Amazon has offered its own charge card for some time.
We’ve all noticed the credit-card prompt during the Amazon checkout flow. “Your total could be $0!” the bolded text proclaims, promising a gift card big enough to cover your novels, houseplants or miscellaneous purchases if you apply for the card.
But with so many reward-packed, benefit-heavy cards available these days, it was easy to skip Amazon’s pitch and continue using whatever payment option you already relied on.
Until now.
The updated Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card is tempting enough that it might persuade you to ditch your other checkout habits — assuming you shop anywhere else at all.
What Makes Amazon’s New Card Different?
Amazon’s revamped card advertises up to 5% back on purchases made using the card.
Rather than getting a statement credit, rewards are issued as points you can redeem toward later Amazon buys.
Prime subscribers receive 5% back on orders from Amazon.com, plus 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and pharmacies. Everything else earns 1%.
Each 100 points you accumulate equals $1 to spend on future Amazon purchases. When you pick the Prime credit card at checkout, you can apply some or all of your points to your total.
New cardholders also get a $70 Amazon gift card when their application is approved.
Be Careful — This Could Be a Trap
The card will surely lure devoted customers into applying. But there’s a downside to the perks.
This card carries an APR of 14.74% to 22.74%, based on your creditworthiness. If you tend to carry balances on cards, don’t bother chasing the rewards. The interest you’ll pay could easily outweigh the benefits.
The interest rate itself isn’t even the worst issue here. The more troubling aspect is the card’s very existence.
Amazon has effectively cornered the market, identifying what we want to buy and then finding ways to make us rely on its channels to get those items.
The company does streaming media, cloud storage, grocery delivery and virtually everything else — all while training us to expect online orders within two business days or less.
I enjoy shopping on Amazon because I prefer to expend minimal effort when purchasing. But I’m conscious of how much I spend on the site, largely because it’s convenient.
Would it be nice to have extra points to spend on future orders? Sure — who doesn’t like saving a bit?
Still, I’m reluctant to let Amazon extend its reach into my financial habits any further.
Your Turn: Will you apply for Amazon’s new credit card?
Also, if you’re weighing the perks of Prime membership in the mix, you might find this useful: amazon prime worth it.
