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It seems like nearly everyone shops at Amazon.
Amazon reported in 2021 that Amazon Prime members exceeded 200 million, and about 60% of Amazon shoppers are Prime members.
Prime members pay an annual membership fee to receive free shipping and other Amazon benefits, meaning they likely shop a lot on Amazon.
With all that shopping going on, you know we want to make sure you’re taking advantage of the best ways to earn rewards for those purchases!
That’s why we’re going to zero in and take a look at the best cards to use for Amazon purchases.
In this article we’ll cover:
If you’re an Amazon shopper, we know you’ll want to learn how to earn the most rewards on your Amazon purchases — so let’s dig in and find out how to do just that.
Amazon.com is a mainstay in everyday life nowadays, and chances are you’re making regular purchases with this company, whether you’re buying household goods, books, or electronics.
In an ideal world, you’ll be using a card that earns the best rewards on purchases made through Amazon.com, excellent purchase protection, and potentially even extended warranty coverage.
If you’re a cash-back fiend, there are many credit cards you should consider opening to maximize your rewards. It gets a little bit more complicated if you want to earn transferrable rewards points like Amex points or Chase points.
So in this first section, we’ll be examining the best personal cards to use for Amazon.com purchases.
| Card | Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee | Amazon Benefits |
| Amazon Prime Visa card |
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| Chase Freedom Flex℠ |
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| Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card |
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| American Express® Gold Card |
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| The Platinum Card® from American Express |
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| Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express |
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| Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express |
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A strong cash-back card if you shop regularly at Amazon.com and Whole Foods.
We all do our fair share of shopping on Amazon, some of us more than others, and when we shop with Amazon, we obviously want to get the best deal possible. Now, with the Amazon Prime Visa Card, you can add a credit card to your wallet that will help you do just that.
You’ll not only earn rewards on all of your Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, but on 4 other bonus categories as well, along with flexible redemption options, all for no annual fee!
When you consider everything that the Amazon Prime Visa card offers, it is basically a no-brainer for those who frequently shop with Amazon. Let’s dig a little deeper to see just how much the card can save you.
A logical choice for earning cash-back on your Amazon purchases is to secure an Amazon-branded credit card. The best Amazon-branded personal card is the Amazon Prime Signature card, which is issued by Chase.
You’ll earn rewards everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted, as well as bonus cash-back at Amazon, Whole Foods, restaurants, gas stations, and local transit/commnuting.
At the moment, you can expect to earn up to 5% cash-back:
This credit card has contactless payments, basic travel insurance through Visa Signature, purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees, and no additional annual fees for authorized users.
Hot Tip: While the easiest redemption option for Amazon rewards is using them toward Amazon purchases, you can also charge every purchase on your Amazon-branded credit card, earn additional points, and then redeem your rewards as a statement credit.
The Freedom Flex card is an excellent no-annual-fee card that still earns big with 5% cash-back on travel and other bonus categories.
The Chase Freedom Flex℠ sure does pack quite a punch — especially for a no-annual-fee card.
The Freedom Flex card is an incredible option for those looking for a well-rounded cash-back card, or a powerful point-earner when paired with a premium card in the Ultimate Rewards family.
The Freedom Flex card offers quarterly bonus categories that deliver 5% cash-back at select merchants (when activated); Amazon is occasionally one of the merchants featured as a quarterly category. When this happens, you’ll receive 5% cash-back for your Amazon purchases when using your qualifying credit card on up to $1,500 in purchases per quarter.
Also, you can earn up to 5% cash-back on other purchases:
Notably, the Freedom Flex card also comes with a welcome bonus, which includes a 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.49%-29.24%..
While you’re using this card, be sure to keep in mind that you have purchase protection, extended warranty, cell phone protection, and zero liability fraud protection. Of course, travel insurance perks are included, ranging from trip interruption and cancellation coverage to secondary rental car insurance.
There are no additional annual fees for authorized users.
With the right credit card pairing alongside the Freedom Flex card, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can convert your cash-back to Ultimate Rewards points at a 1% to 1x ratio, which translates to a maximum of 5x Ultimate Rewards points on Amazon.com purchases if it’s a quarterly category.
Earning 5x Ultimate Rewards points translates to a return on spending of 10% based on our valuations, which is huge.
You can redeem those points for exceptional value by transferring them to travel partners for luxury award travel. Other ways to use Chase points include travel bookings through the Chase travel portal, Pay Yourself Back, statement credits, gift cards, and so on.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesGet 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!
As a frequent traveler with excellent credit, you’re always on the lookout for a credit card that comes with all the bells and whistles. And the easier it is to understand, the better!
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the most popular rewards cards on the market. It’s perfect for anyone in search of a great sign-up bonus, high rewards rates, and flexible redemption options.
