When you are ready to check out on Amazon website to complete your purchase, you usually get prompted to get the Amazon credit card. Is the Amazon credit card worth it? Please scroll below for the Amazon credit cards review.
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If you do a considerable amount of online shopping at Amazon, the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card is the best Amazon credit card to use to pay for those purchases on Amazon.com. Based on my Amazon credit cards review, this card offers one of the highest earn rate at 5% for shopping at Amazon and Whole Foods Market with no caps or limits. If you are a Amazon Prime member, you can even offset the Prime membership fee with the Rewards points earned from your purchases with this card.
Amazon offers 4 different types of credit cards
- Two of which are the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature cards, one for Prime members and the other for non- Prime members.
- A credit score of 670+ is generally required to get the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature cards.
- There are two Store card versions, one for Prime members and the other for non-Prime members
- The Store cards generally require a credit score of 640+ for approval.
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Prime Day Shopping in 2020
Amazon sold $10.4 billion worth of goods on Prime Day, up 45.2% from $7.16 billion in 2019.
Globally, the best-selling products were as expected, Amazon’s own products: its Alexa-enabled Echo Dot and Fire Stick 4K. Other notable big sellers included iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuum, LifeStraw Personal Water Filter and LEGO Star Wars Stormtrooper Helmet.
Amazon Prime Day in 2021 (June 21-22) is also expected to be record breaking.
Benefits of Prime membership
Amazon Prime membership has an annual fee of $119 and gives you access to a number of benefits, including free two-day shipping, access to Prime Video and exclusive discounts at Whole Foods. Amazon also offers a 30 day free trial of Prime membership, and you can pay the membership fee in one lump sum or on a monthly basis. You can take advantage of the free trial offer during the Prime Day promotion to preview the Prime membership benefits. Amazon also offers Prime membership to students at a 50% discount.
Best Amazon Credit Card
For Prime members, who are regularly spending on Amazon.com, and looking to earn the most cash back from Amazon purchases (including for Prime Day purchases), the best Amazon credit card to use is the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card. My Amazon credit cards review finds that this Amazon credit card comes with good earn values not just for Amazon purchases but also for everyday spend categories.
For new cardholders, Amazon is offering a $150 bonus (as of June 20, 2021) once you are approved for the card. Upon approval of your Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card application, the $150 bonus will be applied as a Gift Card and will be loaded into your Amazon account. Usually card issuers require meeting a spend threshold within a specified time period to receive a welcome bonus offer. However, the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature cards provide the welcome bonus with card approval without requiring any spend thresholds.
The $150 bonus can help offset the $119 Prime membership fee for the first year. Subsequently, spending $2,380 per year can help offset the cost of the Prime membership.
All cardholders earn 5% Rewards points (which is equal to 5 points, for each $1 spent) on purchases at Amazon and Whole Foods Market, 2% (i.e. 2 points for each $1 spent) on purchases at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores, and 1% (i.e. 1 point for each $1 spent) for all other purchases.
On the redemption of points earned, points can be redeemed for cash through statement credit or deposited into an eligible checking or savings account held by a financial institution located in the United States. Other redemption options include travel, gift cards, and to redeem for eligible purchases at Amazon.com. Points do not expire as long as the card account remains open, and there is no minimum redemption amount.
The Amazon Rewards Visa Signature cards are issued by Chase Bank. Unlike the other no annual fee Chase credit cards which usually have a 3% foreign transaction fee, the Amazon Visa Signature cards do not have a foreign transaction fee. The Amazon Visa Signature cards also come with the Signature benefits including Concierge service to help with event bookings, Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection offering various hotel amenities, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Reimbursement, and Purchase Protection.
Generally, a credit score in the range of Good/Excellent (670+) is required to qualify for the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature card.
Amazon Credit Card for non-Prime consumers
For those consumers who shop frequently at Amazon but do not want to commit to a Prime membership, you can take advantage of the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature card. The earn rate for shopping at Amazon and Whole Foods Market is a respectable 3%. You will also earn 2% Rewards points for purchases at restaurants; gas stations; drugstores. If you become a Prime member, you can upgrade to the Amazon Prime Visa Signature card and receive the additional 2% for Amazon and Whole Foods Market purchases.
