Key takeaways
- If you regularly shop at Amazon.com or Whole Foods, the Prime Visa deserves your attention, thanks to its exceptionally high rewards rate.
- Prime Visa cardholders can use their rewards points to offset Amazon.com purchases and may also qualify for bonus rewards earning options, such as Amazon’s Prime Card Bonus deals.
- However, despite being issued by Chase, the Prime Visa does not participate in Chase Ultimate Rewards, which limits the card’s redemption options and perks.
- Before applying for the card, make sure its bonus categories and redemption choices make sense for your spending habits.
Whether you shop online all the time or every once in a while, picking up a rewards card for this purpose is a smart move. You’ll get the chance to earn cash back or other rewards for all your online shopping, and you’ll also get the consumer protections that come with paying with plastic, including zero fraud liability for fraudulent purchases.
If you’re an Amazon.com enthusiast with an Amazon Prime membership, or you’re someone who frequently shops at Whole Foods (online or in person), the Prime Visa is easily one of the top cards you’ll want to consider.
This card offers a sky-high rate of cash back (5 percent) on Amazon.com purchases and shopping at Whole Foods, plus you’ll earn rewards at restaurants, gas stations, local transit and commuting expenses. Read on to find out how the Prime Visa can help you maximize your cash back rewards when you shop online on Amazon.com and elsewhere.
Earn 5% back when you shop online with the Prime Visa
Many cash back credit cards offer up to 2 percent back on everything you buy, but that doesn’t come close to this card’s rate for purchases with the online retailer. In fact, cardholders with the Prime Visa and a qualifying Prime membership earn unlimited 5 percent back on online purchases with Amazon.com and Amazon Fresh, plus the same rate online and in-store at Whole Foods Market.
To see these benefits in action, let’s say you spend $300 per month on household essentials and other purchases with Amazon.com, plus another $800 on online food delivery through Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh. In this case, you could earn $55 per month in cash back on those purchases, or $660 in cash back over the course of 12 months.
And remember, that’s on top of the rewards you can earn for other spending. If you use this card for daily purchases and bills, you’ll also rack up 2 percent back at restaurants, gas stations and local transit expenses, as well as 1 percent back on everything else you buy.
Select purchases with the online retailer net 10% cash back (or more)
This cash back credit card also offers a “Prime Card Bonus” that translates to 10 percent back (and potentially more) on eligible purchases through the online retailer. While the deals that qualify change all the time, they often include popular electronics, clothing, small furniture, shoes, cookware and other items you’d find on your normal shopping list.
Some of the Prime Card Bonus items available as of this writing include a 12-month Microsoft 365 Personal subscription, 3rd generation Apple AirPods, Beats Solo3 on-ear headphones and a 14-inch HP laptop with Windows 11.
There’s no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
You won’t pay an annual fee for the Prime Visa, nor will you pay foreign transaction fees if you use it for purchases abroad.
This means the rewards you earn with online shopping are entirely yours for “free” — at least, they can be if you pay your credit card bill in full each month and avoid paying interest on purchases.
Redeem your rewards for Amazon.com merchandise, cash back and more
The points earned through the Prime Visa can be redeemed in several different ways, including offsetting eligible Amazon.com purchases (some popular products like music, Kindle eBooks and video downloads may be excluded).
Alternatively, Prime Visa points can be transferred to Chase — the card’s issuer — to claim cash back, gift cards and other travel rewards. Note, however, that transferring your points to Chase does not make them part of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program or make them eligible for Ultimate Rewards perks.
For these reasons, turning your Prime Visa points into cash back rewards is likely to give you the most flexibility with this card’s redemption options.
The bottom line
If you shop online with Amazon.com (and, who doesn’t?), you’ll almost certainly benefit from signing up for the Prime Visa. Doing so will net you unlimited 5 percent back on millions of different products, and you can even earn 10 percent cash back (and potentially more) on eligible Prime Card Bonus specials.
Since there’s no annual fee, and applicants may qualify for a $100 (or more) Amazon.com gift card upon account approval, the Prime Visa is easily one of the best credit cards for online shopping enthusiasts everywhere.
If you’re ready to learn more about this card, check out our Prime Visa card review and benefits guide. Doing so can help you decide if this card is worth it, or if you should consider other cash back credit cards instead.
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