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Credit Cards Cash-Back Credit Cards

Amazon Visa Signature Review

overall rating
3.4

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The Amazon Visa Signature offers rewards on online purchases at the shopping site and at Whole Foods Market, which Amazon owns. There are also tiered bonus rewards at restaurants, gas stations, and drug stores. There’s no annual fee, and Prime members can get a $200 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval (offer ends 12/4/2023).

Amazon Visa Signature Card

Overall Rating
3.4
Amazon Visa Signature Card
On Chase's Secured Site.
Current Offer

Prime members can get a $200 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval. Offer ends 12/4/2023.

Recommended Credit
Score Our recommended ranges are based off of the FICO? Score 8 credit-scoring model. Credit score is one of the many factors lenders review in considering your application.
350 579
580 669
670 739
740 799
800 850
Good - Excellent
Regular APR (%) 19.49% - 27.49% variable
Annual Fee $0
Rewards Earning Rate Earn 3% back on Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and drug stores, and 1% back on all other purchases.
Balance Transfer Fee Either $5 or 4% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee (%) 0%
how this card stacks up
When compared among all rewards cards in our database:
Rewards
Benefits
Low Fees
Security/Customer Experience
Low Interest
worst best

The Amazon Visa is not one of our top-rated cash back credit cards. You can review our list of the best cash back credit cards for what we think are better options.

Full Review of Amazon Visa Signature

Pros
  • 3% rewards on Amazon and Whole Foods spending, 5% for Prime members

  • Several strong benefits for a no-fee card

Cons
  • Relatively low one-time offer

  • The strongest rewards require a $139 Amazon Prime membership

Pros Explained

  • No annual fee: There is no annual fee with the Amazon Visa Signature credit card. As a result, you won’t be charged a fee simply for having this card, although there might be other costs, like interest costs, involved with the card.
  • 3% Rewards on Amazon and Whole Foods spending, 5% for Prime members: If you already have an Amazon Prime membership, you might be eligible for 5% back on purchases at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market. However, you need to connect your credit card to your Amazon Prime account if you want to take advantage. If you’re already paying for a Prime membership, you won’t see an extra annual fee to get the higher rewards earning rate.

Cons Explained

  • Relatively low one-time offer: Unlike the one-time offers with most cards, the $200 Amazon Gift Card you receive with this card requires no minimum spending or even a purchase of any kind; you receive it upon approval (offer ends 12/4/2023).?At least the Amazon Visa Signature bonus doesn't require any minimum spending.
  • The strongest rewards require a $139 Amazon Prime membership: The additional 2% of purchase value that Amazon Prime members earn with the Amazon Visa Signature arguably upgrades its rewards for Amazon and Whole Foods spending from solid to superb. The additional savings add to such Prime benefits as free two-day shipping on Amazon purchases, exclusive sale items at Whole Foods, and free video streaming of Amazon Prime content. But if the other Prime perks aren't especially valuable to you, you may be hard-pressed to justify Prime membership's $139 annual cost through card rewards alone. Indeed, you'd need to spend close to $6,000 with the card to earn at least $139 with the 2% Prime rewards bonus alone.

Who This Card Is Best For

Naturally, the Amazon Visa Signature best suits regular customers of Amazon.com or Whole Foods Market who also have an Amazon Prime membership. The additional 2% you’ll earn as a Prime member probably won’t alone justify the $139 annual membership. But it’s a nice bonus to add to other Prime features, from free, fast shipping to video streaming.

This card may also have appeal if no other card in your wallet offers 2% rewards on dining, gas, and purchases from drug stores. That’s quite likely the case unless you own either premium credit cards for which you pay a fee or no-fee cards that are dedicated to those purchases.

Also, assuming you lack a premium credit card—and specifically one focused on travel—the?Amazon Visa Signature offers three key benefits that are relatively rare in a no-fee card. The card provides secondary insurance coverage on rental cars and free roadside assistance if you become stranded in your own vehicle. It also lacks foreign transaction fees, which is a boon when traveling abroad.

Amazon Visa Signature One-Time Offer

Prime members can get a $200 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval (offer ends 12/4/2023).

