Should you get the Amazon credit card? As a cardmember of over 5 years, here’s my personal Amazon credit card review so you can know the pros and cons.



Amazon Credit Card Review
The Amazon Credit Card (issued by Chase) has been around since the early days of Amazon.com, back when they were mainly known for just being books and movies. Since Amazon was such a mega site and they heavily promoted it to customers, they were able to achieve success with this credit card instantly. But does that mean this card is the best… or has everyone just been hopping on the bandwagon because of the $25 bonus for applying? Is this an old fashioned bait ‘n switch or does this rewards Visa card live up to expectations? Let’s find out…

Financials

Annual Fee: it’s a free credit card (no annual fee) as most cards are nowadays.

Interest Rate: Like most credit cards, the exact APR you get depends on your credit rating. I checked their website and the current annual rate on the Amazon credit card (platinum level) is 18.24 or 21.24%. Unfortunately, this is definitely above average.

International Transaction Fee: For purchases made outside the US, there is a 3% surcharge tacked on (even if the foreign merchant charges in dollars). So you definitely don’t want to use this card for purchases outside of the country.

Customer Service

My Experience: One thing I can’t leave out of this Amazon credit card review is my personal experience with them. I’ve had the card since ’05 but stopped using it after better rebate credit cards hit the market and some bad experiences I was having with it. Regarding the service I received with the cards, I have two complaints:

Frequent Declined Purchases: Due to “security reasons” my transactions would frequently require me to call in to customer service to confirm it’s really me making the purchase. Now if I was out on a shopping spree, this might make sense. But this was happening with tiny everyday local purchases – like a tank of gas or a few grocery items – and it was always a huge headache to fix. But worst of all, it was an embarrassment… whenever it happened at the grocery store, everyone in line would stare me down, assuming I must be a credit delinquent and that’s why the charges weren’t going through.

I would have to call the Amazon credit card customer service, wait on hold, and then have them remove the “suspicious” transaction label… this would take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes each time. Reportedly, this is a problem a lot of cardmembers were having with certain cards. In fact, it was happening on an estimated 5 to 7% of purchases for a good friend of mine, so he eventually stopped using his card too.

Outsourced Customer Service: I remember when I first got the card, they had American customer service reps. Unfortunately, they have since started using Indian call centers. Imagine having to repeatedly call customer service for the above problem, then having to deal with a foreigner to fix it… talk about a stressful situation!

Rewards

Of course, this is what peaks our interest in the Amazon credit card, and this is why I originally applied for the card myself. Here’s how the rewards are currently structured:
3 points per dollar on Amazon.com purchases
2 points per dollar on gas/restaurants/drugstores
1 point per dollar on all other purchases
Once 2,500 points have been accumulated, they issue a $25 certificate that can be used towards an Amazon.com purchase.

Signup Bonus: For years now they have been offering a signup offer for an approved Amazon credit card application. It’s usually $25 or $30. Bonuses are always nice, but since they’ve been doing this offer for several years now, I think it’s pretty safe to say that deal will stick around… so that in itself is not a reason to apply.

Is the Amazon credit card good?

It’s not a ripoff… strictly based on the rewards, I would have to agree the Amazon Visa credit card is good for purchases from Amazon.com. As far as the 2 points per dollar on gas/restaurants/drugstores… that’s better than the average however there are other cards out there that give you higher rewards for those categories. The Amazon credit card’s 1% on all other purchases is pretty typical for reward cards these days.

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