Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card Review: 5% Back at Amazon + Whole Foods

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Chase and Amazon have rolled out the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, a credit card (not store card) available only to Amazon Prime members. Highlights:

  • 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market for Amazon Prime members. If you stop your Prime membership, you’ll be downgraded to 3% back.
  • 2% Back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores.
  • 1% Back on all other purchases.
  • Sign-up bonus of variable amount based on each person’s account. I was offered a $70 Amazon Gift Certificate. Click on the “Apply Now” link to see your personalized offer, you’ll have time to stop the application.
  • No foreign transaction fees.
  • No annual fee.
  • Extended warranty protection. Extends the time period for the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
  • Purchase Protection. Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.

Existing Amazon Rewards Visa Signature cardholder? If you have the original card and are an Amazon Prime subscriber, you should be “upgraded” to this new card automatically. You may see the change online first (your linked purchases will start earning 5% back instead of just 3% back) before you actually receive a new physical card.

Commentary. I recently did a Amazon Store Card review, about a retail card issued by Synchrony Bank that was only valid at Amazon.com. My overall opinion of this credit card is similar, except for the extended warranty protection. If you use gift cards to buy things at Amazon, you will forgo the extended warranty protection and purchase protection that many other credit cards offer. With this card, you will get the extended warranty protection and 5% cash back. How much is an extra year’s warranty worth? Depends on how many big-ticket items you buy at Amazon and how likely you’ll actually remember to use this benefit.

My rough rule of thumb is that a “hard” credit check can reliably net me at least $500 in value, usually from credit card sign-up bonuses but also potentially from bank bonuses and higher interest. It is very rare that I shop at any specific retailer enough to get $500 in savings. For example, it would take $10,000 of Amazon purchases at 5% back to net me $500 in cash back. (2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores only draws a yawn when I can get that much cash back on everything. 1% cash back on everything else… zzzz.)

Now, the addition of the 5% back at Whole Foods adds a wrinkle for those that shop at Whole Foods regularly. If you were only getting 2% back before, now 5% on the combined spending at Amazon and Whole Foods might become more compelling.

For the casual Amazon shopper, 5% rotating category credit cards often have Amazon or a place that sells Amazon gift cards as an eligible category. Other cards like the American Express Blue Cash Preferred offer 6% back at grocery stores (that sell Amazon gift cards) or Chase Ink Business cards offer 5% back at office supply stores (that sell Amazon gift cards). Basically, there are other ways that I can stock up on Amazon gift cards at 5% off without having this card.

Bottom line. If you are a loyal Prime member that spends a lot of money at Amazon and/or Whole Foods and prefer simplicity, the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card can add up to serious rewards. Be sure to make it your default card for your Amazon account. You can then track all your Amazon spending on one card, and also get extended warranty protection and purchase protection. As with any rewards credit card, you should always pay off your bill in full as the annual interest rate on balances is significantly higher than 5%.

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

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Comments

  1. My hurdle for signing up for new cards is much lower than your $500. In my experience, the damage done to my credit rating for getting a new card is small and very temporary. But I guess there is a “simplicity” factor also to consider, and the less stuff you have (included credit cards), generally the better.

  2. Given that this card is issued by Chase, I’d say thatwasting a slot of the 5/24 rule is worth a lot more than even $500. As Jonathan stated there are a ton of ways to get 5%+ with all the places that sell Amazon GC.

    Look into the more lucrative cards from Chase first, say the CSR, CSP or even the 2 Chase Freedoms. They’d be better for almost anyone long term.

    • According to various online reports, the Chase Rewards Visa is not subject to 5/24. (Not all Chase card are subject to 5/24, that part is definitely true.) There is also no such language on the application page that I could find.

      • Correct, it’s not subject to 5/24 , but it doesn’t seem worth the hard pull and filling a slot in the (5 cards in 2 years) rule. Much better cards out there for consideration, in my opinion.

  3. Please see my other comment. According to various online reports, the Chase Rewards Visa is not subject to 5/24. (Not all Chase card are subject to 5/24, that part is definitely true.) There is also no such language on the application page that I could find.

    There will be another card on your file though, which is why many couples have one person do only Chase applications and the other person does all the other issuers.