The Capital One Venture card is one of our favorite travel rewards credit cards, especially if you’re looking for mid-level rewards at a mid-level price point. Currently, there’s a welcome bonus being offered, plus the ongoing ability to earn up to 5x Capital One miles on your purchases:
With the Capital One Venture card, you’re entitled to 2 free lounge visits per year to Capital One Lounges or Plaza Premium Lounges, as well as complimentary Hertz Five Star status and a $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit.
You can also enjoy basic travel insurance, extended warranty, fraud alerts, zero fraud liability protection, no foreign transaction fees, and authorized users for no additional annual fees.
Capital One miles are worth 1.8 cents each by our valuations, which translates to a 3.6% return on spending for Amazon.com purchases.
You can certainly get even better value than that by booking award flights through Capital One’s transfer partners.
Other ways to use your Capital One miles include Capital One Travel bookings, statement credits, gift cards, and online shopping, but you won’t get anywhere near as good of a redemption value through these methods.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThis is the go-to card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants and those who want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!
The American Express® Gold Card is definitely a game-changer.
With this card, you can earn 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants and you’ll also earn 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x.
There isn’t another card on the market that offers a 1-2 punch like this. Of course, there are a number of other benefits of the Gold Card as well, including extra monthly dining rewards and more.
The Amex Gold card isn’t always the first card that comes to mind when optimizing for Amazon.com purchases. Even though it doesn’t have any obvious bonus category to earn more points on Amazon.com purchases, we’re here to tell you that it’s still possible!
To start, the Amex Gold card has a welcome bonus, plus the ability to earn up to 4x points on card purchases:
One of the secrets is that you can maximize reward earnings for your Amazon purchases by first purchasing Amazon gift cards with a credit card that earns bonus category cash-back, or points at selected merchants. By using your credit card to purchase Amazon gift cards at these bonus category merchants, you’ll receive elevated earnings over using your card directly on Amazon for your purchases.
In this case, you’ll want to use the Amex Gold card to purchase Amazon.com gift cards at U.S. supermarkets to qualify for 4x points!
Hot Tip: Check out this comprehensive directory for a full list of merchants selling Amazon gift cards.
Also, the Amex Gold card offers up to $240 in statement credits every year:
The Amex Gold card also has no preset spending limit, access to The Hotel Collection, no foreign transaction fees, secondary rental car insurance, travel protections, and no additional annual fees for the first 5 authorized users ($35 per card after that) (rates and fees).
Amex Membership Rewards points are the most valuable in the business. They’re worth 2.2 cents each, and earning 4x points translates to an 8.8% return on spending.
Of course, you can get even better value by using your points with the Amex transfer partners for luxury business and first class travel. If that’s not your interest, you can also use Amex points for charitable donations, Amex Travel bookings, online shopping, gift cards, and statement credits.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThis card is undoubtedly the #1 card for luxury travel benefits. From the best lounge access (of any card) to statement credits, to complimentary elite status, you can’t go wrong.
When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than The Platinum Card® from American Express.
Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.
The Amex Platinum card is a fan-favorite card for those interested in luxury travel benefits. It also comes with the ability to enjoy top-notch purchase protection while still earning Amex points.
Right now, there’s a substantial welcome bonus, plus 5x points earnings:
Rewards and cash-back aren’t always the priority when it comes to shopping on Amazon. You may value the peace of mind delivered when your large purchase is covered for damage, loss, or theft with purchase protection coverage.
Purchase protection that comes with many credit cards provides temporary (90 to 120 days) coverage for damage, loss, or theft on a qualifying purchase.
First, let’s clarify that all of the credit cards we mentioned here offer some level of purchase protection. If you’re purchasing an expensive item, however, a per-item limit of $500 to $1,000 coverage may not be sufficient.
If your high-value Amazon purchase must be protected, you might choose to forgo elevated rewards earning and gain the purchase protection provided by one of these credit cards.
The Amex Platinum card will generally only net you 1x Amex points on Amazon.com purchases, but this card boasts some of the best purchase protection coverage, which covers up to $10,000 per item and up to $20,000 in protection every calendar year.
Beyond that, the Amex Platinum card has no preset spending limit, making it easy to make large purchases as needed.
Also, we love the incredible list of luxury travel benefits you get from the Amex Platinum card:
The benefits go on and on, including up to $300 in Equinox credits every year, up to $240 in digital entertainment credits every year, $12.95 in Walmart+ credits every year, extended warranty, cell phone protection, no foreign transaction fees, and more (rates and fees).
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThis card is great for those who want to earn cash-back with U.S. supermarkets, U.S. streaming subscriptions, transit, and U.S. gas stations.
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a stellar cash-back credit card for those looking to maximize every purchase they make.
