The Rakuten Card: Why It's the Unexpected Winner in the Built 2.0 Ecosystem (and Your Amex Wallet!)

Hey friends, what's up? Phillip here with Points with Phillip, and today we're diving deep into a credit card that, in my opinion, stands out as a clear winner among the buzz of the new Built 2.0 cards: the Rakuten credit card from Imprint. While it runs on the American Express network, its true power lies in its incredible versatility, making it a game-changer for point enthusiasts.

The Rakuten card lets you send your hard-earned rewards to American Express Membership Rewards, Built Points, or even cash back! This unique flexibility means it can seamlessly integrate into various rewards strategies. Today, we're going to explore where this card fits best within both a Built and an American Express ecosystem.

A Quick Perk Before We Dive In: If you're interested in adding this card to your wallet, there's a referral link in the description below! Sign up today and you can snag a $100 bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. That's the same sign-up bonus I recently got, and I'm pretty excited about it!

Now, let's break down the Rakuten card and its potential.

The Rakuten Credit Card: A Versatile Powerhouse

First, the headline feature for this no annual fee card: it earns 4% cash back (or 4x points) plus an additional 4% (or 4x points) on any Rakuten purchase. What does this mean? Let's say you're shopping at Macy's through the Rakuten portal and it's offering 3% back. Use your Rakuten card, and you'll get an additional 4% on top of that, effectively earning a massive 7x on that purchase if you transfer to Built or Amex! There's truly no other card like it that offers such a potent stacking opportunity.

Beyond that incredible shopping bonus, the Rakuten card also offers:

• 10% back on Rakuten dining (though availability can vary by location).

• 2% back on groceries and restaurants. While 2% isn't always top-tier, we'll see how it fits in.

• 1% back on everything else, standard for many cards.

Rakuten in the Built Ecosystem: A Synergistic Duo

The Rakuten card can be a fantastic complement to both Built's Obsidian and Platinum offerings.

1. Pairing with the Built Obsidian Card ($95 Annual Fee) The Built Obsidian card offers 3% back on either dining or groceries, with a cap of $25,000 in spend for your chosen category. This is where Rakuten shines! You can use your Obsidian card for your preferred 3% category (e.g., dining) and then leverage your Rakuten card to cover the other category (groceries) at 2%.

This $95 two-card setup provides:

• Access to all Built partners (Hyatt, United, and more).

• 2x on general travel with Obsidian.

• 4% on Built Cash (for rent/mortgage transaction costs).

• Cell phone protection.

• And of course, the potent 4% + 4% on Rakuten shopping with your Rakuten card!

2. Pairing with the Built Platinum Card ($495 Annual Fee) The Built Platinum card, a Mastercard World Elite, comes with a substantial 50,000 Built points sign-up bonus (though it has higher approval requirements). It earns 2x back on everyday spend and 4% on Built Cash, plus enhanced earnings on Built Neighborhood categories.

While the Platinum card is a strong contender on its own, adding the Rakuten card elevates your shopping game. Imagine a Black Friday sale offering 20x points via Rakuten for a Lululemon purchase. With your Rakuten credit card, that could become a staggering 24x! The Rakuten card truly becomes the shopping powerhouse, adding a unique dimension even to a premium card like the Built Platinum.

The Sweet Spot: Obsidian + Rakuten For many, the Obsidian card paired with the Rakuten card offers the most appealing sweet spot, providing strong category coverage for a modest annual fee.

A Crucial Note on Built Points: To transfer your Rakuten rewards to Built points at a 1:1 ratio past the current quarter, you'll need to achieve Built Silver status. The Built Platinum card does grant Gold status, ensuring 1:1 transfers. If you don't meet these requirements, your 4% Rakuten earnings would convert to a less attractive 2% for Built, essentially throwing money away. So, if you're eyeing Built points, make sure you have a plan to meet that Silver status!

Rakuten in the American Express Ecosystem: Supercharging Your Setup

The Rakuten card is an American Express network card, but its rewards can be channeled directly into your Membership Rewards earning cards, making it an incredible asset for Amex loyalists. You simply need a Membership Rewards earning card linked to your Rakuten account.

1. Pairing with the Amex Green Card ($150 Annual Fee) The Green Card earns 3x on dining, transit, and travel, and comes with a Clear credit. It's a solid start, and Rakuten can add a dedicated shopping multiplier to this setup.

2. Pairing with the Amex Gold Card ($325 Annual Fee) This is where the Rakuten card truly shines. The Amex Gold card, despite its $325 annual fee, offers fantastic credits (dining, Uber, Resy) that can effectively offset or even exceed the fee. Its core strength lies in earning 4x on dining and 4x on grocery store purchases, plus 3x on airfare.

With the Gold card covering your dining and groceries at 4x, the Rakuten card (with no additional annual fee!) adds a plus 4x category for all your shopping done through the Rakuten portal. This creates an incredibly powerful trifecta, locking down dining, groceries, and portal shopping at 4x.

Adding the Blue Business Plus: For those looking to optimize further, adding the no-annual-fee Blue Business Plus (2x on all other spend) to your Gold and Rakuten setup creates a formidable three-card combination for comprehensive rewards, all for the effective annual fee of the Gold card alone.

The Amex Network Caveat: It's important to remember that relying heavily on Amex cards means you might occasionally encounter merchants, especially smaller businesses or international vendors, that don't accept American Express. Having a Visa or Mastercard backup is always a good idea.

My Personal Strategy & Final Thoughts

Currently, I'm routing my Rakuten rewards to Built because I'm focused on accentuating my Hyatt or AAdvantage points. However, I recently applied for the Built Platinum card and was denied. So, for the time being (at least until I can reapply in 45 days), I'll be shifting my Rakuten earnings to my American Express Membership Rewards pile, which is already quite substantial!

The Rakuten card's ability to seamlessly integrate into both the Built and American Express ecosystems, offering powerful multipliers with no additional annual fee, truly makes it a standout. While the new Built 2.0 cards are excellent for the right kind of person within that specific ecosystem, the Rakuten card simply sweetens the pot for everyone.

What do you think? Are you planning to use the Rakuten card to boost your Built or Amex points? Do you agree that it's one of the biggest winners right now? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks so much for watching, and I can't wait to see you guys until next time. Have a great day! Bye!