    • Right, I think that’s what Jim and others are getting at — Applying for this puts a card application on your file (as would a card from pretty much any issuer). And as I understand 5/24, pretty much all cards apply towards the 5, so this, like any card, will turn back the clock for getting most Chase cards with high-value signup bonuses. Thus, they’re hurting themselves in that people are reluctant to get cards from Chase (as well as the other providers) that they’d normally want to acquire and use consistently.

      • If the two options are (1) apply for only 5 cards every 24 months so I can get into Chase 5/24 offers or (2) apply for whatever cards I want and give up Chase 5/24 offers, I would probably pick #2. You’d get Barclay/Citi/AmEx/Chase non-5/24. If Chase is going to be restrictive like that, then I’ll just say goodbye to Chase. In real life, if you have a spouse/partner that doesn’t like applying for credit cards, I would have one person do #1 and the other person do #2 and ONLY apply for Chase 5/24 cards. So Mrs. MMB has all the new Chase cards.

        • Yeah, that’s pretty much where I’ve landed as well. I’m not interested in carefully catering my application activity to please Chase, so the only change 5/24 resulted in for me is that I stopped applying for Chase cards it applies to (and I understand that same philosophy is what informed your comments, I just know there are those who consider Chase bonuses traditionally good enough to heavily prioritize them).

          That’s not a bad idea, to keep my wife’s credit history in a Chase-friendly state. Though pragmatically, if the best financial outcome for my identity resources is not to cater to 5/24, then the same should be true for hers. I suppose it could be thought of as hedging bets though — keeping at least one relatively clean slate in case Chase comes out with something amazing.

  4. I’ve had this for at least 10 years (maybe more? don’t feel like checking) – and am an Amazon Prime junkie – so was happy to see that they pushed it to 5% up from 3%, for Prime members. I’m guessing the fact that Discover had Amazon as a 5% category two quarters running last year may have influenced them. I know I switched all my amazon spending to the Discover, whereas normally I would have used this card.

  5. Christine Herrera says

    I have opened up around 15 credit cards in the past 2 years and I just got approved for the Amazon Prime Visa signature. I know opening that many cards is a bit excessive but I finally got my credit in order and went a bit App happy. I’m a hardcore Amazon shopper so to me the HP was definitely worth it…and the instant $70 GC was icing on the cake.

  6. We live in Norfolk, next to Virginia Beach and the urban center of the region. Whole Foods has had a partnership with Instacart for delivery prior to this Prime Now deal. It offered those living close to the Virginia Beach store 2-hour delivery for a fee. The coverage area was only maybe half of the city of Virginia Beach, though. Now, with the Prime Now deal, not only is the delivery free for Prime members (*on orders over $35), but the coverage area extends into neighboring cities. My wife got very excited by this news!

  7. Jonathan, Does the 5% Back at Amaxon.com with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature work for Prime Now? I have the Amazon Prime Store Card, which gives me 5% on Amazon.com only, not Amazon’s Prime Now or Whole Foods. I don’t shop at Whole Foods very often, but do use Prime Now. (They are going to be adding Whole Foods to Prime Now as well.) I would switch from the Amazon Prime Store Card to the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature if it includes Prime Now.

    • I see the exclusion for Prime Now on the Store card. I searched but here are the only exclusions for the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature:

      3% Back or 5% Back is not earned on:
      purchases made at international Whole Foods Market sites
      purchases of Whole Foods Market or Whole Foods Market 365 products or services through third-party sites such as Eventbrite, Instacart, Google Express and Shipt
      online purchases of event tickets, classes or gift cards redeemable at Whole Foods Market or Whole Foods Market 365 (including through buyatab.com)
      purchases from certain third-party vendors operating at Whole Foods Market sites
      purchases of massage chair services made at Whole Foods Market sites, or
      purchases from Spa@Ink, in each case in Amazon’s sole discretion.

      • Thanks for the quick reply! That’s great.

      • Great news! It seems like they both do. Per a chat with Amazon:
        . . .
        Me: Thanks! Just to confirm, the prime store card (not the Amazon Prime Signature Credit Card from Chase) gives 5% back on Prime Now purchases in addition to 5% from Amazon.com purchases?
        RAFA: Yes for the amazon store card
        Me: Awesome, that’s really great!
        RAFA: 5% back for eligible Amazon Prime members
        Me: It used to be excluded (when I asked last time), so that’s a great change!
        Does the Amazon Prime Signature Credit Card from Chase also give 5% back for Prime members using Prime Now?
        RAFA: II will send you the information about it
        Yes
        It’s correct
        . . .

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