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Amazon Rewards Visa Card Review

The Amazon Rewards Visa card is a must-have for your wallet—whether you’re an Amazon Prime member or not.

I’ve long thought of the Amazon Rewards Visa as something of a dark horse in the credit card rewards world. While underestimated and unflashy, the Amazon Rewards Visa offers features that can fill significant gaps in your personal finance toolkit. Now Amazon has a credit card that’s significantly better, making it something of a competitor with shinier (literally) and more expensive cards—even ones like Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Amazon Prime Visa gives users 5 percent back

There are technically two different Amazon Visa cards. There’s the Amazon Visa Rewards Card, which is the original credit card in slightly newer form, and the Amazon Prime Visa Card, which is for Amazon Prime members.

Amazon Visa Credit Card

Welcome Offer

There are no bonus offers with the Amazon Visa cards.

Rewards

Depending on Prime membership, you'll get 5% cash back on Amazon purchases (3% for non-Prime members), 5% cash back on Chase Travel purchases (3% for non-Prime members), 2% back at restaurants, drug stores, and gas stations, and 1% on all other purchases.

Annual Fee

$0

Our Thoughts

Both the Amazon Visa Card and Amazon Prime Visa Card are excellent options for those who make frequent purchases from Amazon.com, at gas stations and restaurants, and on local transit and commuting.

Offer details accurate as of 12/1/23

The Amazon Prime Visa Card gives cardholders with an eligible Prime account 5% back on every purchase at Amazon, including Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods purchases. On top of all that, you’ll also get 5% cash back on Chase Travel purchases! Alternatively, the Amazon Visa Card will earn 3% cash back in those purchases categories.

Real perks for non-Amazon purchases

For me, the advantages with the Amazon Visa card has never really been about shopping at Amazon itself. It’s the less talked about rewards that I value the most—namely, 2% back on purchases at restaurants, local transit and commuting, and gas stations all year long.

For people carrying Chase Freedom Flex℠ or Discover it® Cash Back, the Amazon Visa can serve as a stand-in during those off months when restaurant or fuel purchases aren’t eligible for that sweet 5 percent bonus.

By using the Amazon Visa (which gives you 2 percent back) instead of Chase Freedom Flex℠ or Discover it® Cash Back (which only offers 1 percent back on those non-quarters purchases), you can essentially increase your overall annual rewards rate for gas and restaurant purchases.

Card info has been independently collected by MoneyUnder30 to help consumers better compare cards. The financial institution did not provide or approve card details.

Pros & cons

Pros

  • High cash back rate — Both credit cards offer a competitive cash back rate on every purchase at Amazon, including Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods purchases.
  • The other rewards are also great — You’ll earn 2% back at restaurants, drug stores, and gas stations.
  • No foreign transactions fees — There’s no foreign transactions fees associated with this card.

Cons

  • Not part of Chase Ultimate Rewards — While issued by Chase, it isn’t part of Chase Ultimate Rewards.
  • No sign-up bonus — Unfortunately, there’s no sign-up bonus.
  • High introductory APR — This is definitely not a card for interest-free purchases so you’ll want to pay your bill in full each month.

Say goodbye (or bid adieu) to paying more for foreign transactions

Both Amazon Visa Cards are a solid option for frequent travelers because there are no foreign transaction fees, no annual fee, and you’ll earn 3% or 5% cash back on Chase Travel purchases.

Why is this a big deal? Because foreign transaction fees are like a tax on purchases you make while abroad, adding additional costs onto an already expensive enterprise like foreign travel.

For non-travel-hackers, this card is a nice alternative to Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which offers a similar rewards rate on travel and dining, but has an annual fee of $95.

With Amazon Visa, you get no foreign transaction fees and 2% cash back back on dining, all without an annual fee.

The Amazon Visa isn’t perfect

That’s not to say that the Visa is perfect. It’s got its downsides. Namely, while issued by Chase, it isn’t part of Chase Ultimate Rewards, so you couldn’t use your points toward discounted travel like you can with a lot of other Chase cards, like the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. You also can’t boost your reward rates by using the card at online retailers listed on Shop Through Chase.

Instead, you can get gift cards, cash back (either as a statement credit or deposited directly into your checking or savings account), or travel booked through Chase Travel (but not through Ultimate Rewards).

Many travel credit cards, like Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, also come with a sweet sign-up bonus, but the Amazon Visa Cards currently don’t offer any sign up bonuses.

Be wary of getting locked in to Amazon’s ecosystem

Why is Amazon doing this? For the same reason Amazon does most things—to get you to spend more time and money there, and to get you into the habit of only shopping at Amazon.

For example, now that having Amazon Prime means not only access to streaming media and free shipping, but also a built-in 5% discount on every purchase, are you likely to cancel it? And if you’ve got Amazon Prime, you’ll want to get the most out of it, meaning you’ll be more likely to go to Amazon than another online retailer, or to a brick-and-mortar store down the road. Oh, and once you’ve earned those points, where’s the easiest place to spend them? Amazon. With all these incentives, it might not even matter if Amazon’s prices start to go up. After all, what’s a few more bucks to get 5% cash back and free two-day shipping?

Rewards programs are intended to create loyalty—or habit, which is basically the same thing. By making higher rewards contingent on both Amazon Visa cards, Amazon makes it more likely for people to get both. If you’ve already got Prime, the thinking goes, you might as well get the Visa. If you’ve already got the Visa, then Prime just got more appealing.

Amazon Visa vs Amazon Prime

  Amazon Prime Visa Amazon Visa
Annual Fee $0 $0
Amazon Rewards 5% cash back on Amazon purchases 3% cash back on Amazon purchases
Chase Travel Rewards 5% cash back on Chase Travel purchases 3% cash back on Chase Travel purchases
Other Cash Back 2% cash back on restaurants, gas, and transit; 1% on all other purchases 2% cash back on restaurants, gas, and transit; 1% on all other purchases

Summary

If you’re not already a big Amazon shopper, then don’t let this card turn you into one. I use my Amazon Visa at Amazon, but I use it more often at restaurants and gas stations.

The key is to find a card that fits your life, rather than changing your life to fit your card.

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