Viator at 20x on Rakuten
The day many award travelers have been waiting for is here. Today, July 22, you can book Viator at 20x on Rakuten for its Big Deal Reveal. Viator is a popular travel marketplace for reserving tours, excursions and other activities. A few times throughout the year, Viator multipliers soar as high as +20x on Rakuten. It's a pretty epic opportunity to earn a large amount of points for cash travel expenses. UPDATE: Though the July 22 event was previously advertised as a 22x multiplier for Viator, including as recently as yesterday, it remains at 20x and appears to be staying there.
How to Use Rakuten
Rakuten is one of our favorite shopping portals at ToP. Members can click through the site or run their purchases through the app to take advantage of its ever-changing earning rates. Payouts can be issued as cash back, Amex Membership Rewards or Bilt Rewards (though you now need elite Bilt status to retain its Rakuten 1:1 conversion ratio). If you don't have an account yet, be sure to sign up for one using ToP's referral link and get a $50/5,000 bonus. We also love Rakuten for its endless stacking possibilities. Charge your purchases to your latest SUB card for extra return. In the past, paying with a card offer from banks like Chase and Amex has also been another great stacking method. Cards from both banks have Viator offers floating around right now, too. It's worth noting that Rakuten's terms on Viator today note: “Cash Back is not available if card-linked offers … are used.” This appears to be new-ish language, and it is hard to say if or how this could be enforced in practice.
Terms of the Viator Offer
Carefully note the following terms:
- Cash back will be paid out on completed tours only. Canceled and/or refunded tours will not be eligible for Cash Back.
- Cash back is not available if card-linked offers, discount codes, or staff and student discount codes are used.
- Cash back is not available on theme park purchases and virtual tours.
- Cash back is not eligible for bookings made via Viator Travel Agent Program.
- Cash back is not available on gift vouchers or purchases made with gift vouchers.
- Purchases must be made through viator.com to be eligible for cash back (app-to-app sales are not eligible).
- Purchase must be completed in one session. After landing on the Viator website, ensure that you complete your session without navigating through any other links, clearing cookies if necessary. This will ensure that your booking tracks correctly.
Posting Times
Rakuten's travel offers can take longer to be confirmed than its shopping offers. They are usually confirmed after the travel activity is completed. The official terms say it may take within 6–17 weeks after the travel is complete for the points to switch from pending to confirmed.
Previously Advertised as 22x?
If you woke up a little confused by seeing Viator at 20x on Rakuten, you're not alone. Rakuten has repeatedly advertised the July 22 event as 22x, and we have the receipts. Here's a screenshot from its Big Deal Reveal announcement back in June.
Here's a push notification from this past Sunday, July 19:
And here's a screenshot from an Instagram post Rakuten made just yesterday.
Rakuten has been known to change its rates throughout the day, especially during flash sales or big shopping events. Offers can also be targeted, but Cash Back Monitor also currently shows Rakuten at 20x. Let's hope this all just means the rate will increase later today. If and when it does, it's hard to say how long 22x will last. Keep checking back. And in the meantime, prep your list of bookings. You may want to be ready to make them quickly. Update: Rakuten has now deleted yesterday's Instagram post. It also sent an e-blast this afternoon advertising the deal as 20x, so my guess is the 20x will stick today. It's still a great multiplier, even if a little lower than originally expected.
Viator at 20x on Rakuten: ToP Thoughts
With Viator at 20x on Rakuten today, it's the perfect time to book tours and activities for future travels. Multipliers of this level only happen a few times per year, so make sure to take advantage of this today. Be sure to note Rakuten's posting times. If you're booking travel far in advance, it might be several payout quarters before you see your earnings confirmed. Let us know if you book anything over in the ToP Facebook Group.
