How to Use Rakuten’s “0 and 5 Days”: Stack Them With Sales

The “0 and 5 Days” Campaign Is Built Around the Rakuten Card

Rakuten Ichiba has a small bonus day six times a month: the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th and 30th. People call them the “0 and 5 Days” (0 to 5 no tsuku hi), and in one sentence, these are days when only people who pay with a Rakuten Card get extra points. The date itself carries no discount. The trigger is paying with an eligible card. Get that wrong and you can shop on the day and end up with nothing extra.

How the bonus is applied changes over time, but the basic form is that purchases made with a Rakuten Card earn several times more points on top of the regular points. Higher-tier cards such as the Rakuten Premium Card or Rakuten Gold Card can sometimes earn another layer in a separate allotment. So for anyone who uses a card within the Rakuten ecosystem, the “0 and 5 Days” are a regular event you lose out on if you ignore it, and for people without the card they are mostly irrelevant.

Eligible Payment Methods and Common Misunderstandings

First, get clear on which payment methods count. Even among things with “card” in the name, some are eligible and some are not, and this is where people trip up most on these days. The general tendencies are roughly as follows (the categories can change, so check the official information in the end).

The most common case is assuming “I paid with Rakuten Pay, so it should be fine.” Even if the funding source for Rakuten Pay is set to your Rakuten Card, if the Ichiba campaign requires “credit card payment with a Rakuten Card,” the judgment can differ when you pay through Pay. The higher the return you are aiming for, the more it helps to build a habit of checking, just before you confirm the order, that the payment method screen shows “Rakuten Card”. Missed bonuses drop sharply.

Enter Before You Buy, and Enter for Several Campaigns

Most failures on these days come not from misjudging the return rate but from forgetting to enter. However high the multiplier, it is zero without registration. The tricky part is that entry is separate for each campaign. Entering for the “0 and 5 Days” and entering for a Shopping Marathon running at the same time are different things, and many people press just one and feel done.

1. Go to the entry page before putting items in your cartIf you enter after confirming the order, that order may not count. The safe sequence is to register first and then go back to the product page.
2. Look over every campaign running that dayYou may see separate entry buttons lined up for the “0 and 5 Days,” the Shopping Marathon / Super SALE, shop-specific coupons and so on.
3. Check whether there is an extra for higher-tier cardsThe bonus for Premium and Gold Cards can require its own entry, separate from the regular one. If you hold one, do not overlook it.
4. If you buy several times on the same day, check whether the first entry is enoughIn many cases one entry covers the whole day, but it is reassuring to read the notes shown after you enter.

A useful tip is to decide in advance to “bundle your shopping into the next day with a 5 or 0.” Because the dates are fixed, they are easy to put on a calendar or reminder, and pressing the entry button becomes a habit. Holding off for just one day to bundle purchases, rather than buying on impulse, greatly reduces what you miss.

The Real Payoff Is on “Stacked Days”: Combining With Sales

On its own, the “0 and 5 Days” bonus is not very large. What really counts is when the date overlaps with other campaigns. Rakuten is designed so several bonuses stack on the same purchase, so just aiming for overlapping days changes how many points come back on the same item. Here are the typical campaigns to stack with.

Campaigns that stack well

• Shopping Marathon: the multiplier rises the more shops you buy from. It pairs well if you can plan how many shops you will buy from.
• Rakuten Super SALE: a large sale held several times a year. It works like the Marathon, and it also includes discounts on featured items.
• SPU (Super Point UP Program): an “everyday boost” based on how you use Rakuten’s various services. The more conditions you meet, the higher your standing multiplier.
• Shop-specific coupons and points: coupons that each shop hands out often work separately from the multipliers above.

Picture it like this: the card bonus of the “0 and 5 Days” is the “base layer,” the Marathon or SALE is the “event layer,” and the SPU is the “everyday boost,” all stacking on the same order. So the target is clear: a day with a 5 or 0 that falls within a Marathon or Super SALE period. Shifting purchases you already planned to that day is the most straightforward and repeatable way to earn more.