Rewards Earning Details

The Amazon Visa Signature credit card offers tiered rewards:

  • 3% rewards on purchases from Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market
  • An additional 2% on Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market purchases for Amazon Prime members
  • 2% rewards on gas, dining, and purchases from drug stores
  • 1% rewards on everything else

Rewards are accumulated in points at the multiplier rate for the purchase in question. Spending $1 at Amazon.com or Whole Foods, then, would earn three points, with an additional 2 points awarded to Prime members. You’d receive 2 points per $1 spent on gas, dining, or drug stores and a single point per $1 on all other purchases.

Rewards Redemption Details

Rewards from the Amazon Visa Signature card are relatively easy to redeem. It’s possible to use the rewards to pay for purchases at Amazon.com. Every 100 points you accumulate in your account can be redeemed for $1 off the purchase price at checkout. You can choose to pay for all or part of a purchase at Amazon.com with points.

It’s also possible to redeem points for cash back as a statement credit or direct deposit into a bank account through Chase with points. Additionally, it’s possible to redeem points for gift cards at the same rate. Redemptions start at 2,500 points for a $25 gift card.

Redeeming points for travel requires that you call the Chase Travel Center. Because the rewards earned from the Amazon Visa Signature aren’t connected to Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can’t use that portal to redeem rewards for travel and other items.

Transferring Points

You can’t transfer points earned with the Amazon Visa Signature to other programs.?

How to Maximize Your Rewards

The best way to make the most of the Amazon Visa Signature is, of course, to use it for all purchases at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, which earn 3% in rewards for regular Amazon customers—a higher rate than for any other type of purchases. But it can also be used for other purchases, including on gas and food—both as groceries and as restaurant meals, which earn 2% in rewards. Here are several scenarios on what spending could earn in rewards with this card.

Average Case

Let's assume you spend $600 annually on the site. At 3% back, that's 1,800 points, which are worth $18 in rewards. Then consider a non-Prime member who also shops at Whole Foods for, say, half of their groceries. Since the average household spent $4,942 on food for the home in 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that Whole Foods spending would total about $2,471 and earn $74 in rewards, given the same 3% rewards rate. The grand rewards total is about $95.

And if the household also has an Amazon Prime membership, they would enjoy an additional 2% in rewards on all of the purchases above. That boost would add $12 in rewards for the Amazon spending and $60 in rewards for the Whole Foods spending. Add this extra $62 or so in Prime rewards to the $95 earned from basic rewards, and the total for the year reaches about $157.

Aspirational Case

Let’s now consider a family that spends more than average at Amazon and Whole Foods and also uses the card more widely. Take, for example, a non-Prime household that spends double the average at Amazon—$100 a month, for a $1,200 annual total—and spends twice what our regular family does at Whole Foods—for a total in groceries of $4,900 a year.

That spending would yield $183 a year in rewards. Then add the use of the card for the average amount of restaurant spending, which was $2,375 for all “food away from home” in 2020. At the rewards rate of 2%, those dining expenditures would earn about $48. Adding the average spending of $1,568 on gas to the mix, at the same 2% rate, adds an extra $31 or so to the total rewards.

The grand total in rewards would be $262. And if our family were a Prime household? They’d earn an extra 2% in rewards on the Amazon/Whole Foods total spending of $6,100, which would contribute an additional $122 in rewards. Grand total: $384. That’s a large sum indeed, especially for a card with no annual fee.?

Amazon Visa Signature’s Outstanding Benefits

  • Secondary auto collision-damage waiver for rental cars*
  • Roadside dispatch
  • Travel and baggage insurance*

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.?Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.?Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

Standard Benefits

  • Purchase protection*
  • Extended warranty protection*
  • Visa Signature Concierge Service
  • Zero fraud liability
  • No foreign transaction fee

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply.?Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.?Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

Cardholder Experience

Chase, which issues the Amazon Visa Signature, received a rating of 807 out of a possible 1,000 in the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. That score ranks Chase just below the average of 809 among national issuers. Users on Amazon.com rate the Amazon Visa Signature as a 4.3 out of 5 stars.

It’s possible to manage your Amazon Visa Signature using the Chase mobile app, which is available for iPhone and Android phones. The app receives user scores of 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple Store and 4.4 out of 5 stars on Google Play.

Security Features

The Amazon Visa Signature has standard security features for the industry.

Final Verdict

The Amazon Visa Signature rewards ardent customers of Amazon.com, Whole Foods Market, or both with decent rewards that are also easy to redeem on the shopping site. But the card ascends from worthwhile to near essential to those who both spend heavily at both retailers and have an Amazon Prime membership. The extra 2% in rewards on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases only adds to the other benefits of Prime, including member sales offers on both sites.

