Earn Amex Points Fast Without Opening a New Credit Card

Earn Amex points fast without opening a new credit card. Right now, Rakuten is running 100% cash back on three Nord security brands: NordVPN, Coveron (formerly NordProtect), and NordPass. That’s not a typo. One hundred percent. Every dollar you spend comes back to you as a transferable point.

These offers stack. Each brand is a separate merchant, so Rakuten treats each purchase independently. Buy one, two, or all three. And if you’re a new Rakuten member, you get a 5,000-point signup bonus on top.

Buy the highest-earning plan at all three plus the new member bonus and you walk away with 33,122 transferable Amex Membership Rewards or Bilt Rewards points for $281.22. That’s the max play. But the flexibility is the point. Pick the products you’d actually use, at whatever tier fits your budget, and the points scale with your spend.

This isn’t a credit card signup bonus. It’s not a spending requirement over three months. It’s a few purchases through Rakuten that take about five minutes each, and the points land in your account within a few weeks. Here’s exactly how the math works, which plan to buy at each brand, and how to set it up correctly so your points actually track.

How to Set Up Your Rakuten Account for Points (Not Cash)

This is the most important step and the one most people skip. By default, Rakuten pays you in cash back. You need to switch your payout to earn Amex Membership Rewards or Bilt Rewards points instead. If you don’t do this before purchasing, you’ll get cash instead of points.

Create a free Rakuten account if you don’t have one yet. New members earn 5,000 bonus points after their first qualifying purchase of $50+ (which you’ll hit easily with any of these offers).
Go to your Rakuten Account Settings
Under Cash Back Preference, switch from cash to either Amex Membership Rewards or Bilt Rewards
Link your Amex or Bilt account when prompted
Install the Rakuten browser extension so you never miss a deal

Once your account is set to earn points, every dollar of cash back becomes one point. So 100% cash back becomes 100x points per dollar. That’s where the magic happens, and at 100%, the product is effectively free. You’re converting dollars into transferable points at a 1:1 rate and keeping the subscription.

Not sure whether to choose Amex or Bilt points? We wrote a full breakdown here.

The Three Offers and How They Stack

First, Rakuten offers change daily. These are live as of the time of posting this article, but may not be live for long. Make sure you’re signed up for C9C daily emails so you get notified when these time-sensitive opportunities pop up.

All three of these were previously at 20%. They’re at 100% right now. That’s a five-fold jump, and rates that high tend to get pulled quietly.

They’re stackable because they’re three different merchants. Rakuten treats each as a separate qualifying purchase. So whether you buy one product or all three, every dollar earns at the elevated rate, and the new member signup bonus pays out on the first purchase that hits $50+.

NordVPN — 100% Cash Back

Buy: 2-year Basic plan — $94.23 → 9,423 points

Here’s the counterintuitive part. Basic is the plan you want, not Complete or Prime. Cash back on NordVPN is only earned on the Basic portion of a bundled subscription, so the pricier tiers cost more and earn less. Basic at $94.23 for 27 months is the highest fully-earning option on the menu.

If you already use a VPN, this is a straightforward swap. If you don’t, you’re getting one for free and 9,423 points on top.

New NordVPN customers only, on initial signup. One per Rakuten member.

Coveron (formerly NordProtect) — 100% Cash Back

Buy: 2-year Identity Theft Protection plan — $119.76 → 11,976 points

This is the biggest single earner of the three. Coveron is an identity theft protection service with dark web monitoring, credit monitoring, real-time alerts, and identity theft recovery coverage. The Identity Theft Protection tier at $119.76 for 24 months includes $2M in identity theft insurance, $50K in cyber extortion insurance, credit monitoring, financial account monitoring, and more.

Same tier logic applies here as with NordVPN: Full Protection costs more but only earns on part of the bundle, so Identity Theft Protection is the sweet spot.

One note if you were an early adopter — if you already earned cash back with NordProtect before the rebrand, you’re not eligible again under the Coveron name.

NordPass — 100% Cash Back

Buy: 2-year Family Premium plan — $67.23 → 6,723 points

NordPass is the password manager in the Nord family, and it’s the only one of the three with no plan-tier restriction on earning. That means Family Premium — the top tier — earns the full 100%.

At $67.23 for 27 months, that’s about $2.49/month for a password manager covering your whole household, and you get every dollar back as points. First-time subscribers only, one per Rakuten member.

If you’re a new Rakuten member and you go all-in on the max stack:

Coveron Identity Theft Protection: 11,976 points
NordVPN 2-year Basic: 9,423 points
NordPass Family Premium: 6,723 points
Rakuten signup bonus (new members): 5,000 points

Total: 33,122 points for $281.22

*Always read Rakuten fine print for each vendor as offers change regularly and some products may not qualify.

That’s over 33,000 transferable points for under $282, valued very conservatively at around $497 in travel and easily north of $1,000 on the right premium cabin redemption.

Even without the signup bonus, the max stack still nets you 28,122 points for $281.22.

Rules to Follow So Your Points Track

These Rakuten promotions are straightforward, but there are a few rules you need to follow or your points won’t track:

Switch to points. Make sure your Rakuten account is set to earn Amex or Bilt points, not cash back.

Click through Rakuten before purchasing. You must start from the Rakuten portal (or browser extension) and click through to LifeLock, Surfshark, or NordVPN. If you go directly to their websites, Rakuten won’t track the purchase.

Don’t use external coupon codes. Using promotional codes that aren’t listed on Rakuten can void your points. Stick to whatever Rakuten shows you.

Don’t cancel too early. Canceling your subscription within 60-90 days (depending on the offer) will result in Rakuten clawing back your points. Read the fine print on each offer.

No free trials. Points are not available on free trial signups. You need to purchase a paid plan.

Choose annual billing. You only earn the 95x multiplier on your first payment. If you choose monthly billing, you’ll earn 95x on just the first month’s charge and miss out on the bulk of the points. After purchasing, the transaction should appear as “pending” in your Rakuten account within a few days, initially showing $0. It will update to the correct amount later. Points from Rakuten pay out quarterly (the next payout date is typically shown in your account).

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking to earn Amex points fast or build your Bilt balance without opening a new credit card or hitting a minimum spend, a 100% cash back rate is about as clean as it gets. You’re not chasing a multiplier or doing mental math on cents-per-point — you’re trading dollars for transferable points at 1:1 and keeping the product.

Under $282 for more than 33,000 transferable points, plus three subscriptions you didn’t have to pay for. Set your Rakuten account to earn points (not cash), click through the portal, buy the right tier at each brand, and let the points roll in.

Rates like this don’t sit at 100% for long. If you’ve been putting off a VPN, a password manager, or identity monitoring, this is the window.

Create your free Rakuten account and earn 5,000 bonus points →

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