Amazon Credit Cards: What Are Your Options and Which Is Right for You?
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Charging your purchases on an Amazon credit card can be a rewarding decision if you’re a frequent Amazon shopper. But just as Amazon has a dizzying amount of choices to shop for on its website, the retailer also offers many credit card options.
Amazon offers six different credit cards, across three different issuers, with eight potential rewards structures depending on whether you're an Amazon Prime customer and whether you're using the card for personal spending or for business purchases. Here's what you need to know about your options, and how to choose which one is right for you.
Amazon credit card options
Amazon credit cards you can use anywhere Visa is accepted:
For Prime customers: Prime Visa
For non-Prime customers: Amazon Visa
Amazon credit cards you can use only at Amazon or Amazon-owned businesses:
For most customers: Amazon Store Credit Card
For customers who are building credit: Amazon Secured Card
These cards are available to both Prime and non-Prime customers, but the rewards you earn depend on your Prime status.
Amazon credit cards for business operators:
For Prime business customers: Amazon Business Prime American Express Card
For non-Prime business customers: Amazon Business American Express Card
Amazon personal credit cards at a glance
Rewards on purchases at Amazon and Whole Foods | Rewards on other purchases | Annual fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
Amazon credit cards you can use ANYWHERE THAT ACCEPTS VISA | |||
5% |
| $0 (but requires $139 Prime membership) | |
Amazon Visa | 3% |
| $0 |
Amazon credit cards you can use ONLY ON ELIGIBLE AMAZON PURCHASES | |||
Amazon Store Credit Card (Prime members) | 5% or special financing (Amazon only) | N/A | $0 (but requires $139 Prime membership) |
Amazon Store Credit Card (non-Prime members) | Special financing options (Amazon only) | N/A | $0 |
Amazon Secured Card (Prime members) | 2% (Amazon only) | N/A | $0 (but requires $139 Prime membership) |
Amazon Secured Card (non-Prime members) | None | N/A | $0 |
Prime Visa
The Prime Visa is issued by Chase and is "open loop," meaning it's accepted anywhere that takes Visa, not just at Amazon. The annual fee is $0, but to get it you must be an Amazon Prime member. An annual Prime membership costs $139.
That's steep, but if you're a frequent Amazon shopper and take full advantage of everything that Prime offers, then this card can be more than worth it. It earns:
5% back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases.
5% back on purchases made through Chase Travel.
2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
1% back on all other purchases.
That 5% rate is particularly stellar. If you were to spend $2,800 per year at Amazon and Whole Foods combined, you would essentially break even on an Amazon Prime membership fee. Plus, the card tends to feature a sign-up bonus.
For Prime members, the Prime Visa is a can't-miss option.
» MORE: Full review of the Prime Visa
Amazon Visa
What if you aren't an Amazon Prime member, aren't interested in paying that membership fee, but still would like to earn solid rewards for the shopping you do with the retailer? The Amazon Visa, also issued by Chase, may be a good choice for you.
It, too, is open-loop, aka usable anywhere that takes Visa, and it earns:
3% back in rewards on purchases at Amazon and Whole Foods.
3% back on purchases made through Chase Travel.
2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
1% back on all other purchases.
Those are decent rates, and the card often offers a sign-up bonus to boot.
Amazon Store Credit Card
The Amazon Store Credit Card is issued by Synchrony. Unlike the Chase-issued products above, this one is a closed-loop card, so it can only be used for purchases at Amazon or eligible brands under the Amazon umbrella.
There are two different versions of this card, depending on your membership with Amazon:
Non-Prime members: You won’t earn Amazon rewards on this card, but you will be eligible for special financing options instead. Sometimes you’ll be offered equal monthly payment financing at 0% APR, and sometimes you’ll get deferred interest options.
Prime members: Choose to earn 5% back on your Amazon purchase, or choose special financing. The rewards you’ll earn are good for Amazon-related purchases only, and you can either redeem them at purchase or for a statement credit on the card after the purchase. Plus, you’ll be eligible for exclusive Prime card offers to earn extra rewards on rotating products and categories.
Neither card charges an annual fee, but the latter requires a $139 Prime membership in order to qualify. Both cards also occasionally come with sign-up bonuses. Those offers vary, but often it's an Amazon gift card upon approval.
