Any drawbacks to the Amazon Credit Card?

[laurensmomma]

Hi, semi-lurker here. I'm looking for advice on whether or not the Amazon Credit Card is worth it, or really, my best option. They are offering 5% back on all purchases in the form of a statement credit, with no annual fee. This seems like a no brainer to me, but for some reason I'm hesitant.

Is there another credit card you'd recommend over this? I'd be interested in ones that either offer money back on purchases, or you can earn rewards/flights through. I'm just really naïve when it comes to credit cards, so want to make the right choice if I get another one.

Right now I have a Citibank and a Chase credit card if that matters. Thank you!

[v]

The drawback is that the 5% card is a store card, not a credit card -- it cannot be used anywhere other than Amazon. I suppose there are lesser protections offered because I don't believe it is a Visa/MC/Amex, but I wouldn't be concerned about that because Amazon customer service is good and you'll only be using it at Amazon.  Also, the APR is very high, if you don't pay it off in full every month. If APR isn't an issue and you're willing to have several cards open, I say go for it.

[arch01]

I guess it depends on how you use your CCs. Do you charge everything and pay it off each month?

IMO the Amazon Rewards Visa is better than the store card-it's only 3% back on Amazon purchases but offers a better intro promo and allows for earnings elsewhere.

Which Citibank and Chase cards do you have?

We use the Chase Freedom and Chase Sapphire Preferred cards. I am likely cancelling the Sapphire Preferred after our 7% bonus hits this year, but we'll see. I haven't found another card that offers me the flexibility in cashing out rewards that the Sapphire Preferred card does. We use the Freedom card only for the rotating 5% categories (which, right now is 10% at Amazon). We then transfer the points to the Sapphire to cash out. My last cash out was for Southwest miles where we essentially saved 50% on our flights to FL next year.

[laurensmomma]

Dec 1, 2015 12:12:43 GMT -5 arch01 said:

I guess it depends on how you use your CCs. Do you charge everything and pay it off each month?

IMO the Amazon Rewards Visa is better than the store card-it's only 3% back on Amazon purchases but offers a better intro promo and allows for earnings elsewhere.

Which Citibank and Chase cards do you have?

We use the Chase Freedom and Chase Sapphire Preferred cards. I am likely cancelling the Sapphire Preferred after our 7% bonus hits this year, but we'll see. I haven't found another card that offers me the flexibility in cashing out rewards that the Sapphire Preferred card does. We use the Freedom card only for the rotating 5% categories (which, right now is 10% at Amazon). We then transfer the points to the Sapphire to cash out. My last cash out was for Southwest miles where we essentially saved 50% on our flights to FL next year.

We have the Chase Slate, and I'm unaware of any rewards it has on it. I've had it forever.

The Citi one is Diamond Preferred, and I have no idea if it offers rewards either. I generally don't pay attention to this kind of stuff, and need to get better about it.

[Deleted]

We have the Amazon Visa. We probably average 2 Amazon Prime orders per week (sometimes more...) and we seem to earn a TON back in rewards. Often our little piddly orders are covered by points.

If you're a frequent Amazon shopper, you might as well get one. Plus as PPs said, the Visa allows you to earn points for purchases made elsewhere. The only drawback I've found to the card is that it charges fees for international purchases, so we use a different CC for traveling.

[froggy76]

I have the Citi double rewards card and I get 2% back on everything. The only other card I really use is Target for 5% back.

[arch01]

Dec 1, 2015 13:51:08 GMT -5 laurensmomma said:

Dec 1, 2015 12:12:43 GMT -5 arch01 said:

I guess it depends on how you use your CCs. Do you charge everything and pay it off each month?

IMO the Amazon Rewards Visa is better than the store card-it's only 3% back on Amazon purchases but offers a better intro promo and allows for earnings elsewhere.

Which Citibank and Chase cards do you have?

We use the Chase Freedom and Chase Sapphire Preferred cards. I am likely cancelling the Sapphire Preferred after our 7% bonus hits this year, but we'll see. I haven't found another card that offers me the flexibility in cashing out rewards that the Sapphire Preferred card does. We use the Freedom card only for the rotating 5% categories (which, right now is 10% at Amazon). We then transfer the points to the Sapphire to cash out. My last cash out was for Southwest miles where we essentially saved 50% on our flights to FL next year.

We have the Chase Slate, and I'm unaware of any rewards it has on it. I've had it forever.

The Citi one is Diamond Preferred, and I have no idea if it offers rewards either. I generally don't pay attention to this kind of stuff, and need to get better about it.

A very quick search shows no rewards on either one, but I may be wrong.

It's time to figure out what you want your credit card to do for you-do you travel? Are you paying down debt? Are you paying off the CC every month? How much do you charge every month? 

I wouldn't necessarily close both of your current accounts, but I'd probably stop using them and lower the limits. We keep our oldest card open with a low-ish limit for emergencies. We have plenty of credit on our day to day card, but I like having the other one there and it doesn't affect our credit. 

[laurensmomma]

Dec 1, 2015 20:40:28 GMT -5 arch01 said:

Dec 1, 2015 13:51:08 GMT -5 laurensmomma said:

We have the Chase Slate, and I'm unaware of any rewards it has on it. I've had it forever.

The Citi one is Diamond Preferred, and I have no idea if it offers rewards either. I generally don't pay attention to this kind of stuff, and need to get better about it.

