Amazon has long been the king of online retailers and last year a whopping 244 million consumers bought something through their website. Working in a rapidly developing field like technology, I'm in the market for new gadgets as well as accessories for these gadgets so the vast majority of the time I'm choosing to browse Amazon to find the best deal of my product of interest.
Just a few days ago, it came to my attention that Amazon has just opened up a new Amazon Prime Store Card which offers shoppers with a good enough credit history a line of credit (much like a traditional credit card) that can be used solely for purchases through their website. If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber who applies for the card and gets accepted, you'll be able to enjoy some great benefits towards your future purchases.
During this introductory period, Amazon is offering an instant $40 gift card to any new applicants who meet the credit standard and have never been an Amazon Store Card owner in the past.
Beyond this, the everyday benefits include:
- 5% cash back on purchases under $149
- Your choice of 5% cash back or 6 months if interest-free financing on purchases over $149
These are some pretty amazing benefits for frequent Amazon shoppers like myself. However, this card is not for everyone for a few reasons:
First off, the card requires an active Amazon Prime membership so if you cancel your Prime, the card will be downgraded to a standard Amazon Store card and you will not receive the increased cashback or promotional financing offers any longer. Think of it as a $99 yearly fee except this fee gives you reasonably good benefits like free 2-day shipping, a free photo library backup service and of course, access to millions of stream-able movies, documentaries, TV episodes, and music.
The next potential issue with this card is the notably high-interest rate. This will be a big red flag for anyone who often carries a balance on their credit cards and if you fall under this category then I'd highly suggest you skip out on this offer as the interest rate will cancel out any 5% cash back savings in no time.
To sum it up, the Amazon Prime Store Card is an ideal match if you fall under the following criteria:
- You are currently an Amazon Prime subscriber with good credit
- You spend over $2,000 per calendar year at Amazon (will equate to $100 cashback to offset $99 Prime membership fee)
- You pay your credit cards off in full on their due dates with no running balance
For the record, we are not being paid by Amazon for this article and will not be receiving any compensation for any new card signups. I simply wanted to share a valuable little trick to getting more savings out of your future Amazon purchases!
