What is Rakuten and How Can It Save Me Money?
Welcome! You may have stumbled upon this page because you saw and click on the (R) symbol next to certain links or found a referral on the reddit sticky post promising savings on your trip. The good news is that it's true - you can easily save money!
The (R) symbol indicates that these particular transactions are eligible for cash back through Rakuten, provided you have the Rakuten extension activated on your browser. So, if you decide to purchase any of these activities, you can earn a decent amount of cash back.
So, what is Rakuten?
Rakuten is a free online cash-back program that offers you a percentage of your money back if you shop through a Rakuten-approved merchant. By installing the Rakuten web-browser extension on your computer and activating it when you make a purchase, Rakuten will track your purchase and send you a check in the mail with your payout about 3 months later.
That's it; there's no catch here! It's literally getting free money back when you spend money with certain vendors. Rakuten also offers an option for American Express cardholders to get their cash back as AMEX Membership Rewards points instead. This is a more valuable option for those who are addicted to maximizing points for free flights/hotels in the future.
Fortunately for you, Viator, and many other vendors and hotels in the Cancun area, are participants of Rakuten!
These vendors usually run promotions through Rakuten and offer various rewards percentage ranging from 2 - 20%. For instance, as of February 2023, Viator is currently offering 12% cash back for booking Viator excursions while having the Rakuten extension "activated" (example below).
A list of participating vendors which might be useful for you to know are: Viator, Iberostar, Hotels.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, IHG Hotels, Mariott, Hilton, and many other.
You'll get an extra $30 added on top of your cashback bonus just by using my referral link and signing up!
By using my referral link and signing up for a free Rakuten account, you can enjoy even more savings! In addition to earning cash back when you make purchases through Viator or other approved merchants via Rakuten, you'll receive an extra $30 as a welcome bonus.
This offer is only good once per account, but it can make your $50 VIP Chichen Itza tour cost you only $15 after 10% cash back and $30 sign up bonus! Just make sure you have Rakuten "activated" on your web browser before you purchase!
Once you have installed the Rakuten extension on your web browser, such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox, you'll be able to activate cash back when you visit a Rakuten-affiliated website. Simply look for the "activate" option and click it to ensure that you receive credit through Rakuten. See the example below.
For further information of how to do it, watch this video!
Note: This not an INSTANT saving and will probably take 1-3 months for you to see this money back. It takes less than 5 minutes to set this up and can really save you big bucks. All purchases need to be made through the browser for it to work.