Is it hard to get an amazon credit card

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If you are an Amazon and/or Whole Foods loyalist, the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card* is a no-brainer. It’s hard to beat an effective 5% cash-back rate on both Amazon purchases and Whole Foods. Even better, the credit card has a surprisingly robust set of other benefits. The catch? You have to have a $139/year Prime membership (discounts are often available if you’re a college student) to apply for and keep this card, but it doesn’t charge an additional annual fee.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card

Welcome Bonus

Amazon gift card

Annual Fee

$0 with Prime membership

Regular APR

17.24% to 25.24% variable

Credit Score

Good/Excellent

Pros

• Earn an Amazon Gift Card Bonus without a spending requirement
• No foreign transaction fee
• Unlimited 5% back at Amazon and Whole Foods
• Visa Signature benefits

Cons

• 5% back excludes non-U.S. Amazon sites
• APR can be high, depending on your creditworthiness
• Outside of Amazon family spending, the rewards can be bested by other cards

Highlights

• Get an Amazon gift card instantly upon approval
• Earn 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership, 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores and earn 1% back on all other purchases
• No minimum rewards balance required to redeem
• Use Amazon Rewards to pay for all or part of your purchase
• Visa Signature Concierge service

Introduction

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card* is the premium Amazon credit card, available only to Amazon Prime members. It offers a strong 5% cash back in rewards at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership, 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores and 1% on all other purchases. This earning rate makes the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card* the best credit card on the market for an Amazon purchase.

In addition to the strong cash-back rate, rewards are simple to redeem. You can use your cash back as a statement credit, direct deposit or for Amazon purchases. Another option is to use your rewards to get gift cards from a variety of merchants, which can be done online.

If you want to use your Amazon Prime rewards for travel you can, but the process requires calling Chase. And travel can only be booked through Chase’s travel agency, which may not have the best rates. You’ll likely be better off getting cash back and booking travel on your own than redeeming the card’s rewards for a travel booking.

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card also offers peace of mind after your purchases. The card extends the time period for the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year on eligible warranties of three years or less. You are also protected against theft or damage for 120 days up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per credit card account. These two benefits together mean the card is useful for high-end Amazon purchases on high-ticket items such as electronics.

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card is a Visa Signature card, which means it offers a strong set of travel-related benefits, especially when you consider that there’s no additional annual fee other than paying for Prime membership. In fact, this card could replace a travel rewards card if you don’t need lounge access or specific airline or hotel chain perks. You won’t earn a travel category bonus, but if you don’t travel often the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card could offer enough protection and perks for you.

The auto rental collision damage waiver benefit could save you hundreds on a car rental by allowing you to decline the pricey extra coverage offered by car rental companies. You can also get lost luggage reimbursement and baggage delay insurance by paying for travel bookings with this card. In addition, the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee.

The Visa Signature Concierge Service can come in handy if you need restaurant reservations, event tickets, or help with a special occasion.

Another travel benefit that doesn’t get enough credit is access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection. The service, free with your Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, gives you perks at over 900 hotels worldwide including automatic room upgrades (when available) and other goodies often including free breakfast and late checkout. With Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection bookings, you can get the perks of hotel status without the onerous stay requirements. The hotel benefit could return hundreds of dollars of cash to your pocket in just one stay.

And finally, if you get into trouble while traveling, Visa Signature Card services offer both roadside dispatch and travel and emergency assistance. Unfortunately, you will have to pay for the actual services you use; the card only offers access to someone who can help you.

At a Glance

• No additional annual fee (Amazon Prime membership required).
• Earns 5% cash back in rewards at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership, 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores and 1% on all other purchases.
• Can choose 5% back or promo APR for eligible purchases.

Amazon Prime Visa Card Rewards

Earning Rewards

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card* comes with the following rewards structure: Earn5% cash back in rewards at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership, 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores and 1% on all other purchases.

Your best bet will be to use this card exclusively on Whole Foods and Amazon purchases as there are many other cards with better category bonuses on restaurants, gas stations, drugstores and other places where you would use a Visa card.

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card comes with the following welcome bonus: Amazon.com gift card instantly on card approval.

Redeeming Rewards

Redeeming rewards on the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card is easy. Points are worth 1 cent each no matter how you redeem them. If you choose to redeem for Amazon purchases, you can do so with no minimum redemption required.

You can also redeem points for cash back as a statement credit or an electronic deposit into a bank account with no minimum redemption amount. This is the way to go if you want 100% flexibility in how you spend your rewards.

