Why Didn’t I Earn Cash Back?

If you made a purchase and don’t see Cash Back in your account, it may be due to one of these reasons:

  • Using coupons you found outside of Rakuten. Using or even attempting to use any coupon codes, offers or promotions that are not on Rakuten can void your Cash Back. There could be conflicts between Cash Back and the discounts offered by other coupon sites, exclusive emails or rewards programs.
  • Visiting other sites during your shopping session. Going to other sites, especially ones that offer shopping rewards, coupons or discounts, can result in the store giving the credit for your purchase to another site. In addition, browser extensions from other shopping programs (such as Honey or Invisible Hand) can interfere with linking your purchase to your Rakuten account.
  • Switching to a different browser window or tab. You should only use the initial tab opened for you by Rakuten at the beginning of your shopping session. If you complete your purchase in a different tab or window, we may be unable to link your purchase to your Rakuten account.
  • Waiting too long after activating Cash Back to complete your purchase. Additionally, some stores do not allow us to link a purchase to your Rakuten account if items were added to your shopping cart before you activated Cash Back. It’s best to activate Cash Back before adding items to your cart and check out as soon as you can.
  • Not activating Cash Back when using the Button extension. On the store site, make sure to click “Activate Cash Back” before you start shopping. If you don’t see the “Activate Cash Back” button, then that store may not be available for the extension and you should activate Cash Back from Rakuten.com. Learn more about stores and the Button extension.
  • Longer store reporting times. Stores must report your order information to us, so we know how much Cash Back to add to your account. Reporting time can range from a few hours to up to 3 months for travel bookings. To see a store’s reporting time, check its store page on our site or in our App.
  • Ineligible store categories or products. Some stores limit Cash Back to certain categories or products. You may have purchased an item that’s not Cash Back eligible. To see a store’s eligible categories, check its store page on our site or in our App.

If you’ve followed the tips above and are still experiencing trouble, try these troubleshooting tips:

  1. Use a compatible browser. Rakuten is compatible with Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer (IE), Version 11+.
  2. Adjust the security settings in your browser. See how to adjust them for your browser. You can also try clearing your browser’s cache and cookies.
  3. Use the Rakuten App on your mobile device. You can install it for free on your Android or iOS device. Get the App.
  4. Add the Rakuten filter list if you use an ad blocker like uBlock or AdBlock Plus. Ad blockers can cause Cash Back tracking issues, and the filter list helps us to determine your Cash Back eligibility. Get more info about the filter list and install it.

Remember to always start your shopping at Rakuten.com, or make it even easier by using our free browser extension and shopping in our App. You can earn Cash Back only by starting a Shopping Trip with Rakuten. Learn more about how to earn Cash Back.

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