Rakuten Stacking Strategies for Travel Hackers: How to Multiply Your Cashback and Points

If you’re new to stacking, start with Rakuten for Beginners and Rakuten Amex Points Guide — these will help you understand the basics before diving into advanced strategies.

If you’ve been using Rakuten for a while, you already know it’s one of the easiest ways to earn cash back or Amex Membership Rewards points on everyday purchases. But here’s the part most beginners don’t know:

Rakuten becomes wildly powerful when you start stacking it with other rewards.

Travel hackers don’t just earn 10% back. They earn 10% back + Amex points + credit card offers + portal bonuses — all on the same purchase.

This guide breaks down the exact stacking strategies that help you squeeze every drop of value out of Rakuten.

Some links in this post are referral or affiliate links. I only recommend tools I personally use and love. If you choose to sign up or purchase through these links, I may earn a bonus or commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting No Point Left Behind.

⭐ What “Stacking” Means in Travel Hacking

Stacking simply means combining multiple rewards sources on one purchase.

With Rakuten, you can stack:

• Rakuten cashback or Amex points

• Credit card category bonuses

• Amex Offers or Chase Offers

• Store promo codes

• Shopping portal bonuses

• Seasonal Rakuten multipliers

• Gift card strategies

• Travel bookings

When you stack correctly, a simple purchase can turn into 20%–40% back in value.

⭐ 1. Stack Rakuten + Amex Membership Rewards

This is the single most powerful Rakuten stack for travel hackers.

Instead of earning cash back, you can choose to earn Amex Membership Rewards points at the same rate.

If Rakuten is offering:

• 10% cash back, you can earn:

• 10X Amex points

If you redeem Amex points at 1.5–2.0¢ value, that 10X becomes:

15%–20% return on your purchase.

Learn more:

• Rakuten Amex points

⭐ 2. Stack Rakuten + Credit Card Category Bonuses

Rakuten rewards stack beautifully with your credit card’s earning structure.

Examples:

• Sephora → Rakuten 8% + Amex Gold 4X

• Best Buy → Rakuten 2% + Capital One 2X

• Booking.com → Rakuten 6% + travel card 3X–5X

• Walmart → Rakuten 10% + rotating category bonus

Learn more:

• Stacking Rakuten with card offers

⭐ 3. Stack Rakuten + Amex Offers / Chase Offers

This is where things get spicy.

If your card has an offer like:

• “Spend $100 at Sephora, get $20 back”

• “Spend $200 at Best Buy, get $40 back”

• “Spend $300 at Marriott, get $60 back”

You can stack:

• Rakuten cashback

• Amex points

• Credit card category bonus

• The Amex Offer itself

Your effective return: 28%+ on a purchase you were already making.

Learn more:

• How to Use Amex Offers

• Chase Offers Strategy

⭐ 4. Stack Rakuten + Promo Codes

Most people think promo codes cancel Rakuten tracking — but they don’t.

As long as the promo code is listed on Rakuten’s store page, you can stack:

• Rakuten

• Promo code

• Credit card bonus

• Amex/Chase Offer

This works especially well at:

• Sephora

• Ulta

• Nike

• Adidas

• Macy’s

• Kohl’s

Learn more:

• Rakuten Tracking Issues

⭐ 5. Stack Rakuten + Gift Cards (Advanced Strategy)

A travel hacker favorite.

How it works:

1. Buy a discounted gift card (Raise, Fluz, etc.)

2. Use the gift card to shop through Rakuten

3. Pay the difference with a bonus category card

4. Stack with Amex Offers if available

Your effective return: 22%–30%+

⭐ 6. Stack Rakuten + Travel Bookings

Rakuten works with:

• Expedia

• Booking.com

• Hotels.com

• VRBO

• Priceline

• Sam’s Club Travel

• Viator

• Trip.com

This is huge because you can stack:

• Rakuten cashback

• Credit card travel multipliers

• Hotel loyalty points (sometimes)

• Amex Offers

• Seasonal Rakuten bonuses

Learn more:

• Rakuten for Travel

⭐ 7. Stack Rakuten + Seasonal Multipliers

Rakuten runs massive promos:

• Double Cash Back

• Holiday Bonus Events

• Back‑to‑School

• Black Friday

• Cyber Monday

• Travel Week

During these events, stores jump to:

10% → 15% → 20% → even 25% back

👉Don’t miss a bonus. I use TrackRak to track all my Rakuten bonus offers so nothing slips through the cracks.

⭐ Join Rakuten (My Personal Referral Link)

If you’re new to Rakuten, you can join using my personal referral link — you’ll get a bonus, and I’ll earn one too:

👉 Join Rakuten Here

If you love stacking wins like this, don’t miss my Rakuten Rewards & Stacking Strategies Hub— it’s where I keep all my Rakuten guides, troubleshooting tips, and real‑life wins.

⭐ About the Author

Julie Davis is a travel‑hacking mom, cruise lover, and creator of NoPointLeftBehind.net, where she teaches families how to travel smarter, spend less, and make every trip count. She specializes in Amex points, Rakuten stacking, Princess Cruises, and Lazy Girl travel strategies that make travel hacking simple and fun.

Follow along for daily tips:

👉 NPLB Facebook Page

👉 Travel Hacking Moms Group