Points can also be redeemed for gift cards at a variety of merchants, such as Olive Garden and Starbucks. You’ll need a minimum of 2,500 points if you want to redeem rewards for a gift card.

Travel redemptions have to be done via phone and booked through Chase’s travel agency, which may not offer the best rates for your rewards or allow you to earn loyalty program points for your travels.

Amazon Prime Visa Card Rewards Potential

To determine the rewards potential of the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card we have to look at the bonus categories and calculate what the average American household might spend in those areas. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies in order to determine both baseline income and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage-earning households bring in $107,908 annually and we base spending on that number.

Forbes Advisor estimates that a household spends $10,932 on groceries and online shopping, which results in $546.60 in annual cash back. This assumes you do all of your grocery shopping at Whole Foods, which may not be the case for everyone. The $8,405 our sample household spends at gas stations, restaurants and drugstores would translate to $168.10 in annual cash back, and $12,735 of other purchases that could reasonably be charged to your Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card* would earn $127.35 cash back.

This means that the card would earn a total of $842.05 per year in addition to the welcome bonus.

Other Amazon Prime Visa Card Benefits

• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• Car Rental Collision Damage Waiver: Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card and get secondary coverage.
• Extended Warranty and Purchase Protection: The former extends the time period for the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less. The latter protects new purchases against damage or theft for 120 days, up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
• Lost and Delayed Baggage Protection: Covered up to $3,000 per passenger for lost luggage and reimbursement for baggage delays over 6 hours by passenger carrier up to $100 a day for 3 days.
• Visa Signature Travel Benefits: Access to concierge service and the Luxury Hotel Collection.
• Travel Accident Insurance: Pay with your card and receive accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $500,000.
• Access To Emergency Assistance: Access to a Benefit Administrator for legal and medical referrals or other travel and emergency assistance

The Fine Print

Interest Rates

• 17.24% to 25.24% variable

Fees

• No Annual Fee as long as $139/year Amazon Prime membership stays current
• Balance Transfer Fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater

How the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card Stacks Up

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card* vs. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

If you shop at Whole Foods but not on Amazon, you might do better with a card offering a grocery category bonus instead of the Amazon Prime Visa Card. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (Terms apply. See rates & fees.) is a strong contender. It earns 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more) and 1% cash back on other eligible purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit. It carries a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 annual fee.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card*  vs. American Express® Gold Card

If you would prefer to earn points, the American Express® Gold Card earns 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar), 3 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.

Membership Rewards points are extra valuable because they are versatile—they can be transferred to many popular airline and hotel partners. However, the American Express Gold card has a higher annual fee of $250 (Terms apply. See rates & fees).

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card*  vs. Other Amazon Credit Cards

Another option, especially useful if you don’t use Amazon Prime but do shop on Amazon, is the annual fee-free Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card*. This Amazon Credit card, which doesn’t require Amazon Prime membership, earns 3% cash back in rewards at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card*  vs. Quarterly Bonus Cards

Alternatively, you could consider one of a set of cards that offer quarterly bonuses on Amazon. For instance, the Discover it® Cash Back offers 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter up to a quarterly maximum of $1,500 in spending when activated. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically. Past categories have included Amazon. Bonus categories rotate and must be activated quarterly, so that is something to be aware of if you get this card. The Chase Freedom Flex℠ also regularly offers Amazon as a quarterly bonus category.

Depending on how much you spend on Amazon purchases, Whole Foods and on other purchase categories, one credit card is likely to be a better option over another. It’s always a good idea to estimate your spending patterns and calculate how much cash back you would earn with a credit card you are considering, remembering to take into account the card’s annual fee.

Compare Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature With Other Cards

Is the Amazon Prime Visa Card For You?

This card makes absolute sense for you if you are an Amazon Prime Member and/or Whole Foods enthusiast. While other cards such as the Amex Blue Cash Preferred or Chase Freedom Flex may offer cash-back category bonuses on groceries or quarterly bonuses on Amazon purchases, it’s hard to find a card that offers a higher return rate on both.

Chances are that if you shop Amazon frequently, you already pay the $139 Amazon Prime annual membership fee (less if you’re a college student), so the card effectively has no annual fee. That said, don’t hold a balance on this card as it charges a higher interest rate than many other cards available. If you do need to carry a balance on your card, consider a card that’s best for 0% APR—either on purchases or on balance transfers. As long as you pay your bill in full every month, you will come out ahead with the Amazon Prime Rewards card.

To view rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please visit this page.

To view rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please visit this page.

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