Rakuten's one-day card event (Sept 28, 2026) stacks with bank bonuses: BofA Travel Rewards $400 + $250, Citi Strata Premier $150 + 60,000 points, and more.
Rakuten is running a one-day Credit Card Offer Event today, Monday, September 28, 2026. Six cards pay more Rakuten Cash Back than usual, and on five of them that cash back comes on top of the welcome bonus the bank already pays. The biggest pair with no annual fee: the Bank of America Travel Rewards card pays $400 from Rakuten plus $250 from Bank of America, on $1,000 of spending. The biggest in total value is the Citi Strata Premier: $150 from Rakuten plus 60,000 Citi ThankYou Points, but it takes $4,000 of spending and carries a $95 annual fee.
Rakuten's own words on the event page: "Today only–elevated Cash Back from top-rated credit cards." The page runs a countdown and publishes no end time, so the event page is the only source of truth: if it still shows the higher number when you click, you are in the window.
New to Rakuten? Join through our link before you apply. Rakuten pays new members $50 after $50 of qualifying spending within 90 days, and the event amounts below are paid to Rakuten members who apply through Rakuten. Rakuten pays us the same $50 when you join through our link.
The Rakuten payout and the card's welcome bonus are separate. Rakuten says it plainly on every card's page: "Cash Back provided by Rakuten, not Bank of America" (and the same line for Chase and Citi). The bank pays its own welcome bonus once you meet its spending requirement. Rakuten pays its cash back for being approved through its link.
| Card | Rakuten today (usual) | The bank's own welcome bonus | Together, in dollars | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Travel Rewards | $400 (was $125) | 25,000 points after $1,000 in 90 days, "which can be redeemed for a $250 statement credit toward travel and dining purchases" | $650 | $0 |
| Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards | $200 (was $75) | $250 after $1,000 in 90 days | $450 | $0 |
| Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards | $200 (was $75) | $200 after $1,000 in 90 days | $400 | $0 |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited | $100 if you are new to Chase, $50 if you already bank or carry a card with Chase (was $25) | $200 after $500 in 3 months | $300 new to Chase, $250 existing | $0 |
| Citi Strata Premier | $150 (was $50) | 60,000 ThankYou Points after $4,000 in 3 months | $150 plus 60,000 points (about $1,080 at our transfer valuation) | $95 |
Bank of America figures are from bankofamerica.com, Chase's from creditcards.chase.com, Citi's offer and fee from citi.com, all read today. We value Citi ThankYou Points at 1.8 cents each when transferred to airline partners (our valuation as of May 19, 2026); Citi's gift card and cash redemptions are worth less. The Rakuten figures are from each card's store page on Rakuten.
You want the most for the least spending, with no annual fee: Bank of America Travel Rewards. $400 from Rakuten, then 25,000 points that Bank of America itself values as a $250 statement credit toward travel and dining. No annual fee, and Bank of America lists no foreign transaction fees on it.
You want plain cash with no categories to track: Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards. $200 from Rakuten plus $250 from the bank, then 1.5% cash back on everything.
You spend a lot in one category: Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards. Bank of America's page: "6% cash back in the category of your choice – for the first year," then 3% after the first year. The quarterly cap on the bonus categories is in the terms on the application page; read it before you pick a category.
You already hold a Chase Sapphire card, or want to start with Chase: Chase Freedom Unlimited. Its $200 bonus arrives as 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points. Cashed out, that is $200. Moved to a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve account, the same points can go to Chase's travel partners. Chase's eligibility line, verbatim: "This product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months."
You want the biggest total and will transfer points to airlines: Citi Strata Premier. $150 from Rakuten plus Citi's "60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months," for a $95 annual fee. It earns 3 points per dollar on air travel and other hotel purchases, at restaurants, at supermarkets and on gas and EV charging, 10 on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on cititravel.com, and 1 on everything else. Once a year it takes $100 off "a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees)" booked through Citi Travel, which covers most of the fee if you'd book that stay anyway. There is no foreign transaction fee, and points transfer to American Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, Cathay, EVA Air, Choice Hotels, The Leading Hotels of the World and others.
Two Citi rules to check first. The $4,000 has to go on the card in 3 months, four times Bank of America's requirement. And Citi says the bonus "is not available if you currently have or previously had a Citi Strata Premier® or a Citi Premier® account." Confirm the offer on the application page that opens from Rakuten before you submit; Citi notes offers "may vary."
The Rakuten American Express Card shows "$200 Cash Back, was $100." For this card, the Rakuten payout is the welcome bonus itself, not a second layer on top. Rakuten's page shows two versions of the terms: one tile says "a $200 bonus when you spend $2,000 in the first 90 days," another says "a $100 bonus when you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days." Check the application page for the version you are actually offered.
If your Rakuten account pays out in Amex Membership Rewards, Rakuten converts 1 point per cent, so $400 arrives as 40,000 Membership Rewards points. If it pays out in Bilt Points, Bilt converts 100 points per $1 of cash back at Silver, Gold and Platinum and 50 at Blue, so $400 is 40,000 or 20,000 Bilt Points. The payout method is a Rakuten account setting; you choose it before the cash back is paid. Why the Bilt tier matters so much for that conversion is in our Bilt Palladium write-up.
Posting time, verbatim from Rakuten: "Cash Back will be automatically added to your Rakuten account within a few months." Rakuten also notes: "Applying for a new credit card may impact your credit score." Each bank's own approval rules still apply, and Rakuten's payout depends on being approved.
Rakuten's referral offer pays new members $50 after $50 of qualifying spend within 90 days. Our link, and Rakuten pays us the same $50 when you join through it: rewardsguru.club/go/rakuten.
Rakuten amounts and terms read from rakuten.com/banking-finance/credit-cards and each card's Rakuten store page on Monday, September 28, 2026. Welcome offers read the same day from bankofamerica.com, creditcards.chase.com and citi.com. The event is today only; the Rakuten page is the only source of truth for whether it is still live.
Related reading: Rakuten's earlier Bank of America Travel Rewards offer, and how the points redeem