With bonus categories like U.S. supermarkets, select streaming services, U.S. gas stations, and transit purchases, this card rewards you for the items you spend the most on in a big way! For those looking to earn up to 6% cash-back on their purchases, this could be the card for you!
Redeem cash-back through your American Express account
The Amex Blue Cash Preferred card offers a welcome bonus, plus industry-leading cash-back rewards. Expect to earn up to 6% cash-back when you use this card:
We love the ability to earn 6% cash-back at U.S. supermarkets — if you can buy your Amazon.com gift cards at a U.S. supermarket, you can be eligible to earn 6% cash-back, which is even better than the Amazon Prime Signature card!
Plus, you’ll get 2 types of statement credits with this card:
The Amex Blue Cash Preferred card also has secondary rental car insurance, access to Global Assist, return protection, and fee-free authorized users (rates and fees).
Cash-back earned on this card comes in the form of Reward Dollars which can’t be converted into American Express Membership Rewards, but it could be a good option for anyone looking for a simple way to earn cash-back on Amazon.com purchases.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThis cash-back card offers a capped 3% at U.S. supermarkets, 3% at U.S. gas stations, and 3% on U.S. online retail purchases!
When it comes to cash-back credit cards, there are dozens of options to choose from. So what sets the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express apart from the rest?
This card is excellent at earning cash-back on your everyday purchases at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and on U.S. online retail purchases. So if you regularly spend money on everyday purchases, this could be the perfect card to add to your wallet.
If you like to keep things simple, check out the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card.
This card earns 3% cash-back at U.S. online retailers (including Amazon.com) on up to $6,000 in purchases each year. Additionally, it earns 3% cash-back at U.S. gas stations (up to $6,000 in purchases each year) and 3% cash-back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases each year). You’ll get 1% cash-back on other purchases.
The Amex Blue Cash Everyday card even comes with the same $7 monthly statement credit when you spend $12.99 or more every month on a subscription to The Disney Bundle, and it also offers up to $15 per month in Home Chef credits (up to $180 per year).
Enjoy purchase protection, fraud protection, secondary rental car insurance, Global Assist, and authorized users for no additional annual fees (rates and fees).
| Card | Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee | Amazon Benefits |
| Amazon Business Prime American Express Card |
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| Ink Business Cash® Credit Card |
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| The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card |
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| Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card |
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If your business includes a high volume of Amazon purchases, the Amazon Business Prime Amex card‘s unlimited 5% cash-back on all Amazon purchases is a top contender:
Cash-back can be redeemed as a statement credit, which can help offset bottom-line expenses.
With this card, you can get enhanced data views for Amazon Business, secondary car rental coverage, baggage insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees, and fee-free employee cards.
Hot Tip: You must be an Amazon Prime member in order to be approved for this card.
This card offers great rewards and no annual fee. Any new business owner that needs to get going will enjoy this card.
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a lot going for it that makes it a compelling choice for small business owners. The card features a very lucrative 5% back on up to $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services each account anniversary year.
When you factor in that the card has no annual fee, and 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months; variable 18.49% - 24.49% thereafter, you could be adding big value back into your business for no cost out of pocket.
If your business spends a lot at office supply stores, you’ll certainly benefit from the 5% cash-back earnings on the Ink Business Cash card. Don’t currently spend a lot at office supply stores, but have frequent Amazon purchases? You can leverage the 5% cash-back at office supply stores to purchase Amazon gift cards there.
Currently, the Ink Business Cash card earns a terrific welcome bonus, which also includes a promotion for 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months; variable 18.49% - 24.49% thereafter.
Beyond that, earn 5% cash-back as follows:
The cash-back rewards earned can be converted to Ultimate Rewards points if you also happen to have a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. That can elevate your return on spending to a maximum of 10% when earning 5x Ultimate Rewards points.
You can also utilize primary rental car insurance, roadside dispatch, purchase protection, extended warranty, and fee-free employee cards.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesTake control of your cash-back with the Amex Blue Business Cash card, and earn 2% cash-back on up to $50,000 in purchases each year.
Looking for a way to keep tabs on your office supply costs and business travel expenses while earning cash-back? Then The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card could be a good fit.
This card offers expense management solutions that are designed to give companies more control, along with a much clearer picture of their business spending. In doing so, the more you spend, the more cash-back you can earn.
The Amex Blue Business Cash card offers a streamlined cash-back rewards structure with a welcome bonus and a 0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 18.49% - 26.49%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors as determined at the time of account opening. APRs will not exceed 29.99%. Expect to earn 2% cash-back on purchases (up to $50,000 per calendar year). After that $50,000 cap is reached, you’ll earn 1% cash-back.
Your rewards are automatically credited to your statement, which makes earning rewards automatic and super easy.
Other benefits on this credit card include secondary rental car insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, and fee-free employee cards (rates and fees).