How to Choose Between the “0 and 5 Days” and Other Bonus Programs

Rakuten Ichiba has several bonus mechanisms side by side, and it is easy to wonder which one to build your shopping days around. The “0 and 5 Days” is a relatively simple allotment that requires paying with a Rakuten Card (or an affiliated payment method). Its strength is that it works for any product category as long as the date matches, and conversely the only deciding factor is whether you can wait for the date. Here we compare it with the options people commonly weigh against it.

Fixed-date type versus period type

The Shopping Marathon and Super SALE are “period types” that are held irregularly and run for several days. The bonus depends on how many shops you buy from, so the more you buy in bulk, the more it pays off, but in a month when you only buy one item the benefit is thin. The “0 and 5 Days,” by contrast, is a “fixed-date type” that comes around several times a month, and it works the same on a day when you buy just one thing. When you want to buy a single item this week, this one is easier to calculate.

The SPU (Super Point UP Program) has a different character again. It is built on how you use Rakuten services day to day. It is an always-on boost unrelated to dates, so it does not compete with the “0 and 5 Days” or the Marathon. It is not a matter of picking one. Thinking in three layers makes it clear: base (SPU) + period (Marathon) + date (“0 and 5 Days”).

Sort by Whether It Is “Worth Waiting For”

The criterion is simple: can this purchase wait a few days? For restocking daily necessities or standard items with plenty of stock, waiting for the next eligible day is often the better deal. On the other hand, for items with sale-only quantity limits or items whose prices are hard to predict, the conditions themselves can disappear while you wait. The bonus is a perk “if you managed to buy,” and if you cannot buy, it is zero.

On a day that overlaps with a period-type sale, you can meet both sets of conditions at once. Waiting for this overlap is the most efficient approach, but in some months the dates do not line up. In that case, “spreading low-cap allotments across several days” is also a valid idea, and splitting purchases across days can sometimes lose less than bundling them into one large purchase.

The Point Cap: Watch for the Ceiling on Big Purchases

A little-known fact is that the bonus points you get on the “0 and 5 Days” have a cap. Looking only at the multiplier, expensive items seem better, but once you reach the cap it tops out, and no matter how much more you buy the bonus does not grow. The complaint “it said several times the points, but I spent a lot and got back less than I expected” is usually about this cap.

The cap amount and how it is counted (per order, daily total or monthly) change over time, so we cannot state them definitively, but the way to think about it is the same.

• Use stacked days for expensive single items: rather than collecting right up to the cap in one day, there are cases where combining capped campaigns is more efficient.
• Think in terms of both “multiplier × cap”: even with a high multiplier, a low cap limits the total you get back. Do not judge by the displayed multiplier alone.
• Estimate the amount returned conservatively: subtract the cap and excluded items (some products may be excluded from earning points), and the gap shrinks.

For example, for a purchase such as a single appliance costing several hundred thousand yen, it is safe to assume you will likely hit the cap. For such items, taking the approach of spreading the purchase across several campaigns with separate caps tends to give a larger total return. In any case, if the order screen shows an estimate of “points you will earn with this order,” check it before confirming.

Check Before You Buy: Aligning Payment and Viewing Conditions

It seems to me that missed bonuses on the “0 and 5 Days” come more often from your own setup being slightly off the conditions than from a lack of understanding of the campaign. There are no physical installation requirements, but there are dividing lines between “works” and “does not work” in payment methods, apps and login status. A single check before buying means you only need to repeat the same steps afterward.

Confirm that your payment method is eligible

First, check whether the card you pay with is in a family of cards explicitly named as eligible for the campaign. If you have several cards registered to your Rakuten Ichiba account, the default on the order screen may still be the card you used last time, which is a typical cause of missed bonuses. If you have registered a family card or a card in a family member’s name, it also helps to check that the name matches your member information.

