Rakuten is the UK's global cashback platform — partnering with 700+ UK retailers from Sainsbury's to ASOS, Amazon to Argos. Shop as normal. Earn a percentage back. Paid monthly to your PayPal or bank account, automatically.
Rakuten doesn't ask you to change how you shop — just where you start. Click through Rakuten before visiting a retailer, and your purchase earns cashback automatically. That's the whole model.
Sign up in two minutes with your email address. Add your bank account or PayPal for automatic cashback payments — you won't need to request withdrawals manually. Rakuten pays you automatically each month.
The Rakuten browser extension activates automatically whenever you visit a partner retailer — no need to remember to check first. A notification appears, you click once to activate, and cashback is tracked. This is how most consistent earners use Rakuten.
Either via the extension or by visiting rakuten.co.uk first, click through to the retailer. Complete your purchase exactly as you normally would — same basket, same price. Rakuten tracks the sale in the background and your cashback is credited automatically.
Unlike many UK cashback sites, Rakuten doesn't require you to manually request a withdrawal. Cashback that has cleared gets paid into your linked bank account or PayPal around the 15th of each month. Nothing to do except shop normally.
From your weekly Sainsbury's shop to a flight with British Airways — here's what selected UK retailers pay back through Rakuten. Rates shown are standard rates; boosted promotions push these higher.
Rakuten's standout feature in the UK market is Amazon cashback — £1 per qualifying order. Amazon cashback is genuinely rare across UK cashback platforms, making Rakuten a useful default for Amazon shoppers who would otherwise earn nothing back. Sainsbury's at up to 10.5% is also exceptional for grocery cashback.
Cashback rates change regularly. Always check the current rate on Rakuten before making a purchase. Rates shown are indicative based on publicly available data as of early 2026.
Up to 10.5% cashback on eligible Sainsbury's spend via Rakuten portal or extension
Amex Membership Rewards, Visa/Mastercard points — earned simultaneously on same spend
Nectar points still earned on in-store or online Sainsbury's shop through Rakuten
Rakuten cashback doesn't replace your credit card rewards — it adds on top. You earn both simultaneously for the same purchase. This is the most consistent, zero-effort way to maximise return on every purchase.
Works with American Express. Amex Membership Rewards points stack with Rakuten cashback. For heavy Amex users, this is particularly powerful — some users report earning the equivalent of 12–15% back on select retailers when combining all streams.
Grocery shopping is the easiest win. You were going to do your Sainsbury's shop anyway. Running it through Rakuten (with the extension installed) earns 10.5% back automatically — no behaviour change required. Over a year, this alone can be worth £100–£200+.
Travel is the highest-value category. Holiday bookings, car hire, flights — even a modest family holiday booked via Expedia or BA through Rakuten can earn £30–£100 in cashback. Travel cashback often takes longer to clear (up to 17 weeks), but the amounts are substantial.
Never use coupon or discount extensions simultaneously. Other discount browser extensions can interfere with Rakuten tracking. Disable other cashback/coupon tools before completing a Rakuten-tracked purchase.
Sign up via a referral link (this page's link qualifies) and both you and the referrer receive £25 when you complete a qualifying spend. Here's exactly what to do.
Use the "Claim Your £25" button anywhere on this page. You must use a referral link — signing up directly at rakuten.co.uk without a referral link won't activate the bonus. The link is how Rakuten attributes the welcome offer.
Register with email, add your PayPal or bank account details. Your £25 bonus will appear as pending immediately in your account dashboard — before you've spent anything. It just needs to be activated.
This doesn't need to be in one purchase — it accumulates across multiple transactions. Your Sainsbury's weekly shop, an Argos order, a Just Eat delivery — all count. You have 90 days from sign-up, so there's no rush. Just shop as normal.
Retailers confirm purchases once any return window has passed — this can take 60–90 days for some retailers. Just Eat and similar services clear much faster (sometimes the same week). Once confirmed, your cashback and £25 bonus become payable at the next monthly payment date.
Rakuten pays around the 15th of each month. No request needed — your bonus and cashback arrive directly in your PayPal or bank account. The £25 bonus is paid at the same time as your regular cashback for the period.
💡 The easiest qualifying spend: Just do your regular Sainsbury's or Ocado weekly shop through Rakuten. You'll hit £50 in two or three shops without buying anything you wouldn't already buy — and you earn cashback on all of it while unlocking the £25 bonus.
The browser extension is the single biggest quality-of-life improvement on Rakuten — install once, earn automatically for life.
The extension detects when you navigate to a Rakuten partner retailer and displays a notification. One click activates cashback tracking. Without it, you'd need to remember to visit Rakuten first — which most people forget.
Beyond cashback, the extension can automatically test and apply valid coupon codes at checkout — saving additional money on top of your cashback percentage without any manual coupon searching.
Using a VPN, ad blocker, or another cashback extension while tracking a Rakuten purchase can interfere with tracking and cause cashback not to register. Disable them before checkout on Rakuten-linked shops.
