diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
index a3bae89f64..142a40fa99 100644
--- a/builtin/rebase.c
+++ b/builtin/rebase.c
@@ -1207,7 +1207,9 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			     builtin_rebase_usage, 0);
 
 	if (preserve_merges_selected)
-		die(_("--preserve-merges was replaced by --rebase-merges"));
+		die(_("--preserve-merges was replaced by --rebase-merges\n"
+			"Note: Your `pull.rebase` configuration may also be  set to 'preserve',\n"
+			"which is no longer supported; use 'merges' instead"));
 
 	if (action != ACTION_NONE && total_argc != 2) {
 		usage_with_options(builtin_rebase_usage,