LifeLock hack uncovered
You may have come across various posts or questions about LifeLock and its relevance to travel hacking. This detailed post explains what this offer is and why travel hacking enthusiasts often subscribe to it. PIN THIS POST FOR FUTURE REFERENCE
What is Rakuten?
Rakuten is a cashback and coupon platform that rewards users for shopping through their website or app. Formerly known as Ebates, Rakuten collaborates with thousands of retailers, both online and in-store. Rakuten tracks the purchase and provides cashback, which can be withdrawn via check, PayPal OR American Express Membership Reward Points. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up for FREE and earn $30 (3,000 MR) with my link:
American Express | Rakuten partnership
American Express has partnered with Rakuten to offer its members who have an AMEX credit card that earns MEMBERSHIP REWARDS the choice to earn MR points instead of cash back when they make purchases through Rakuten. This can provide greater value than the cash-back option, which offers only 1 cent per point. With this option, every dollar spent earns 100 MR points.
What is LifeLock?
LifeLock is an identity theft protection service that helps safeguard individuals’ personal information and finances from identity theft and fraud.
THE HACK
You might be thinking, “I don’t need identity protection”. You’re not alone; I used to ignore this offer as well until I found out about the HACK and why many travel hacking enthusiasts actually purchase this subscription. Although we don’t necessarily use it, I do like the VPNs that come with the subscription, so I use those.
Rakuten often has elevated offers (such as TODAY) for 95% back on LifeLock. That is 95x per $1 for those who are earning MR points. The lowest annual subscription available is $99, which would earn you 9,405 AMEX MR points. This is almost enough for a one-way flight to Europe via Air France or Virgin Atlantic Airlines for just $99.
Essentially, you are buying American Express points at a deep discount for about 1 cent per point, and sometimes less if you combine it with other credit card offers and multipliers.
How I earned over 50,000 AMEX MR points on each LifeLock Subscription:
I purchased the highest LifeLock subscription, the Family: Ultimate Plus Plan, for $491.88. I earned 95x via Rakuten for a total of 46,729 AMEX MR points.
But that’s not all, as AMEX has revamped their 4x earning categories on the AMEX Business Gold, I now earn an additional 4x back with Norton (which owns LifeLock). This earns me an additional 2,088 MR points.
Moreover, I had two additional offers on my AMEX card- one for 4x back on Norton and another for 25% back up to $60. You must enroll in these offers, and they are often targeted. Always check your AMEX offers, they often have really good ones to stack your earnings with!
To summarize, my LifeLock subscription earned me 50,905 AMEX MR points for $462 after taxes and fees.
Earnings Breakdown:
- 46,729 MR points via Rakuten
- 2,088 for using my Business Gold
- 2,088 from my AMEX offer.
Are you still hesitant about whether it’s a good deal? I redeemed those same 50,000 points for my business class flight to Spain, which would have cost over $5,700 if purchased with cash. That’s right – I received 10x the value of those points!
