Cashback portal Rakuten (better known as ebates) is offering 10% cashback, or 10x Membership Rewards today only (9/23) at 250 stores. This deal ends at 12 midnight Pacific time, so take a look to see if there are any deals that interest you.
Most of the usual stores are included here, and can possibly represent a good deal, but the two that stood out to me were for Choice Hotels and IHG Hotels.
My Rakuten account earns Membership Rewards, so to me this represents a 12.5% rebate on a hotel stay, not including the hotel points you would earn for your stay, and any credit card points you would earn. I value Membership Rewards points at a minimum of 1.25 cents each, since that is the cash equivalent when transferred to a Charles Schwab account. This method requires the Charles Schwab Amex Platinum, but it’s only a baseline since the points can be worth much more if transferred to an airline and used for international premium cabin travel.
I always check Cashbackmonitor to see what a particular portal is paying out for a store, to be sure I’m getting the best return. As you can see here the payouts for Choice Hotels hasn’t been updated with this latest Rakuten/ebates offer yet, but 10% is a solid premium over the next best rate.
The payout for IHG Hotels is an even better premium over the current standard rates at more than triple!
Be sure to check the terms of each offer to ensure that you will eventually receive your cashback or points. It would be a bummer if you counted on the rebate only to find out later you didn’t meet the terms.
Also be sure to keep in mind that if you have the Rakuten Visa, and you use that for your purchase, you will get a further 3% or 3x on any purchase at Rakuten (ebates).
The Wrap Up:
If you have any travel coming up where you may need either a Choice Hotels property or an IHG Hotel, it would definitely be worth your few extra clicks to get 10% cashback with this Rakuten deal. Alternatively you could be earning 10x Membership Rewards if your account is set up that way. Be sure to check a site like Cashbackmonitor to be sure this promotion in fact gives you a premium over using a different portal for your purchase. That goes for any of the 250 stores, not just the hotel chains mentioned here. Good Luck!