If you’re planning activities for an upcoming trip — or looking for a fun diversion in your hometown — you’ll want to jump on this deal.
Shopping portal Rakuten is offering elevated earnings at Viator, which sells tours, day trips, museum tickets and more around the world. Plus, targeted American Express cardholders can stack these rewards with an Amex Offer at Viator.
Here’s how you can double-dip at Viator for maximum results. But act fast; we don’t know how long Rakuten’s offer will last.
How to double-dip with Rakuten and Amex offers
Right now, some Amex cardholders are targeted for savings at Viator. We’ve seen this Amex Offer on the American Express Platinum Card®; if you have it, be sure to activate it before heading to Viator.
And, for a limited time, you can stack these offers with 14% cash back (or 14 American Express Membership Rewards points or Bilt Rewards Points per dollar spent) at Rakuten.
You can potentially stack these offers by clicking through Rakuten (or using the browser extension) before making your Viator purchase and paying with an eligible credit card.
Here’s an example. Say I wanted to book a northern lights tour in Finland for four people. This one is on sale for $514.72 total.
I could double-dip to earn $72 cash back (or 7,206 Amex points or Bilt points) with Rakuten, plus get $25 cash back from the Amex Offer, for a total savings of $97 or about 19%.
However, I would probably split the purchase to save even more. Since the Amex Offer can be used up to two times on purchases of $200 or more, I could make two bookings for two people each to earn a total of $50 back on my Amex card, plus the same $72 back from Rakuten. That comes out to a total savings of $122 or about 24%.
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If you’re new to Rakuten, you can earn even more. You can receive a one-time bonus of $50 when you join Rakuten through a referral link by March 31 and spend at least $50 at eligible retailers within 90 days of becoming a member.
Keep in mind that, according to Rakuten’s terms for Viator, “Cash Back is not available if card-linked offers, discount codes, or staff and student discount codes are used.” However, we have seen success with stacking elevated earning rates and a discount via programs like Amex Offers or Chase Offers.
Also, remember that your Rakuten rewards generally won’t show up in your account until after you’ve completed the tour, but the percentage back should match the offer on the day of booking.
Bottom line
It can be tricky to maximize your rewards on tours and activities, as these rarely fall into common bonus categories on travel rewards cards. That’s why we were excited to see not one but two ways to save money and/or earn bonus rewards.
And don’t forget to join Rakuten (if you haven’t already) with a referral link by March 31 to earn a whopping $50 bonus.