Rakuten UK Cashback Review, Get Paid to Shop at Stores You Already Use
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What Rakuten is and how cashback actually works
Every time you shop online without going through a cashback site, you are leaving money on the table. Rakuten is a free UK cashback service that pays you a percentage of your spend back whenever you buy from one of its hundreds of partner retailers.
It works with stores you are probably already using, from Sainsbury's and Boots to Argos, ASOS, and Just Eat, and it costs you nothing to join or use. Cashback is one of those money-saving tools that takes about five minutes to set up and then works in the background every time you shop.
This review covers how Rakuten works, which retailers are included, how much you can realistically earn, and whether it is worth using alongside other cashback platforms. If you have been putting off signing up to a cashback service, this is a good place to start.
What Rakuten is and how cashback actually works
Rakuten is a cashback platform that acts as a middleman between you and the retailers you already shop with. When you click through to a retailer from the Rakuten website and complete a purchase, the retailer pays Rakuten a small commission for sending them a customer. Rakuten then shares a portion of that commission with you as cashback. You are not paying anything extra, and you are not changing what you buy.
The easiest way to picture it is this: imagine a friend recommends a shop to you, and the shop gives your friend a small thank-you for the recommendation. Cashback sites work on exactly the same principle, except the thank-you gets passed on to you. The retailer has already budgeted for this cost as part of their marketing, so nothing about the deal changes from your end.
The process itself is simple. You log into Rakuten, search for the retailer you want to shop with, click through to their site, and buy as normal. That is the entire process. No voucher codes to enter, no extra steps at checkout, and no need to change which products you buy or where you have them delivered.
Which retailers are on Rakuten UK
Rakuten works with hundreds of UK retailers across grocery, fashion, health, electronics, and food delivery. That breadth is what makes it genuinely useful for everyday saving rather than something you only use occasionally for big purchases. Some of the most popular names included are:
If you shop online regularly, you are almost certainly already buying from several of these. That means Rakuten can start earning you money on purchases you were already going to make, without changing anything about how or where you shop. It is worth checking the Rakuten site for the full and up-to-date retailer list before each purchase, as rates and availability can vary.
How much cashback can you earn with Rakuten
The cashback rate you earn depends on the retailer and the category of product you are buying. Rates vary, and they change over time as retailers adjust their commission structures. Grocery cashback tends to be lower than fashion or electronics, but the higher order values in those categories mean the absolute amount you earn can still be worthwhile.
The key to getting the most from Rakuten is consistency. A single cashback transaction on a grocery order might earn you 50p or £1, which does not feel hugely significant on its own, but do that every week for a year and the total starts to become noticeable, particularly when you combine it with the cashback you are earning on other purchases throughout the month.
It is also worth comparing rates across platforms before larger purchases. Rakuten is not always the highest-paying option for a given retailer, and sites like TopCashback and Quidco sometimes offer better rates on the same transaction. Checking takes less than two minutes and can make a real difference on bigger spends.
The Rakuten welcome bonus for new users
New users who sign up through a Rakuten referral link can earn a £25 welcome bonus on their first qualifying purchase. To trigger it, you need to spend £60 or more with a participating retailer within your 90-day welcome window. The bonus is added to your cashback balance once the retailer confirms your order, and you also earn the standard cashback rate on top of it.
The offer is really decent, as £25 back on a £60 spend is a strong return, particularly if that spend is something you were already planning! A weekly grocery order, a Boots toiletries top-up, or a larger Just Eat order can all reach that threshold without you buying anything you would not have bought anyway.
A family takeaway alone can easily hit £60, (sadly!) and that would net you the full bonus before your first month is up.
There are a few things to keep in mind. Amazon purchases do not count towards the qualifying spend, so make sure you are buying through one of Rakuten's listed partner retailers. If you return your purchase, the bonus is forfeited. And it is only available to new users, so if you have had a Rakuten account before, this particular offer will not apply.
How to claim the welcome bonus step by step
Getting the bonus is a case of following the same process you would for any Rakuten cashback purchase, just making sure your first qualifying spend reaches £60. Here is how it works from start to finish:
Sign up to Rakuten using a referral link. More on how the referral system works on this blog post.
Search for the retailer you want to shop with on the Rakuten site
Click through to the retailer from Rakuten before you start shopping
Complete your purchase as normal, making sure it totals £60 or more
Wait for your cashback and bonus to show as pending in your account
The bonus will appear as pending first, then move to payable once the retailer confirms the order. That process can take a few weeks depending on the retailer's confirmation timescales. From there, you can withdraw your balance to your bank account or PayPal whenever you are ready.