The Rakuten UK app is available on iOS and Android. Browse partner retailers, access deals, and track your cashback balance from your phone. The desktop extension is generally preferred for reliability, but the app works well for checking rates on the go.
Unlike GPT sites, Rakuten doesn't require you to request a withdrawal. Your earned cashback is paid directly to you around the 15th of each month without any action on your part.
666+ verified UK Trustpilot reviews at 4.5★ rated Excellent. The most consistent themes: reliable tracking, automatic monthly payments, and excellent customer support when issues arise.
"Cashback tracked without any issues — and I've just been notified that £34.20 is on its way to my account. Love that cashback payments are automatically paid into my PayPal."
"A really positive experience with Rakuten. Cashback tracked without any issues and I've just been notified that £34.20 is on its way to my account. Really impressed — will definitely use again."
"Love that cashback payments are automatically paid into my PayPal on the same day every time. There's a great variety of shops on Rakuten, so there's something for everyone."
"Surprisingly good! I'm always a bit cynical when companies promise you money back, but this has been a great experience — payouts on time, no hassle, and easy to understand. Sign up now!"
Yes — unambiguously. Rakuten is a Japanese multinational founded in 1997, now one of the world's largest internet and e-commerce companies. They previously sponsored FC Barcelona and operate businesses in banking, fintech, digital content, and more. Rakuten UK is part of this global group. With 666+ UK Trustpilot reviews at 4.5★ and a decades-long track record, there is no legitimacy concern. Cashback is a well-established business model where retailers pay Rakuten a commission for sending them customers, and Rakuten shares that commission with you.
Sign up via a referral link (not directly from Rakuten's homepage — the bonus is only activated via a referral link). Then make purchases totalling £50 or more (excluding VAT) at any Rakuten partner retailers within 90 days of signing up. This can be spread across multiple purchases and multiple retailers. Once the retailer confirms the purchases — which can take up to 90 days — the £25 bonus and your cashback become payable and are paid on the next monthly payment date (around the 15th).
The £25 welcome offer is part of Rakuten's refer-a-friend scheme, not their standard sign-up bonus. Signing up directly at rakuten.co.uk without a referral link gets a smaller welcome bonus (if any). The referral link on this page activates the full £25 bonus for you — and both you and the referrer receive £25 when your qualifying spend is confirmed. It's in both parties' interest to use the referral route.
Cashback at Rakuten typically appears in your account within a few hours of purchase, but can take up to 3 days to show as pending. It then stays as pending until the retailer confirms the sale — this takes 60–90 days for most retailers (because they wait until their return window closes). Fast-clearing retailers like Just Eat typically confirm within days. If cashback hasn't shown as pending within 48 hours, use Rakuten's "Missing Cash Back" feature — multiple users confirm instant credit in most cases.
Yes. Rakuten offers in-store cashback at participating UK retailers. To activate it, you link your credit or debit card to your Rakuten account, then activate specific in-store offers for the retailers you plan to visit. When you pay with your linked card in-store at that retailer, cashback is automatically credited. This works alongside your regular card rewards — just note that you must activate each in-store offer individually before shopping.
Yes — this is one of Rakuten's best-kept features. Rakuten cashback and credit card rewards are completely separate and stack fully. If you use an American Express card earning Membership Rewards points, you earn both the Amex points and the Rakuten cashback on the same purchase. For Sainsbury's at 10.5% Rakuten cashback plus 1–2% Amex points, you're effectively earning 11–13% back on your weekly shop — entirely passively.
Honest answer: TopCashback and Quidco typically offer more retailers and sometimes higher cashback rates at specific merchants. Rakuten's key advantages are: Amazon cashback (TopCashback no longer offers this reliably), the £25 referral bonus (much more generous than TopCashback's £10), automatic monthly PayPal payment (no manual withdrawal needed), and strong performance at grocers like Sainsbury's. Many UK users run multiple cashback sites simultaneously, using whichever offers the best rate for any given purchase — and Rakuten is worth having for the retailers where it leads.
The most common cause of missing cashback is using a VPN, ad blocker, or another browser extension (including other cashback tools) simultaneously. Disable these before completing a Rakuten-tracked purchase. If cashback still doesn't appear within 48 hours, raise a "Missing Cash Back" claim from your Rakuten account — multiple reviews confirm this is resolved quickly with credit issued almost immediately in most cases. Rakuten's customer support is consistently praised in UK reviews for responsiveness.
700+ UK retailers. Automatic monthly payments. £25 welcome bonus. Install the extension once and earn cashback at Sainsbury's, Amazon, Argos and hundreds more — for life.
£25 welcome bonus — spend £50 at any retailer within 90 days
Up to 10.5% cashback at Sainsbury's — best UK grocery cashback rate
Amazon cashback — £1 per order, rare in UK market
Paid monthly automatically — no withdrawal requests needed
Stacks with credit card rewards — earn both simultaneously
4.5★ Trustpilot — 666+ verified UK reviews
UK residents only · Free to join · £50 spend required within 90 days to unlock bonus · Cashback rates subject to change