- Intro Offer
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Earn up to $50 Earn $50 Amazon gift card instantly upon approval.
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 19.49% – 27.49% Variable
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
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670 – 850
Good – Excellent
- Rewards rate
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1% – 5% 5% back at Amazon.com, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh, and on Chase Travel with eligible Prime membership; Earn 3% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market; 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and local transit & commuting, including rideshare; 1% Back on all other purchases
Amazon offers several credit cards that earn rewards for its massive catalog of products. Which one is best for you will depend on whether you’re an Amazon Prime member.
If you’re not a Prime member, the best Amazon card is the Amazon Visa*. It doesn’t charge an annual fee -- or foreign transaction fees -- and provides a solid return on your Amazon and Whole Foods spending. It also offers a decent cash-back rate for gas, dining, local transit and commuting (including rideshare) purchases, as well as many strong Visa Signature protections.
There’s a Prime version of the card -- the Prime Visa-- that offers better rewards and additional perks, but if you don’t feel like shelling out $139 annually for a Prime membership, this is still a great card to pick.
Rewards
The main draw of this card is that you’ll earn 3% cash back on Whole Foods, Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh and Chase Travel purchases. You’ll also earn 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations and local transit and commuting (including rideshare), and 1% on all other purchases.
Many retailer co-branded credit cards limit earning and redeeming to its retail stores or brands, but Amazon offers decent reward rates outside of its e-commerce site, making this a far more accessible and applicable card.
You can redeem your cash-back rewards for eligible purchases on Amazon.com, or you can get your rewards in the form of a statement credit or an electronic deposit into an eligible US bank account.
Welcome bonus
When you’re approved for the Amazon Visa, you instantly receive a Amazon gift card. While there are other cards with nominally better welcome bonuses, it’s rare to not have to spend any money to earn the welcome bonus.
Financing a purchase
Often a feature of retailer credit cards but not more generalist cards, you can choose between cash-back rewards and optional financing when you make a large enough purchase on Amazon.
At checkout for purchases of $50 or more, you can choose six months of 0% interest financing -- you pay the bill off in equal monthly installments. For purchases of $250 or more, you get 12 months of interest-free financing (19.49% to 27.49% variable APR thereafter). Again, if you use this feature, you won’t earn rewards on these purchases -- you’re trading the cash-back rewards bonus for more time to repay your balance.
This feature makes the Amazon Visa a good substitute for the best credit cards with 0% introductory APRs.
Comparable cards
Prime Visa
The Prime Visa is an upgrade from the Amazon Visa -- it’s the version of the card specifically for Prime members.
This higher-tier card comes with extra perks, and while it’s technically got no annual fee, you have to be a Prime Member to apply, which will cost you $139 a year. This extra cost makes if you’re an avid Amazon or Whole Foods shopper -- you’ll earn 5% cash back at both retailers plus Amazon Fresh and Chase Travel, and you can earn 10% cash back or more on select rotating merchandise. You’ll also earn 2% back at gas stations, restaurants and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare) and 1% back on everything else. The welcome bonus is bigger, too -- you can get a $100 Amazon gift card instantly when you’re approved.
Prime membership will also gain you extras, like access to Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming service, and Prime Day deals.
See our full review of the Prime Visa for more information.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
If you’re not a Prime member, another option to consider is the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card*. It allows you to choose a customizable rewards category to earn 3% cash back on online shopping. So if you’re often shopping beyond Amazon.com, this card would be a better option.
You can also choose gas, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings for the 3% rewards choice category. Otherwise, you’ll earn 2% cash back on grocery stores and wholesale clubs (on up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases, then 1%), and 1% on other purchases. You can also apply the 0% intro APR for financing -- you’ll get 15 billing cycles without interest if you pay your minimum payments on purchases and on any balance transfers made in the first 60 days (then a 18.24% to 28.24% variable APR). There is an introductory balance transfer fee of 3% for 60 days from account opening, then 4%.
Unlike with the Amazon Visa, this is for the first 15 billing cycles and can’t be renewed. But you won’t be blocked from earning cash back on these purchases.
The welcome bonus is technically larger -- a $200 online cash rewards bonus -- but you’ll have to spend $1,000 on the card in the first 90 days in order to earn it, making it less accessible.
FAQs
You don’t need a Prime membership to shop at Amazon, though Prime members enjoy free, quicker shipping on millions of items, along with other perks. You do need a Prime membership to apply for the Prime Visa, as well as the Prime Store Card, but there are non-Prime equivalents to both cards.
Cash-back credit cards generally fall into four primary categories: flat rate, tiered, rotating or choose your own.
Flat-rate cards offer the same rate for every purchase. Tiered cards offer a different rewards rate for different categories of spending. Rotating category cards offer different rewards each quarter, determined by the card issuer. Choose-your-own category cards allow you to choose your rewards category.
No, the Amazon Visa does not have foreign transaction fees, which are usually 3% of transaction costs. This means you can use your card anywhere in the world without paying extra charges. There is also no annual credit card fee to maintain the account.
Our methodology
CNET reviews credit cards by exhaustively comparing them across set criteria developed for each major category, including cash-back, welcome bonus, travel rewards and balance transfer. We take into consideration the typical spending behavior of a range of consumer profiles -- with the understanding that everyone’s financial situation is different -- and the designated function of a card.
*All information about the Amazon Visa and the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
