What happened
Rakuten has a new page for its Rakuten+ paid membership program, which offers a minimum of 10% cash back on select merchants. The program costs $100 annually (not waived the first year). A new sign-up offer provides a $50 bonus for joining and spending $250+ within 90 days at qualifying merchants. Key merchants include Hotels.com (8-12% cash back), Sephora, Neiman Marcus, and various fashion retailers. The author notes that while rates are competitive, they may not always beat frequent high-rate portals, but the membership is useful for volume buyers who cannot wait between purchases