Amazon Store Card Review

The Amazon Store Card is geared toward Amazon.com super shoppers who already have or don’t mind paying for a Prime membership ($119 per year, if you pay annually), and who spend enough at the internet retailer to make the card worthwhile. If you spend $2,400 a year and earn rewards on that spend, that covers your Prime membership—so anything above that means extra savings for you. 

The caveat here is that you don’t ever want to find yourself in a situation where you’re paying the high APR (so avoid revolving balances), and you should use the financing options sparingly since when you do, you won’t earn the 5% on those purchases.

Pros Explained

• Rewards for Prime members: If you have an eligible Amazon Prime Membership when you apply for the card, you’ll get an automatic upgrade to The Amazon Prime Store Card, subject to credit approval. This allows you to earn 5% back on all of your Amazon.com purchases—the true benefit of this card.
• Special financing options: If you are not a Prime Member, or if you decide you want to forgo rewards in exchange for extra time to pay off a purchase at 0% APR, you can select one of two options that will be displayed during checkout. The first one allows you to pay no interest if the purchase is paid in full within six, 12 or 24 months (the promotional period offered depends on purchase price). Or, you can split your purchase into equal monthly payments.

Cons Explained

• High APR: Most store cards have higher APRs than what you’d find on regular credit cards, and this one is no exception.
• Rewards can only be redeemed for Amazon credit: The 5% reward is great if you’re someone who is on a first-name basis with the Amazon delivery guy. But with no other redemption options, it’s of little use to once-in-a-while shoppers.
• Puny sign-up bonus: A $10 instant account credit might seem appealing when you’re about to check out, but that alone shouldn’t influence you to apply for the card if it isn’t otherwise a good fit for you. 
• Deferred interest: If you’re using a promotional financing offer and don’t pay off the purchase by the time it ends, you’ll be charged interest on your remaining balance back to the date of purchase. This is a common (and costly) interest structure on retail cards.

Amazon Store Card Sign-Up Bonus 

You’ll get your Amazon Store Credit Card bonus instantly upon approval, unlike other rewards credit cards that offer sign-up bonuses based on if you can meet a minimum spend. For the Amazon Store Credit Card, it’s a $10 credit. If you’re a Prime member already, you may receive a higher instant account credit offer. 

Earning Points & Rewards

Amazon rewards earnings are unlimited, but you must be a Prime member. Amazon says it may offer occasional bonus rewards points on certain purchases. In such cases, the offer will be noted on the product page or during checkout.

Redeeming Rewards

Any rewards you earn will be credited to your Amazon.com account. You can opt for a one-time statement credit or automatically redeem your available rewards points balance as a statement credit at the end of each subsequent billing cycle. It may take up to two billing cycles for your earned rewards points to be credited. Be aware that if you return a purchase made with rewards points, it may take up to five days for the points to be credited back to your account. 

How To Get The Most Out Of This Card

It’s simple: Be a Prime member and spend a lot at Amazon.com. The more you spend, the more value this card will have for you. The other side of that coin is to make sure you pay your bill in full each month so you’re not hit with high finance charges. And whenever possible, choose the 5% reward over the financing options, which can be costly if you miss a payment.

Customer Experience

Cardholders have access to 24/7 customer service support by phone with Synchrony Bank. However, the bank only scored a two out of five rating in JD Power’s 2018 Credit Card Satisfaction Study, the second-worst rating in the study.

Security Features 

The Amazon Store Card features standard security features, the most important one being zero fraud liability. That means if your card is stolen or fraudulent charges appear, you’re off the hook.

Fees

Amazon Store Card doesn’t have an annual fee, and late fees are in line with most credit cards. Most of the other fees you might be familiar with on other products (foreign transaction, balance transfer, and cash advance fees) don’t apply because it’s a store card.