Also, when you pay partly with points or combine other payment methods, the common treatment is that only the portion paid by card counts. The more points you apply, the smaller the amount the bonus is calculated on. Decide before ordering which you prioritize: using up points that are about to expire, or collecting the bonus.

Apps, Browsers and Login Status

1. Check which account you are logged in toAre you still logged in to different accounts on your phone and PC? If the account you entered with differs from the one you buy with, the conditions are not met.
2. See whether there is an app-only conditionDepending on the campaign, buying through the app may be part of the conditions. If you plan to buy in a browser, read through that round’s conditions first.
3. Check your browser settingsPrivate mode, strong tracking-prevention settings or ad-blocking extensions can keep your entry from being recorded properly. It is safer to use a normal window only when shopping.
4. Check the shops of the items in your cartSee whether anything treated as ineligible (some service vouchers or special-order items, for example) is mixed into your cart.

Items Where the “Order Date” and the “Payment Confirmation Date” Differ

One easily missed point is how pre-order and special-order items are handled. Whether the campaign is judged on the order date or on the shipping or payment confirmation date is written differently from round to round. Even if you order a pre-order item with a distant release date on an eligible day, if the judgment uses a later date it may fall outside the conditions. When you buy pre-order items, always read how the “eligible order period” is written in that round’s conditions.

What Happens If You Cancel or Return

If you cancel an order or return an item, the bonus for that portion is cancelled. Even a partial return is normally adjusted in proportion to the returned portion. When you bulk-buy things like clothing that you may exchange for a different size on an eligible day, assuming “fewer points will come back” makes for less disappointment.

What Comes Back Are “Limited-Time Points”: How to Use Them Up Before They Expire

The bonus points from this campaign are, in most cases, limited-time points. Unlike regular points, their expiry is short, and they tend to be credited weeks later or the following month. “They vanished before I knew it” is one of the most wasteful mistakes in the Rakuten ecosystem.

• Know the credit date and the expiry date together: the points screen shows regular and limited-time points separately, and the limited-time portion shows its expiry. Make it a habit to look there first.
• Spend them first on everyday payments: if you apply limited-time points first to your next Rakuten Ichiba purchase, or to payments at supported physical stores and with Rakuten Pay, you will naturally use them up.
• Do not hoard them: “saving for a big purchase” until they expire is the classic mistake. The rule is to use the ones with the shortest expiry first.

Conversely, the more regularly you shop on Rakuten Ichiba, the more naturally limited-time points circulate as “a discount on your next purchase.” If you can build a rhythm of spending what you earned on one “0 and 5 Day” on the next one, you can run it with almost no worry about expiry.

Different Shopping Styles Mean Different Target Days

Even with the same campaign, the efficient approach changes a lot depending on how much you use Rakuten Ichiba each month. Here are four patterns that commonly diverge, with the direction to aim for and the moves to avoid.

The type who restocks daily necessities in bulk

If you are someone with a fixed list of things you always buy, such as detergent, toilet paper and pet food, you should be the best match for this campaign. Shifting your purchase day does no harm, so the quickest approach is to fix an eligible day as your restocking day. Keep a running note of what will run out before the next eligible day, and the work on the day takes just a few minutes.

What to avoid is buying daily necessities in small pieces to chase the shop count of a period-type sale. Buying from the same shop in one go would mean paying shipping just once, but splitting purchases to increase the number of shops can cost more in shipping than you gain in bonus.

The type who makes a larger purchase a few times a year

If your shopping centers on high-priced items such as appliances and furniture, you hit the cap wall first. A single order reaches the cap, so even if you concentrate it on an eligible day you are likely to miss some. If possible, ordering the main unit and the accessories or consumables on different days can raise the total you receive. However, for products with set discounts or bundled-shipping conditions, not splitting can be better, so give priority to the conditions on the product page.

