The Rakuten Card
Core team: Kristin Graham, Mary Unger, Sarah Simonetti, Alyssa Janssen
The brief
Design a look-and-feel system for the new Rakuten American Express credit card. Entice Rakuten members to sign up and earn extra Cash Back with every purchase.
Positioning
For savvy shoppers who want to get more from every purchase, the Rakuten American Express Card is the most rewarding card for shopping, turning your everyday spending into a more rewarding shopping experience across every category. It’s the easiest way to maximize your savings with simplicity, flexibility and no annual fee.
Creative approach
Shopping with Rakuten just got more rewarding.
Lead with 4% Cash Back messaging, ensuring “extra” Cash Back is clearly communicated / Hero the card visually / Integrate merchant logos
Concept exploration
Starting with a rough layout from our credit card partner (far left) that provided guidance on content best-practices, we conducted an extensive competitive audit led us to three different concepts.
Each look-and-feel hit on a different flavor—lifestyle imagery, shopping for everything, and product experience.
After multiple rounds of exploration, including approval from our U.S. CEO and leadership in Japan, we had a direction.
Launch creative
Our goal with launch was to build awareness, convert hand-raisers, and test and learn with offers. No surface was left untouched, and variants existed for pre-approved, ITA (invitation to apply), and generic audiences.
We designed all assets in-house, managing feedback from our credit card partner, legal, and American Express along the way.
Continued expansion
Post-launch, we’ve continued to update the credit card assets to keep them fresh and interesting, and to test new messaging strategies. Throughout the holidays, we created content to cross promote special merchant rates with the card—even more savings!
Results
Sign-ups
35k total applications since launch, meeting the program’s initial goals
Limited-time bonus promotion offer drove +63% increase in sign-ups vs previous month and additional +58% increase in spend vs previous 10 days
Spending
$11.6M total card spend as of Dec 2025; $15K per active cardholder
Driving incremental purchases across online, in-store, and dining: +36% online; +334% in-store; +424% dining, all contributing to Rakuten member lifetime value
Fun fact
Credit card partners noted that [bank name redacted] is revamping one of their cards and had the Rakuten card on their mood board