Just moments ago, we wrote about an Ebates – American Express partnership whereby your Ebates cashback gets converted to Membership Rewards point. Each penny becomes 1 point. We noted in the post that, aside from portal cashback, Ebates in-store cashback and referrals cashback just got alot more valuable. I haven’t found this explicit in the terms, but the overall gist indicates that your entire Ebates balance will convert to Membership Rewards point, so I assume this is true.
Reader Ryan has another good point: the Ebates Visa card earns 3% back when you use it in conjunction with the Ebates portal, and 1% back everywhere else. Most online retailers are on the Ebates system, and we now have a roundabout way of earning 3x Membership Rewards points for most (ordinary) online purchases by simply using the Ebates portal. And that’s on top of whatever the Ebates cashback rate is.
Update: Additionally, Ebates in-store purchases also get 3% back. Many popular retailers are available with Ebates in-store cashback program, and you can now get 3x MR points on top of the Ebates in-store earn rate for lots of top retailers. The card also earns 3% back on travel booked online through the Ebates portal.
Just keep in mind a number of caveats:
- Things like gift card purchases don’t typically trigger Ebates cashback, and I assume are thus ineligible for the 3% earnings rate.
- You are forcing yourself to using the Ebates portal when other portals may have higher rates.
- You are dependent on the purchase tracking correctly, else you’ll just get 1% = 1x MR.
- There is a few month delay from purchase until you’ll get your points.
Also, a reminder again that the Ebates points conversion program is currently only available to new Ebates members.
