Amazon Prime Rewards Signature Visa Credit Card: Overview and Benefits (2024)

How the Amazon Prime Rewards Signature Visa Card Works

Amazon is the virtual store that has everything. Place your order today and you can have it as early as tomorrow. Not only does the company offer a wide variety of goods but it also offers a co-branded Visa card, especially for its Prime members.

The Prime Rewards Signature Visa is similar to its alternative co-branded card, named the Amazon Rewards Signature Visa credit card. Both can be used anywhere Visa is accepted and are backed by Chase Bank, a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, which handles all revolving credit services and issues.

The card can be used anywhere that accepts Visa. It offers 5% cashback on all items purchased on Amazon and at Whole Foods markets. Newcomers get a $200 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon credit card approval. Cardholders may also select a card design featuring either Amazon or Whole Foods.

Rewards and Benefits

This card offers several perks to cardholders who do a lot of shopping on Amazon or at Whole Foods. These rewards and rebates can be substantial. You earn:

• 5% (or 3% for non-Prime members who are eligible for the Visa Rewards Card) for all Amazon and Whole Foods Market purchases
• 2% at gas stations, restaurants, and drugstores
• 1% on all other purchases

Your rewards come in the form of points. You'll get one point for each penny you earn in rebates. Prime members also get an extra 10% or more cash back on select items. These offers are for a limited time only.

Here's how it works. Let’s say you bought an item on Amazon for $20. You would earn a 3% rebate (or 60 cents), which would become 60 points. Every 100 points are worth $1. Your points are available as soon as they are processed as a discount at checkout.

There is no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, no earning cap, and your points never expire.

How to Get the Amazon Prime Rewards Signature Visa Card

Interested customers can apply for the card online at Amazon. However, the vetting process goes through Chase Bank, which authorizes and administers the financial logistics and the approval process.

According to Amazon's site:

"if your application is instantly approved, you'll be taken to a page that includes the Cardmember Agreement, the terms of your Amazon Rewards Visa Signature account, and other important information."

Conversely, if your application isn't approved instantly, Chase will inform you about your status after reviewing your credit history. This takes approximately two to four weeks. Amazon recommends waiting two weeks after submitting your application before contacting Chase Bank.

Required Credit Score

Your credit score will determine whether or not you can add the Amazon store card or the Amazon Rewards Signature Visa to your wallet. Your credit score is what virtually every lender uses to determine your creditworthiness.

Unlike the Amazon store card, which only requires fair credit, the Amazon Rewards Signature Visa cards (Prime member or non-member) both require a higher credit score because they are Visa credit cards.

Where Can the Amazon Prime Rewards Signature Visa Card Be Used?

You can expect to use your Amazon credit card anywhere that takes Visa. This means you can use it anywhere in the U.S., and in over 150 countries worldwide. Unlike store cards that are tied to use at a specific retailer, a Visa card connected to Amazon is a regular credit card in many ways.

You will earn rewards if you use it to shop on Amazon or Whole Foods, but you can also benefit from rewards when used at participating gas stations, pharmacies, and other retailers.

Alternatives

Amazon offers two store-only cards, similar to its credit cards, as the Amazon Prime store card offers its Prime member more perks. Synchrony Bank issues the Amazon Store Card and the Amazon Prime Store Card, and the cards are useful if you are a frequent Amazon shopper.

Amazon and Amazon Prime Store Cards

If you don't want or don't qualify for either of the Amazon Rewards Signature Visa cards, the Amazon or Prime store cards may be a viable option for saving money on your Amazon purchases. Amazon store cards are not accepted at Whole Foods markets, unlike the Amazon Prime Rewards Signature Visa and the Amazon Rewards Signature Visa.

When you are approved for an Amazon store card, you receive a $60 gift card from Amazon, which is a bit less than the $200 gift card you receive for opening an Amazon Prime Visa card. The Amazon store card's reward program is not as robust as its Visa Rewards Signature Visa card, but it does offer introductory financing opportunities for new cardholders.

Amazon Rewards Signature Visa Credit Card

The Amazon Rewards Signature Visa card is another alternative if you don't have a Prime membership but want the convenience and the benefits of an Amazon Visa credit card. The Amazon Rewards Signature Visa is nearly identical in its perks and terms and conditions to the Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, with one exception, if you are not a Prime member, you only reap a 3% reward when you shop on Amazon and at Whole Foods.

Terms and Conditions

The annual percentage rate (APR) on your card depends on your credit history. Expect a rate between 14.49% and 22.49%, but it will vary based on the prime rate. Balance transfers have the same APR as purchases instead of the higher one many cards impose.

Cash advances on the Amazon Prime Rewards Signature Visa have an interest rate of 25.24%. You have 21 days after the end of the billing cycle to pay the balance in full to avoid any interest charges. The late payment fee is up to $39,depending on your card's balance. Customers will pay $5 or 5% of the balance transfer amount, whichever is greater. Cash advances cost $10 or 5%, whichever is greater.

The card does not have an annual fee attached, but if you want the Amazon Prime Rewards Signature Visa, you will have to pay to be an Amazon Prime member, which costs $139 per year. You must be age 18 or older to apply for the card, and credit limits are based on the applicant's credit.