Real examples that hit the £60 threshold easily
The beauty of the welcome bonus is that most people can trigger it with something they were already planning to buy. You do not need to go out of your way or stretch your budget to reach £60. Here are a few spending scenarios that get there with no effort:
A standard online grocery delivery from Sainsbury's, Waitrose, or Ocado will comfortably hit £60 for most households. This is one of the most popular ways to claim the bonus because it is something most people do every week regardless. You are simply redirecting the same spend through Rakuten before you check out.
Boots is another strong option, particularly if you stock up on toiletries, skincare, or health products. Boots regularly runs online-only promotions, such as their £10 Tuesday deals, and if you normally buy these products in store, switching to click and collect for one order and routing it through Rakuten gets you the bonus without changing your spending habits in any meaningful way.
A larger Just Eat or Deliveroo order is another route. A family takeaway can easily reach or exceed £60, which means you could earn the welcome bonus on a Friday night pizza order. Alternatively, you have 90 days to reach your total, so combining a couple of smaller orders over a few weeks works just as well.
How Rakuten compares with other UK cashback sites
Rakuten sits alongside TopCashback, Quidco, and JamDoughnut as one of the main UK cashback platforms available to shoppers. Each one has strengths in different areas, and most experienced cashback users keep accounts on more than one platform to make sure they are always getting the best available rate.
Rakuten's retailer coverage is broad, and its welcome bonus is one of the more generous sign-up offers currently available. TopCashback and Quidco often have higher rates on specific retailers, so it is always worth a quick comparison before a significant purchase. JamDoughnut works differently as a cashback card scheme rather than a click-through platform, which means it can be used in physical stores as well as online.
The most effective approach is to treat all of these as tools that work together rather than picking one and ignoring the rest. Check which platform offers the best rate before each purchase, use the one that pays most, and let your balances build across all of them over time. That approach takes very little effort and consistently outperforms using just one platform on its own.
What happens after your first purchase
Once your purchase is confirmed by the retailer, your cashback and any applicable bonus move from pending to payable in your Rakuten account. Payable means the money is available to withdraw, either to your bank account or to PayPal. Rakuten has a minimum threshold before you can cash out, so it is worth checking what that is when you sign up.
The pending period exists because retailers reserve the right to cancel or refund orders, and the cashback is only confirmed once they are satisfied the sale is final. Most standard purchases clear within a few weeks, though the timeline varies by retailer. Larger retailers with longer return windows sometimes take longer to confirm cashback than smaller ones.
Keeping your account active across different retailers means your balance grows steadily over time. Even modest rates on regular grocery or toiletries spend add up meaningfully across a full year, particularly when combined with the occasional larger purchase where rates are higher.
FAQ
What is Rakuten and how does it work?
Rakuten is a free UK cashback service. You click through to a retailer from the Rakuten website, buy as normal, and Rakuten pays you a percentage of your spend back as cashback. The retailer funds the cashback through a commission they pay to Rakuten.
Is Rakuten UK legitimate?
Yes. Rakuten is part of a large global technology company and has been operating as a cashback platform for years. It tracks purchases reliably and pays out once orders are confirmed by the retailer.
How much can you earn with Rakuten?
Cashback rates vary by retailer and product category, typically ranging from under 1% to several percent on higher-margin categories like fashion or electronics. Regular use across grocery, health, and lifestyle spending adds up meaningfully over a year.
What retailers are available on Rakuten UK?
Hundreds of major UK retailers are included, among them Sainsbury's, Boots, Iceland, Argos, ASOS, Currys, B&Q, Superdrug, Just Eat, and many more. Amazon is not a Rakuten partner, so purchases there do not earn cashback.
How do you get the Rakuten welcome bonus?
New users who sign up through a referral link and spend £60 or more with a qualifying retailer within 90 days receive a £25 bonus added to their cashback balance. The bonus is on top of the standard cashback rate.
Can you use discount codes and Rakuten at the same time?
Often yes. Many retailers allow both cashback and voucher codes to be used together. Always check the terms on the retailer's individual page within Rakuten before applying a code, as some promotions exclude cashback.
How does Rakuten compare to TopCashback and Quidco?
All three are reputable UK cashback platforms with broad retailer coverage. Rates vary between them, so it is worth checking all three before a significant purchase to find the best return. Most experienced cashback users keep accounts on multiple platforms.
Cashback does not ask you to change your spending habits, it asks you to be intentional about the route you take to the shops you were already going to use! Rakuten makes that easy, with a wide retailer network, reliable tracking, and a welcome bonus that gives new users a strong reason to start earning straight away.
Used consistently alongside other platforms like TopCashback, Quidco, and JamDoughnut, cashback becomes one of the most reliable and low-effort ways to get something back from your everyday budget.
The amounts feel small at first, but over the course of a year they add up in a way that is hard to ignore.
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If you sign up through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend services I have personally used and found valuable.
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