Do you shop at Amazon like all the time? Yes, I used the word like on purpose for some reason.
If you do, are you taking advantage of the 5% discount you can get on all your purchases there? No?
If not, why not? That 5% can add up over time, especially if you’re shopping there like all the time. Okay, I’ll stop using like, don’t know what has gotten into me today.
The Amazon Prime Store Card Offers 5% Cash Back
- You can earn 5% cash back on all purchases
- In the form of a statement credit
- With the Amazon Prime Store Card
- All with no annual fee
If you’re an Amazon prime member, which you probably are if you shop there a lot, you can apply for the Amazon Prime Store Card and earn 5% cash back via a statement credit.
It is good for all qualifying purchases made at Amazon, which they define as purchases less returns and other credits. However, Amazon Prime memberships, digital newspaper and magazine subscriptions, and games and software downloads are also excluded.
Unfortunately, the terms say it can take up to two billing cycles for your statement credit to post to your account. Boo.
To be eligible, you need either an Amazon Prime account, Amazon Prime Fresh, Amazon Mom, Amazon Student or a trial membership to Amazon Prime (excludes invited guests of an Amazon Prime account).
If you’re not one of these, you can only qualify for the Amazon.com Store Card, which doesn’t come with 5% cash back.
You can also take advantage of special financing options that come with 0% APR for anywhere from six to 24 months depending on purchase price.
After that the APR jumps up to 25.99%, similar to a credit card. In other words, you don’t want to carry a balance and you want to make sure it’s paid in full before the promotional period ends.
For the record, both the Amazon.com Store Card and Amazon Prime Store Card are issued by Synchrony Bank and don’t carry an annual fee.
However, it is a credit decision so they’ll pull your credit and it should result in a hard inquiry.
Tip: At the moment you can also get a free $10 Amazon.com Gift Card when you sign up and get approved for the Amazon.com Store Card or the Amazon Prime Store Card.
There’s a Better Option to Get 5% Cash Back at Amazon
- While the Amazon Prime Store Card is a decent deal
- There’s another way to earn 5% back on every Amazon purchase
- If you have the old Chase Ink card that earns 5% back on office supplies
- Simply buy Amazon gift cards at Office Depot or Staples and boom!
Okay, that’s the Amazon Prime Store Card, which by the way, can only be used at Amazon. It’s a store credit card, not a regular universal credit card.
But did you know there’s a much easier and better way to earn 5% cash back, or 5X points per dollar when shopping at Amazon?
Well, if you don’t, now you will. If you have the Chase Ink Bold or Plus card, you can earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points when you buy Amazon gift cards at office supply stores.
The only caveat here is that there’s a $50,000 annual limit for 5X at office supply stores. But I wouldn’t think most people would need to worry about hitting that limit.
And those points can go a lot further than a statement credit – for example, you could transfer the points to an airline partner and fly first class for free.
Alternatively, you could use the Old Blue Cash credit card from American Express and earn 5% cash back on Amazon gift card purchases made at gas stations, drugstores, and grocery stores.
They all tend to sell Amazon gift cards, so again you can get 5% cash back, though that same $50,000 annual purchase limit applies. The Blue Cash Preferred Card will actually net you 6% cash back on Amazon gift card purchases (up to $6,000 annually).
The cash back is redeemed as a statement credit in increments of $25, which is semi-annoying but still a good deal if you shop at Amazon like all the time.
(photo: Jeffrey)
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