Amazon Store Card Review

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card, Amazon.com Store card and Amazon Prime Store card offers mentioned in this article are expired and are not available through CreditSesame.com

Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Amazon.com is a hotspot for picking up deals on everything from books to electronics. If you want to save even more on the things you buy, opening an Amazon.com Store card account is a no-brainer.

This card offers special promotional financing on qualifying Amazon purchases. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’re upgraded to the Amazon Prime Store card, which pays you back 5% every day, on every purchase.
If you’re a frequent Amazon shopper, keep reading to find out whether an Amazon Store card or a Prime card is a good fit for your wallet.

EDITOR’S NOTE: THE CREDIT CARD OFFERS IN THIS ARTICLE ARE EXPIRED AND ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Card Highlights

Amazon Store Card Basics

So what is the Amazon Store card? Simply put, it’s a credit card that’s designed to be used exclusively at Amazon.com and at merchants who accept it as a form of payment. The card, offered by Synchrony Bank, features four special promotional financing programs for Amazon shoppers. Here’s how they compare:

• 6-month 0% interest financing – A 6-month zero interest financing period is available on purchases totaling $149 or more.
• 12-month 0% interest financing – If you’ve got something bigger you need to buy, like a TV or surround sound system, you can snag a 12-month zero interest period on purchases totaling $599 or more.
• 24-month 0% interest financing – This deal applies to select items sold by Amazon.com. That doesn’t include items offered by third-party sellers. Terms and limitations apply.
• 12 Month Equal Pay Offer: 0% APR until paid in full. With the first three financing offers, you only have to pay the minimum due each month. As long as you pay the balance in full before the promotional period ends, no interest will accrue. With the 12-month Equal Pay offer, you have to make 12 equal payments consecutively to wipe out your balance in order to dodge the interest charges.

The Amazon Store card has no annual fee. One thing worth noting, however, is the variable Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for purchases, is fairly steep. If you have a balance that isn’t eligible for 0% financing, paying it off could get very expensive once the interest is tacked on.

When you apply for a new Amazon credit card, you’re eligible for a $10 Amazon.com gift card. This one-time  limited bonus reward is loaded onto your Amazon.com account automatically once you’re approved.

Earning Big Rewards With the Amazon Prime Store Card

The Amazon.com Store card can prove valuable to Amazon shoppers who want to save money on interest but the Amazon Prime Store card is an even better pick if you’re a Prime member. When you upgrade to a Prime card, you have your choice of taking advantage of one of the special promotional financing offers or earning 5% back on qualifying net purchases.

The card itself has no annual fee but your Prime membership fee is charged to it each year. To earn back the $99 annual fee for Prime, you’d need to spend at least $2,000 a year with your Prime Store card. That comes out to about $167 a month so that’s not too much of a stretch even if you don’t shop Amazon all that often.

There’s no limit on the amount of rewards you can earn but there is one caveat—you can’t earn the 5% back and enjoy zero interest financing on the same purchase. If your purchase is $149 or more, you will have the option to select either the promotional financing offer or the 5% back benefit you would like to apply to your purchase. When you head to the checkout, you’ll have to decide which one you want. If you want to make things easy, you can set your default choice when you manage your account online to either 5% back or zero interest financing.

Redeeming Amazon Prime Store card rewards

The 5% rewards you earn are automatically applied as a statement credit against your account. That makes it ideal for someone who doesn’t want to have to worry about meeting a minimum threshold to redeem their rewards. To put it in easy to understand terms, you’re effectively getting $5 off every $100 you spend with the card.

What Are the Pros?

The obvious advantage of the regular Amazon Store card is the promotional financing program.

As long as you’re disciplined enough to pay off what you charge within the necessary time frame, this card can be a good option if you need to finance an Amazon.com purchase.

The Prime Store card is best suited to someone who’s already a Prime member or who’s planning to sign up for Prime service.

If you’re already going to be paying the $99 fee for your membership and you spend at least $2,000 a year on Amazon purchases, it makes sense to have a credit card that’s going to put some of that money back in your pocket.

What Are the Cons?

The biggest drawback of both the Amazon.com Store card and the Amazon.com Prime Store card is acceptance. You can only use the card when you shop at Amazon.com or through a merchant that accepts either Amazon card as payment. With the Prime card, the rewards structure is generous but again, you’re only getting that 5% back on Amazon purchases.

If you’re looking for a card that can save you some dough when you shop at Amazon, while giving you rewards on other purchases you might like the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card instead. This card pays you 3% back when you shop at Amazon, 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and drug stores, plus 1% back on all other purchases.

Rewards on the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card are earned as points that can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards, cash back, travel and more. One point is worth $0.01 each and you can also use them to pay at the checkout when you shop Amazon.com. Redemption values vary based on how you redeem your points. Another good reason to consider this card is the opportunity to grab a $50 Amazon.com gift card instantly upon credit card approval. Like the Amazon Store card and the Prime card, the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card has no annual fee.

Should You Get the Amazon Store Card?

The Amazon.com Store card is worth a look if you’re planning to buy something big on Amazon but you don’t want to spring for a $99 Prime membership. If you’re a Prime member, however, the 5% back rewards rate is tough to match. The most important thing to keep in mind with either card is the promotional financing terms. You don’t want to get stuck paying big bucks in interest if your main reason for using the card is to hang on to more of your hard-earned dollars.

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