The Ink Business Unlimited card is a stellar option for business owners looking for a no-fuss uncapped 1.5% cash-back card without an annual fee.
As a business owner, you likely keep pretty busy and probably prefer a credit card that just keeps things simple.
If so, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card might be just the card for you. From zero annual fee to a flat cash-back rate, the card is a no-frills option that you don’t have to think twice about.
Don’t forget too, 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months; variable 18.49% - 24.49% thereafter
The last card in our article is the Ink Business Unlimited card, which offers enhanced rewards on all purchases as opposed to specific bonus categories. Just like the Ink Business Cash card, it has a sizable welcome bonus, which also includes 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months; variable 18.49% - 24.49% thereafter.
The difference is you’ll follow this earning structure:
So for Amazon.com transactions, you’ll earn 1.5% cash-back. However, your 1.5% cash-back can be converted to 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points if you also have an Ultimate Rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or Ink Business Preferred card. That would translate to a return on spending of 3%!
There’s primary rental car coverage, purchase protection, extended warranty, zero liability fraud protection, and fee-free employee cards.
Hot Tip: If your business would like to use Amazon gift cards as employee incentives, customer rewards, or as a reimbursement tool, you might want to purchase Amazon gift cards in bulk.
Not all merchants allow you to purchase Amazon gift cards with credit cards; your experience will vary based on store policies.
Amazon-branded credit cards do not exclude the purchase of Amazon gift cards from earning cash-back. Amazon-branded credit cards also come with an Amazon gift card (usually $50 to $100) as a welcome bonus when you’re approved for the credit card.
To use an Amazon gift card for a purchase, follow these steps:
Hot Tip: You can also use the mobile app to access your Amazon account, scan the claim number from the back of your Amazon gift card, and then select the “apply to your balance” option to load the funds from the card to your account.
Since several credit cards offer the opportunity to earn 5% cash-back on your Amazon purchases (either by direct purchases on Amazon.com or by buying Amazon gift cards), you can use this as a standard for measuring potential earnings.
So which credit card is the best for Amazon purchases? As we frequently conclude, the best credit card for you will be the one that best rewards your purchasing habits, fits your tolerance for paying or not paying an annual fee, and delivers benefits/rewards you can actually use.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
Enrollment required through Capital One website or mobile app. Upon enrollment, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.
For the car rental collision damage coverage benefit of the American Express® Gold Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/
For the purchase protection benefit of The Platinum Card® from American Express, purchase protection is an embedded benefit of your card membership and requires no enrollment. It can help protect covered purchases made on your eligible card when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, for up to 90 days from the covered purchase date. The coverage is limited up to $10,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. Coverage limits apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/
For the car rental collision damage coverage benefit of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/
For the car rental collision damage coverage benefit of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/
For the car rental collision damage coverage benefit of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, click here.
The best credit card for your Amazon purchases will depend on your priorities and spending habits.
If cash-back is your preference and you spend a lot on Amazon, then the Amazon Prime Signature card has no annual fee and delivers unlimited 5% cash-back. However, you’ll need to sign up for Amazon Prime.
The Amazon Signature card earns 3% cash-back and does not require you to join Prime or pay an annual fee.
Credit cards with quarterly bonus categories like the Freedom Flex card do not have annual fees, and they can earn 5% cash-back. However, the Amazon bonus category or merchants selling Amazon gift cards may not be available every quarter.
If you purchase high-value items, you may want to consider a card like the Amex Platinum card that has purchase protection to cover the item for a limited period of time from theft, loss, or damage.
Amazon Prime is a paid membership that provides benefits to Amazon shoppers.
Members receive free expedited shipping, video/movie streaming, music, free e-reading, shopping deals, and unlimited photo storage.
Prime membership is required to be approved for the Amazon Prime Signature card.
Membership currently costs $139 annually or $14.99 per month. Students can purchase membership for $7.49 per month or $69 annually. For avid Amazon shoppers, free shipping alone can offset the cost of membership.
Those who are on Medicaid or have an EBT card can receive discounted membership for $6.99 per month.
Yes, you can use an Amazon-branded Visa card anywhere Visa is accepted.
However, keep in mind that rewards earned on your Amazon-branded Visa are most easily redeemed for purchases on Amazon.com.
Statement credits, gift cards, transferring cash to your bank account and purchasing travel are options, but have a somewhat more difficult redemption process.
Yes, several credit cards allow you to use your accumulated cash-back or rewards points for Amazon purchases at checkout.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Citi ThankYou Points, American Express Membership Rewards points, and Hilton Honors points can all be used for Amazon purchases.
Unfortunately, the value you receive when using rewards for Amazon purchases is not usually favorable. For this reason, we wouldn’t recommend using your points for Amazon purchases due to low redemption value.
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Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, detailed content for UP.
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