Rakuten (USA) (www.rakuten.com) has a 4.1 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 201 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Shopping & Fashion and its reputation is good. 79% of reviews are 4 stars or higher and 18% are 1 star; The business has replied to 32% of negative reviews. Last updated 2026-08-10.
I’ve had a consistently awful experience with Rakuten. The biggest issue is that large cashback amounts seem to get rejected over and over again with vague explanations or no real justification at all. It feels like the system works fine for tiny purchases, but as soon as the cashback is meaningful, the claim mysteriously disappears or gets denied.
What’s even more frustrating is the delay on small cashback amounts. I’ve had credits as small as 41¢ and 61¢ take 3–4 months to post. Waiting an entire season for a few cents is ridiculous and makes the whole platform feel unreliable.
Customer support hasn’t been helpful either. Responses are slow, generic, and don’t actually resolve the problem. I’ve submitted multiple inquiries and usually end up repeating the same information with no real progress.
At this point, Rakuten feels more like a hassle than a savings tool. Tracking purchases, waiting months, and fighting rejected claims is not worth the tiny rewards. I would not recommend it to anyone expecting dependable cashback or fair handling of larger payouts.
I have been fighting a fight with Pop on veneers since Nov. 2025. The customer service people do not listen and can't read the notes and get things right. (Vincent on 6/10/26) was the only one that took his time to listen and read. This company is not a company to get your smile back from. I asked for a full reefund and nothing. I keep getting veneers sent that dont fit, either to big or to small or has a gap.
I love Rakuten and have used it for years.
There are several companies I shop and they are listen with Rakuten, so it easy to get a cash reward.
Only thing I wish is that my purchases would be listed in the company’s history.
At first, I thought the company was a scam. It is absolutely not a fraud or scam. You simply hit the button and receive cash back on purchases you are making anyway. You wait approx. 90 days for the money to land in your account. I have received well over $300.00 this year. Each time I go online, more reliable and high profile companies are working with Rakuten. My payments have always been on time, and I have been advised of the process the entire time
Honest and reliable for each cash rewards. I had an issue with my paypal account and needed to have the rewards resent to a different paypal account. The customer service was very helpful and resolved the issue in hours.
Terrible. I made a purchase in December, specifically because they offered a £25 bonus for myself and the person who referred me for purchases over £50. It is still pending despite numerous messages and emails. They have paid the referer but have still not paid me. They have said that the company have not confirmed my purchase. This has been a headache and I do not appreciate that they have inconsistently applied the offer, with my friend receiving the bonus but not myself. It is also not my problem if the company that they have partnered with have not updated them appropriately and frankly they should be chasing this and ensuring the companies they partner with are fulfilling their obligations to their customers. It honestly has not been worth the effort and their communication has been terrible. I have had to chase up replies which have been rude to say the least. Baring in mind that they use this to collect data on their customers and presumably selling it on, so they are profiting off of people signing up with promises of bonuses but then refusing to pay the agreed bonus. Appalling and I would recommend staying away if you’re thinking of signing up for the bonuses/joining rewards.
Reply from Rakuten (USA)2026-06-04
Hi there - That's odd as purchases should only take 20 - 100 days to be Confirmed (longer for travel). Please email us right away at [email protected] and our team will look into this.
Rakuten UK has been one of the most frustrating customer service experiences I’ve dealt with.
I made a qualifying Lenovo purchase through Rakuten during a 16% cashback promotion, followed all advertised terms correctly, and have timestamped evidence showing cashback activation and checkout through Rakuten.
The transaction never tracked or appeared as pending.
After weeks of emails, I’ve received little more than repeated generic responses saying they are “waiting for the merchant”, with no meaningful update, no accountability, and no confirmation that the cashback will actually be honoured.
The most concerning part is the complete lack of ownership once something goes wrong. If tracking fails, the customer appears to carry all of the uncertainty despite doing everything correctly.
I’m now considering returning the product entirely because the cashback formed a major part of the purchase decision.
Consumers should keep detailed screenshots of every stage of the cashback process when using Rakuten, because if a transaction fails to track, resolving it appears extremely difficult.
Rakuten is a scam. They will advertise high cashback and then deny them later on either stating there was user error or the retailer just never paid Rakuten.
It’s absolutely incredible that a company can advertise cashback, have their own systems confirm that the order was successful and cashback is now pending, and then weeks later turn around and say the order was ineligible (because the retailer never paid Rakuten).
If I take a loan from a bank and I miss a payment because my employer fails to pay me on time, does that mean the bank is no longer eligible to receive my mortgage payments? No.
For those of you who haven’t encountered issues just yet, congratulations and I hope this win streak for you continues. Just know that Rakuten’s bait and switch tactics are going to come for everyone. It’s only a matter of time.
Reply from Rakuten (USA)2026-06-04
Hi there - We're sorry to hear that your Cash Back is being listed as Ineligible. This could happen for a number of reasons such as using coupon codes not listed on Rakuten, or using other rewards/Cash Back sites.
We'd be happy to look into any orders for you and see what the issue is. Please email us at [email protected] and our team will assist.
Love getting my big fat checks in the mail! So easy to use and lets me shop at many of my favorite stores. I’m always disappointed when I need to make a purchase from a company that is not on Rakuten.
Rakuten is a scam. Denied every shopping event that I did through their site. Also did not get the initial referral bonus. Total waste of time and effort to get a few bucks back.
Reply from Rakuten (USA)2026-06-04
Hi Timothy - That shouldn't be happening with your purchases. We'd be happy to look into any purchases for you. Please send your order confirmations to [email protected] and our team will be happy to assist.
Booked through Expedia and because of their Cashback deal. After Expedia was booked and travel was finished. website claims it wasn't eligible. CTR+ATL+DEL. doesnt do what it says it will do
Reply from Rakuten (USA)2026-06-04
Hi Logan - That's odd if the purchase was eligible. Please send your Expedia confirmation to [email protected] and our team will look into why it was listed as ineligible.
Really like this App and the savings it provides! I receive a quarterly check based on my spending on approved sites - can't beat getting some money back!
I enjoy using Rakuten for the money back, but it has also opened my eyes to other companies I never would’ve thought of. There has been several times that my husband and I chose to eat at a restaurant just because of the money back offer.
I have used Rakuten for over 10 years, even when it went by a different name. However, this last year has been so bad, I deleted the app. I had accumulated cash back each quarter from online shopping. However, since it was less than $5, they refuse to pay. I even wrote to customer service to no avail. Other cash back websites digitally transfer ANY amount to you all year long. Not Rakuten. They still use snail mail to send out checks, and it's only quarterly. Their competition is much easier, quicker to get cash back, and have never withheld money from me. I recommend Topcashback, Retail Me Not, or Capital One. Stay away from Rakiten
Reply from Rakuten (USA)2026-06-04
Hi there - Please email us at [email protected] and we'll be happy to help and look into this.