However, for those who shop only occasionally at Amazon or Whole Foods, a general rewards card with a flat cash-back rate, or tiered earnings on different types of shopping, might be a better choice.

Next Steps
For Amazon Visa Signature Card
on Chase's Secured Site.
Compare This Card
See how this card compares to similar cards
CURRENT CARD
Amazon Visa Signature Card
overall rating
3.4
Recommended Credit
Score Our recommended ranges are based off of the FICO? Score 8 credit-scoring model. Credit score is one of the many factors lenders review in considering your application.
350 579
580 669
670 739
740 799
800 850
Good - Excellent
Regular APR (%) 19.49% - 27.49% variable
Annual Fee $0
Rewards Earning Rate Earn 3% back on Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and drug stores, and 1% back on all other purchases.
Investopedia Credit Card Rating Methodology
Investopedia is committed to delivering the best credit card recommendations in the industry. We’ll tell you when a card is good, we’ll tell you when a card is bad, and we’ll only call a card the best if we would recommend it to our friends or family members.
Overall Star Rating Explained
To rate credit cards we objectively assess, score and weight nearly 100 individual card features which roll up into five major feature sets: fees, interest, rewards, benefits and security/customer service. Here’s how we weighted those feature sets for the overall star rating of a card:
We have applied our proprietary rating methodology to every generally-accepted credit card in the U.S. domestic market to allow consumers to make fully informed choices. It’s important to note that for our overall score that we make a number of assumptions about how you would be using your credit card:
  1. While we make no assumption as to whether balances are carried on a given card we do assign varying weights to all credit cards’ introductory APR (if present) in addition to the regular, long term purchase and balance transfer interest rates.
  2. We utilize BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) income and average category spending data to calculate annual earnings rates for rewards cards that offer cash back, points or miles rewards at a set rate on all spending or in consideration of bonus rewards for certain spending categories, like gasoline, groceries, restaurants or travel.
  3. We determine the maximum points value of rewards cards by dividing the points, cash back or miles required to exchange for the retail price of the most valuable redemption option (for example, in the case of a card that offers a domestic roundtrip airline ticket as a redemption option vs. another redemption option of lesser value that requires the same amount of points or miles to acquire, we would base the rewards value on the airline ticket).
  • Cards that are selected best overall in their respective categories generally feature most if not all of the following attributes:
  • Low or Reasonable Fees Credit card fees come in many forms but the primary ones involve those for annual card membership and balance transfer. There are a myriad of reward and non-reward card options that charge no annual fee but for the many that do assess an annual fee the cost is often justified by their lucrative ongoing rewards and initial signup bonuses. Balance transfer fees are occasionally waived during introductory periods with certain cards, a factor which is heavily and positively weighted in our scoring model for cards offering this benefit. When charged, balance transfer fees range between 3% - 5%, which we grade accordingly. Other standard fees can generally be avoided, such as those for paying late or taking cash advances but we rate those relative to other cards in the market for reference, though with less weight assigned
  • Competitive Interest Many cards offer 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for varying lengths and then revert to a permanent or regular APR (based on a variable rate tied to the prime rate) that applies to any balances not paid in full. We rate both introductory APR percentage and length (in months) along with the midpoint of the variable regular APR interest rate range.
  • Valuable Rewards Credit card reward programs can be based on cash back, points or travel rewards (which can be generic or travel partner-specific, as with airline and hotel co-brand card programs). For cards that offer rewards we determine the value per dollar spent along with average redemption values and assign more favorable ratings to cards that offer superior consumer value. We also assign value to sign-up bonus offers and their initial spending requirements, when present.
  • Excellent Benefits Credit card benefits cover a range of offerings like concierge service, TSA Pre-check, auto rental coverage, travel accident insurance, lost luggage assistance and free credit scores. We rate cards on the number and level of over a dozen standard and upscale benefits and provide extra weighting emphasis for those travel-related perks that apply to premium travel cards when present.
  • Solid Security/Customer Service Security and customer service features like lost or stolen card replacement, being able to lock one’s card from an issuer app and 24 hour customer support are becoming more standard across the card market and we provide a significant amount of weighting to features in this area.
  • You can also read the full version of our methodology for a more in-depth look at how we assess cards and award them the best in various categories.