Amazon Secured Card
The Amazon Secured Card is also issued by Synchrony Bank. It, too, is closed-loop and thus only usable on eligible Amazon purchases.
But this product is something of a rarity — a store credit card that requires you to put down a security deposit upfront as collateral. (Minimum $100, maximum $500). However much you put down becomes your credit limit.
Most store cards are unsecured products, meaning no deposit is necessary. In fact, store cards in general tend to be relatively easy to get overall because they have lower credit score requirements.
So why might someone choose the Amazon Secured Card? For starters, it offers a low, locked-in APR of 10% (as of this writing), which is much lower than average and could be helpful if you need to carry a balance. For comparison, many other store cards feature variable APRs that can range as high as nearly 30%.
And secondly, unlike some other secured credit cards, it's possible to earn rewards with the Amazon Secured Card, although only if you're an Amazon Prime member: 2% back on all eligible Amazon purchases.
There's no annual fee for the Amazon Secured Card, although an Amazon Prime membership will set you back $139 per year. After 12 months of responsible card use — which includes on-time card payments among other things — you could qualify to convert the Amazon Secured Card to one of the unsecured Amazon store cards (noted above) and get your deposit back.
Amazon business credit cards at a glance
If you’re a small-business owner considering an Amazon credit card, you have two options, both of them issued by American Express. Like the cards discussed above, the deciding factor is whether you have a Prime membership.
Where can you use it? | Anywhere that accepts AmEx | Anywhere that accepts AmEx |
Rewards on purchases at Amazon and Whole Foods | 5% back on the first $120,000 in purchases each calendar year (then 1% back), or 90-day financing. | 3% back on the first $120,000 in purchases each calendar year (then 1% back), or 60-day financing. |
Rewards at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers | 2% back. | 2% back. |
Rewards on other purchases | 1% back. | 1% back. |
Annual fee | $0 (but requires $139 Prime membership). | $0. |
Terms apply (see rates and fees). | Terms apply (see rates and fees). |
Amazon Business Prime American Express Card
Small-business owners who have an Amazon Prime membership may qualify for the $0-annual-fee Amazon Business Prime American Express Card.
You can earn 5% back on U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon and Whole Foods, up to $120,000 annually (then 1% back). Terms apply.
If your business spends big at Amazon, those 5% rewards can add up. Hitting the $120,000 cap each year on Amazon purchases would earn you $6,000 in rewards.
Alternately, instead of earning the 5% bonus rewards rate on eligible Amazon purchases, you can choose to take advantage of 90-day financing on your Amazon business purchases. (Purchases that you choose to finance don't count toward the $120,000 cap.) Terms apply.
There card features bonus rewards in several other useful categories, plus the following welcome offer: Eligible Prime Members get a $125 Amazon Gift Card upon approval for the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card. Terms Apply.
Terms apply.
Amazon Business American Express Card
Not a Prime Member? The Amazon Business American Express Card is for you.
You can choose to earn 3% back in rewards on U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon and Whole Foods, up to $120,000 annually (then 1% back). Or you can forgo the 3% rewards in favor of 60-day financing on Amazon purchases.
You'll get bonus rewards in the same "other" categories as the Prime version.
The card has a $0 annual fee and comes with a welcome offer: Get a $100 Amazon Gift Card upon approval for the Amazon Business American Express Card. Terms Apply.
Terms apply.
Which Amazon credit card is best for me?
The answer largely depends on whether you’re a Prime member or have a small business, especially since none of these cards carries an annual fee itself.
If you're already a Prime member (and you don't own a business), then the pound-for-pound best option is the Prime Visa. It earns rich rewards both with the retailer and in several other everyday spending categories — rich enough that you could make up the cost of your annual Prime membership fee fairly easily.
If you're only a casual Amazon shopper, you might do better with the non-Prime Amazon Visa. But you'd probably also do just as well with a general flat-rate credit card like the Citi Double Cash® Card, which earns simpler and more flexible rewards on everything you buy.
If you do own a business and Amazon is your go-to shop, you'll have to do the math to see whether your expenses with Amazon can offset the cost of a Prime membership. If so, then the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card makes the most sense.
To view rates and fees of the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card, see this page. To view rates and fees of the Amazon Business American Express Card, see this page.
Information related to the Amazon Store Credit Card and the Amazon Visa has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been provided or reviewed by the issuer of these cards.
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