Amazon is huge in room for easy, instant access to hundreds of thousands of different products.
When the Prime Visa Technically there is no annual fee, one of the caveats is that you have to be an Amazon Prime subscriber to qualify. Prime membership costs $14.99 monthly or $139 annually.
It’s hard (and stupid) to assess the value of a Prime membership based solely on what you can get by using an online retailer’s credit card — because membership includes so many other tangible benefits — but for the sake of argument, I’m going to try.
Welcome offer
This Prime Visa Currently offering a $200 Amazon gift card instantly upon approval.
There is no minimum spend required to receive this gift card, and you will receive it immediately upon approval. This is a pretty solid bonus, especially considering there’s no spend required, and you can use the gift card from day one.
earning rate
This Prime Visa Earn cash back. The card earns 5% at Amazon, Whole Foods and Chase Travel℠, 2% at restaurants, gas stations and local transportation and travel, and 1% on all other purchases. These are the best consistent returns you’ll find on Amazon purchases and return in the respectable — if incredible — 2% range.
There’s no limit on the cash-back value you can earn, and you can redeem your rewards to pay for all or part of your Amazon purchases. In addition to cash back, you can also redeem your rewards for gift cards or travel.
Related: Best Cash-Back Credit Cards
How should you use the card?
This should be your go-to card at Amazon and Whole Foods to maximize unlimited 5% cash back. If you want a simple card setup, you can combine this card with a 2% cash back card like Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card (See Rates and Fees) to ensure you always get at least 2% back on your purchases.
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However, multiple cards earn at least 3% or more on restaurants, gas stations, and local transportation and travel, such as American Express® Gold Cardwhich earn 4 points per dollar spent at restaurants, and Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Expresswhich earns 3% at US gas stations and local commuting and transportation (earned in the form of cash back reward dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout).
Related: Best Credit Cards for Amazon Purchases
Getting your membership fee back
Now, let’s figure out your break-even cost to sign up for and use Prime Prime Visa card
A $200 gift card covers the cost of your first year of Prime membership for signing up.
But beyond the first year, you’ll need to spend about $2,780 at Amazon or Whole Foods over the following years to get enough cash back to pay the Prime subscription cost.
Here’s the breakdown: $139 divided by $0.05 = $2,780
A 2024 Consumer Intelligence Research Partners The analysis found that the typical Amazon Prime member spends about $1,100 per year with the retailer. That’s not enough cost to justify getting a Prime membership for the sole purpose of getting a credit card.
This is definitely the case for me. I spent about $1,900 on Amazon and Whole Foods last year, earning me $95 in cash back — much less than the $139 Prime membership fee.
Related: Best Credit Cards for Online Shopping
Other card benefits
With this card, you will also receive numerous other benefits including:
- Secondary Rental Car Insurance
- Baggage delay insurance
- Extended warranty protection
- Compensation for lost baggage
- Roadside Dispatch
- Travel accident insurance
- Travel and emergency assistance
- Purchase protection
- There are no foreign transaction fees
- Early access to Prime Day deals
- 10% back on a rotating selection of items and categories
These are some solid benefits, especially for a card with no annual fee.
Related: Your guide to maximizing shopping portals for your online purchases
Calculating your Prime Visa value
Determining whether paying the Prime membership fee to get a Prime Rewards card is worth it is highly subjective. Some of us can get incredible value from 5% on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases.
I’m an Amazon Prime member and spend a lot on Amazon, so this card makes perfect sense to me. The Prime Video and Amazon Music streaming services make the membership worth it – easily justifying the $139 annual cost to me. Throwing a rewards credit card on top of that is the icing on the cake.
For people like me who already have a Prime membership for perks like free two-day shipping and Prime streaming services, earning the bonus with Prime Visa is easily worth it.
However, if you don’t use the benefits of Prime membership and are only considering getting Prime for this card, carefully calculate whether you’ll earn enough on the card to justify the cost of Prime membership. You may find you are better off using a flat-rate A cash-back or travel rewards credit card instead.
Bottom line
If you already have an Amazon Prime membership, this card is a great addition to your wallet because it has no annual fee. You can’t beat 5% cash back every time, especially if you spend a lot at Amazon or Whole Foods. However, if you are not a Prime member or want to earn Flexible points, you should consider other cards.
For more information, read our full review of Prime Visa.
Apply here: Prime Visa