The Amazon Prime Visa offers great value, but you’ll need a plan to reap all the benefits.
With a $0 annual fee, you can start earning extra value for your spending right away. But it still pays off to know all the card’s features, even with no annual fee to earn back.
1. Check for your Amazon Gift Card
Depending on how and when you applied for the Amazon Prime Visa, you may have received an Amazon Gift Card up on approval.
According to Amazon, that gift card value should have been loaded instantly to your Amazon.com account. If you missed it, it’s probably a good idea to ensure it was added correctly.
The current limited-time offer for the gift card is $250 upon approval, but your offer might have been different depending on when you applied.
2. Learn the bonus categories
The Amazon Prime Visa features many bonus rewards rates. To start building up your rewards balance, you’ll want to remember the categories and start using the card intentionally to maximize your earnings.
With your eligible Amazon Prime membership, you’ll earn …
- 5% back on Amazon.com purchases, Whole Foods Market purchases (online or in-store) and Chase Travel℠ purchases with an eligible Amazon Prime membership
- 2% back at gas stations, restaurants (dining in or taking out), and local transit and commuting (including rideshares)
- 1% back on all other eligible purchases
Amazon promises additional offers with your card, including bonuses for choosing certain shipping options on Amazon.com purchases (with an eligible Prime membership) and 10% on a set of rotating items and categories. But these offers vary by their nature, and it’s probably best to consider them a nice bonus rather than something to seek out actively.
3. Choose how to redeem your rewards
The rewards you earn with your Amazon Prime Visa can be used for all or part of your purchase at Amazon.com, with rewards available for redemption as soon as the day after you’ve earned them.
You’ll see your rewards balance during checkout at Amazon.com, and you can choose to redeem any available amount towards your purchase, even if it doesn’t cover the whole cost.
Plus, you have more options for redemption through Chase, such as cash back, gift cards and travel bookings through Chase Travel. Better yet, these options give the same 1-cent value as for Amazon.com redemptions.
Next steps
Your Amazon Prime Visa comes with other benefits, like purchase protection and baggage delay insurance, but the perks we’ve outlined are the most likely to help you find value early in your card membership.
Once you start using your card more often, you might find it has some gaps you’d like to fill with another card. For example, if you’re looking for a higher rewards rate on gas or groceries not purchased at Whole Foods, it might be worth seeking out another card with strong rewards in those categories.