A very quick search shows no rewards on either one, but I may be wrong.

It's time to figure out what you want your credit card to do for you-do you travel? Are you paying down debt? Are you paying off the CC every month? How much do you charge every month? 

I wouldn't necessarily close both of your current accounts, but I'd probably stop using them and lower the limits. We keep our oldest card open with a low-ish limit for emergencies. We have plenty of credit on our day to day card, but I like having the other one there and it doesn't affect our credit. 

Thank you for your advice. One of the cards we have has no balance,  and the other has a relatively low balance,  with a plan to get it paid off in the next several months.

Ideally we would use it to earn travel rewards. So you have one you like for this? 

[Deleted]

Dec 1, 2015 13:54:47 GMT -5 @bellakitty said:

We have the Amazon Visa. We probably average 2 Amazon Prime orders per week (sometimes more...) and we seem to earn a TON back in rewards. Often our little piddly orders are covered by points.

If you're a frequent Amazon shopper, you might as well get one. Plus as PPs said, the Visa allows you to earn points for purchases made elsewhere. The only drawback I've found to the card is that it charges fees for international purchases, so we use a different CC for traveling.

I just got the Visa.  Any drawbacks on getting points from purchases made elsewhere?

[v]

No rewards on your current cards is craziness! I'd call both Citi and Chase and see if they can change your cards to rewards cards. Often they can change you to a new product without you having to open or close an account.

Citi Double Cash is a great card for every day spending -- 2% back on everything.

ETA: but if you carry balances, a high APR can more than negate rewards, so I'd keep a close eye on that.

[arch01]

Dec 1, 2015 22:21:31 GMT -5 laurensmomma said:

Dec 1, 2015 20:40:28 GMT -5 arch01 said:

A very quick search shows no rewards on either one, but I may be wrong.

It's time to figure out what you want your credit card to do for you-do you travel? Are you paying down debt? Are you paying off the CC every month? How much do you charge every month? 

I wouldn't necessarily close both of your current accounts, but I'd probably stop using them and lower the limits. We keep our oldest card open with a low-ish limit for emergencies. We have plenty of credit on our day to day card, but I like having the other one there and it doesn't affect our credit. 

Thank you for your advice. One of the cards we have has no balance,  and the other has a relatively low balance,  with a plan to get it paid off in the next several months.

Ideally we would use it to earn travel rewards. So you have one you like for this? 

I like the Chase Sapphire-they're doing a 50k bonus right now as well. The Points Guy outlines some of the earnings with it: thepointsguy.com/2015/12/earning-and-burning-with-chase-sapphire-preferred/ https://creditcards.chase.com/a1/sapphire/apply50?CELL=6H8X&AFFID=pngc6t7Ewoo-LFcTt7GfOu7QPgX5OK5gew&pvid=A100012928506&jp_cmp=cc/307156/aff/3-10002559/na

They waive the $95 fee for the first year. I like it because if you book through them, there's a 20% travel redemption bonus. We typically charge $2-3k per month on it. If I can charge it, I do (unless they have a fee, like some of our bill pay options).

Otherwise, if you have Southwest Airlines around you-that's my next pick. 

The Citi Double Cash back is another one to look at. It has no annual fee. In your situation-I'd be inclined to suggest this one since you have some debt; we don't mind the annual fees on our card because the benefits we get far, far exceed the value of the annual fee. I've never been successful with getting the Sapphire fee waived.

I'm not overly familiar with the Citi ThankYou points system, but others might be able to chime in.

For research I highly suggest The Points Guy. I like the way things are all laid out in front of you for easier comparison.


thepointsguy.com/credit-cards/

[laurensmomma]

Thanks for the link, arch01, off to go research now!

[shaynaatl]

These days I wouldn't get a rewards CC that didn't have a good sign-up bonus offer. E.g. Chase Freedom is currently doing $150 cashback sign-up bonus on top of the rewards. I actually got that card a few years ago when the sign-up bonus was $300.

[Deleted]

Dec 2, 2015 0:31:50 GMT -5 @adobeclay said:

Dec 1, 2015 13:54:47 GMT -5 @bellakitty said:

We have the Amazon Visa. We probably average 2 Amazon Prime orders per week (sometimes more...) and we seem to earn a TON back in rewards. Often our little piddly orders are covered by points.

If you're a frequent Amazon shopper, you might as well get one. Plus as PPs said, the Visa allows you to earn points for purchases made elsewhere. The only drawback I've found to the card is that it charges fees for international purchases, so we use a different CC for traveling.

I just got the Visa.  Any drawbacks on getting points from purchases made elsewhere?

Not that I can think of, other than the fact that the percentage rate you earn them at is less.

[CloudBee]

We have Amazon Visas through Chase. We're not big on searching for the biggest and best return. I also hate the restrictions that many cards with travel rewards have, and refuse to pay an annual fee. We like how Amazon Visa "points" land in our Amazon accounts as store credit in dollars. And you can decide at the time of purchase if you wish to use them. I believe we get 3% back on Amazon purchases, and 1% back on most other purchases. Gas and a few other streams run higher at 3% as well, I think? The card also links to our Chase bank accounts so we can pay from there, see balances, rewards, etc.

I think the Chase website still has a page where you can compare perks and see all of the benefits in bullet form. Scope it out.