The type who does not use Rakuten much

For someone who opens Rakuten Ichiba only a few times a year, the cost of waiting for an eligible day tends to be greater. Rather than spending time on entries, checking conditions and adjusting dates, buying what you need at the shop you need it from often leaves you more satisfied. Also, since what comes back is points with an expiry, the fewer chances you have to use them, the higher the risk of expiry. If you have no plan to buy on Rakuten again, there is no need to force yourself to aim for it.

The type who shares shopping among family members

In households where each family member buys with a separate account, the pitfall is that entry is required for each account. “Someone in our family entered, so we’re fine” does not hold. Also, the points you earn are separated by account, so the structure tends to scatter small amounts that then expire. Consolidating wherever possible makes management easier, for example by moving daily-necessity purchases to one account or aligning payment with a family card.

Your Everyday Routine So You Don’t Miss Out

Let us put what we have covered into practice. You do not need difficult techniques. If you make the two habits of “bundle your buying days” and “check two things before paying”, you will pick up most of the benefit automatically.

1. Hold what you want to buy until the “next bonus day”If it is not urgent, bundle it into a day with a 5 or 0, ideally one that overlaps a Marathon. Jotting it on a list also cuts impulse buying.
2. When the day comes, press all the entries firstThe “0 and 5 Days,” the Marathon / SALE and the extra for higher-tier cards: finish the entries lined up on the page before shopping.
3. Check that the payment method in the cart is “Rakuten Card”Always check, just before confirming, that it has not switched to Rakuten Pay or another company’s card.
4. Check the estimate of “points you will earn” before orderingAt a glance before confirming, check that you have not hit the cap and that no ineligible items are mixed in.
5. Once credited, use the ones with the shortest expiry firstDo not hoard limited-time points. Spend them first on your next purchase and you can get expiry close to zero.

Common Missed Bonuses and How to Prevent Them

Finally, here are the mistakes with this campaign that you tend to notice only afterward. All of them can be prevented if you know how it works, but they are surprisingly easy to overlook in the flow of an order.

You think you entered, but you did not

This is the most common one. Opening the campaign page does not complete the entry. One step is pressing the button and confirming that the display changes to “Entered.” Also, entries basically reset each month or each round, so having pressed it last time is no proof for this time. Make it a habit to check the status on that day’s campaign page before putting items in your cart.

Too much payment by points shrinks the eligible amount

If you try to use up points that are about to expire and cover most of the payment with points, only the card-paid portion is counted, so what you receive gets smaller. A simple solution is to separate the days you spend expiring points from the days you aim for the bonus. If you have points to spare, it fits better to lean on card payment for the orders where you are aiming for the bonus and use up the points on other purchases.

Concentrating expensive items without knowing the cap

Normally a cap is set on what is awarded, and no bonus is added above that amount. If you concentrate expensive purchases on an eligible day, you can end up with “I bought on a cheap day, but the bonus topped out.” There are several eligible days in a month, so if you hold the idea of moving non-urgent items to the next one, you miss less.

Letting the points you received expire

What comes back from this kind of campaign is almost always points with an expiry. The credit comes a little after the purchase, so a common pattern is that they arrive when you have forgotten and vanish without you noticing. Put the scheduled credit date and the expiry date in your calendar, or set a day each month to open the point balance screen, and you can prevent most expiry.

Responding to notices that pose as the campaign

The period around an eligible day is also a time when fake emails and messages posing as the campaign are likely to arrive. A standard trick is to rush you with alarming text to get you to click a link, such as “Your entry is not complete” or “Your points are about to expire.” Even if a notice arrives, do not proceed from the link in the body. Always open it from the app or from an entry point you bookmarked yourself. That one extra step avoids most of the risk. If a screen asks you to enter login information or a card number, close it and check again from the official entry point.

Mixing up the conditions of multiple campaigns

When several campaigns run on the same day, you lose track of which condition corresponds to which bonus. The Marathon’s shop-count condition, the date condition and a shop’s own condition are each separate, and meeting one does not earn the other. Right before buying, try listing aloud the conditions you think this order satisfies, and gaps become easier to spot.

Frequently Asked Questions