there today, that every decision I’ve ever made, in my entire life, has been wrong. My life is the opposite of everything I want it to be. Every instinct I have, in every of life, be it something to wear, something to eat… It’s all been wrong.”
I might apply so guys you should hold off this time. Knowing my luck the next bonus will be $300+
Mostly agree, but it also does get access to Amex Connect offers (amex offers for amex-serviced cards) so it can be useful for those as well.
The extra 4% on Rakuten purchases refers to purchases made after clicking through the Rakuten portal (or made in-store at a store where I’ve already added the offer), unless it’s specifically excluded? So long-term this card is really only worth using for Rakuten portal purchases and Rakuten dining?
The following types of Rakuten purchases will only be eligible for 1% Cash Back:o Purchases made using short-term loan installment or “Buy Now, Pay Later” serviceso Travel purchases, except for airline purchases made directly with the airline or prepaid hotelreservationso Purchases from Rakuten merchants that do not offer Cash Back or offer coupons only
Actually looking at the T&C, seems it’s Sunday, not Saturday: 1. To qualify for the $200 bonus, you must apply for the Rakuten Card between 12:00 a.m. EST on August 23, 2026, and 11:59 p.m. EST on August 25, 2026, and make qualifying purchases totaling $2,000 or more using your Rakuten American Express® Card within 90 days of account approval. The bonus will be awarded as Cash Back after the 90-day qualification period has ended and may take up to an additional 15 days to post to your Rakuten account. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See the Rewards Program Terms and Conditions for details.
Updated, thanks
Looks like this is coming back for three days starting tomorrow: https://rakuten.imprint.co/august3day200 Guess they didn’t learn from Bilt that they shouldn’t hide links in their javascript :D. Chuck and William Charles as fyi.