Currently (as of June 20, 2021) Amazon is offering a $50 Gift Card for opening the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature card.
Amazon Credit Cards Review – Amazon Store Cards
Amazon also offers 2 store cards which can only be used at Amazon.com. At Credit and Cents, our goal is to help our readers build credit, save on borrowing costs, and ultimately gain financial freedom. With that goal in mind, you should know that these 2 store cards have a high 25.99% interest rate. I can see how these Amazon store cards can be helpful in 2 situations – one when being used to help build credit (with paying any balances in full monthly) and two when used to finance large purchases with the objective of paying off the financed amount by the end of the intro period.
My Amazon credit card review shows that the store cards provide interest-free financing for 6, 12, or 24 months along the lines of deferred interest. This means that you have to pay all interest (calculated at the 25.99% APR) that has accrued during the intro period (of 6/12/24 months) if you don’t pay your balance in full before the intro period ends. So it is very important that with deferred interest scenario, that you are able to pay off the entire balance owed before the intro period ends (while continuing to make monthly payments as required).
There are 2 versions of the Store cards, one for Prime members and the other for non-Prime customers. For the Amazon Store card for Prime members, cardholders have to choose between earning 5% back or using a promotional financing period. This means that for a TV purchased for say $1200, you can get 2 years of free interest (if you chose the financing option) or $60 in Reward points (if you chose the 5% back option). Currently, Amazon is offering a $100 bonus offer for the Prime Store card version.
The Amazon Store cards are issued by Synchrony Bank, and generally require a minimum credit score in the range of Fair credit (640+) for approval.
Amazon Credit Cards Review Summary Table
|
|
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card |
Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card |
Amazon Prime Store Card |
Amazon Store Card |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Annual Fee |
$0 |
$0 | $0 |
$0 |
| Welcome Bonus |
$150 |
$50 | $100 |
$10 |
| APR |
14.24%-22.24% |
14.24%-22.24% | 25.99% |
25.99% |
| Earn |
5% on Amazon and Whole Foods/ 2% restaurants, gas, drug stores/ 1% all else |
3% on Amazon and Whole Foods/ 2% restaurants, gas, drug stores/ 1% all else | 5% (opt-in reqd) |
N/A |
| Redemption |
1% (Cash, Gift Card, Travel, Offset Purchases). No min redemption |
1% (Cash, Gift Card, Travel, Offset Purchases)
No min redemption |
1% (Cash, Offset Purchases)
No min redemption |
N/A |
| Credit Score Required |
670+ |
670+ | 640+ |
640+ |
| Foreign Currency Transaction Fee |
None |
None | None | None |
| Visa Signature Perks |
Concierge, Luxury Hotel Collection, Auto Rental, Purchase Protection etc |
Concierge, Luxury Hotel Collection, Auto Rental, Purchase Protection etc | N/A |
N/A |
| Other Considerations |
Best for earning Rewards points on Amazon.com. Also good for everyday spend purchases. Highest welcome bonus in our review of the Amazon credit cards. |
Good earn rate of Rewards points for purchases at Amazon.com. Also good for everyday purchases. Welcome bonus below par. | Since you can opt in to earn 5% instead of financing option, this store card is the better option between the 2 store cards. Use this card for credit building or for financing of larger purchases. Have to be able to pay off the financed amount before intro period expires (otherwise high interest rate of 25.99% applies). | Use this card for credit building or for financing of larger purchases. Have to be able to pay off the financed amount before intro period expires (otherwise high interest rate of 25.99% applies). |
|
Our Rating* |
A- |
B+ |
B |
B- |
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*Rating Key:
A-: Recommend
B+: Competitive Card Offer
B: Average Card Benefits
B-: Can be suitable to apply for some prospective customers
The Amazon credit cards review shown here are those of the author only and have not been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any third party.
Sources used for the article: Issuer websites, Amazon.com
