Chase Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card Review

You’ve run out of toilet paper, you need a new rug, and you want to shop for another TV. Luckily, Amazon is just a click away.

When you use the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card, you’ll not only get the convenience of home delivery, but you can now save even more money!

Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card Sign-Up Bonus

Signing up for the Amazon credit card right now will give you the sign up bonus mentioned above. Then, you’ll earn 3% cash-back on all Amazon purchases by using the card.

Not stopping there, the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card also earns 2% cash-back in three different categories: restaurants, drugstores, and gas stations. All of these accumulate on your card to be used for cash-back rewards.

This card has no annual fee, so all the cash-back you earn goes directly in your pocket!

The Advantage of Using the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card

The most obvious benefit of the card is getting 3% cash-back on all of your Amazon purchases. Not only do you get the potential savings by shopping online, but you also get a 3% discount on top of that.

You can still use other coupons, discounts, or gift cards on top of that to get an even better deal, which makes the card even more powerful.

If you’re not much of a traveler, but you drive around town, have prescriptions, and eat out a lot, then the Amazon reward credit card is a great option. You’ll get 2% cash-back at all of these places.

Any cash-back you earn accumulates in your portal, although it exists outside of Chase Ultimate Rewards. You can use the cash-back in the Chase portal for gift cards, statement credit, and even travel!

Reward points can also be used to offset your Amazon.com balance directly if you choose; this will be at the typical value of 100 points per $1.

Bottom Line:  The Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card is ideal for non-travelers who frequently shop on Amazon, eat out, get gas, and use drugstores. The 2-3% cash-back has no limits, but rewards cannot be redeemed for better than 100 points per $1.

The Pros and Cons of Using the Card for Travel Redemptions

The good news about the Amazon credit card is that you can use it for travel. The bad news is that if you do, it’s not as valuable as other rewards cards.

While there used to be fixed price rewards that could get a slightly higher value, rewards are now only available at standard 100 points per $1.

Even worse, the reward points can’t be combined with any other Chase cards.

For those who primarily use a hotel card, you can use the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card for flights and that hotel card to book hotels.

Disadvantages of the Card and Alternatives

As discussed above, the disadvantages are that the Amazon reward credit card rewards cannot be combined with those of other Chase cards. You also won’t be able to boost the value of the points past $0.01 each.

If you don’t really utilize the categories this card earns in, then it will probably be a disappointment for you.

Alternative cash-back cards include the following:

• Citi Double Cash Card (2%)
• Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card (1.5%)
• Chase Freedom® Card (1-5%)
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (1-6%)

While the Citibank and Capital One cards above earn evenly for all purchases, the Chase Freedom® and Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express have a variety of different categories they earn in.

These include the rotating Chase categories as well as supermarkets, gas stations, and department stores (U.S. stores only for American Express cards).

Bottom Line:  The Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card rivals the other cash-back cards out there. Deciding which one will be most valuable for you depends on what categories you spend in the most, so review each card as necessary.

Final Thoughts on the Card

For a big Amazon shopper, this card is incredible. Giving you constant 3% cash-back will certainly allow you to save some money to pay for something else you need.

The addition of 2% cash back for a card that has no annual fee is great, and easily rivals the other cash-back cards out there if you’re spending in the right categories.

Having multiple redemption options also is a plus, although they’re all about the same value. All things considered, the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card should be something you can use with confidence.

• You’re a big Amazon shopper!
• You also use a lot of gas, utilize the drugstore, and eat out frequently

• You are looking for higher value travel rewards
• You don’t utilize the card categories

To maximize your cash-back, you just need to be sure to use your Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card for all purchases in the categories the card covers.

Be aware that you can purchase almost anything on Amazon these days, so you may want to shift even more of your purchasing there to maximize your rewards.

The obvious way to maximize cash-back with the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card is to use Amazon to make the majority of your purchases, which immediately earns 3% cash-back.

If your spending is also heavy toward gas, dining, and drugstores, then you will definitely be maximizing your cash-back by using this card.

Some ways to further maximize your reward points strategy:

Tip #1: Use in combination with other cards. While you can’t combine the points, this card may work well in conjunction with other cards anywhere you’d only earn 1% with the Amazon credit card.

For instance, common categories not covered are travel (including both airfare and hotels), supermarkets, business expenses, and department stores.

Combining the Amazon credit card with other cards that cover these categories will ensure you’re earning the most rewards for your spending. Check out our airline, hotel, business, and travel rewards card reviews for some ideas.

For example, you may want to go with an across-the-board-earner like the Discover it Miles Card or Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® to fill the gaps while earning travel rewards.

Tip #2:  Utilize more Amazon products, including:

• Amazon Prime for video, music, and books
• Amazon Prime Now for immediate needs, groceries, and more from local stores
• Amazon Home Service Requests for household service needs
• Amazon Garage for auto parts
• Amazon Fresh for groceries

For almost anything you need–even things such as plants, household goods, snacks, and more–you can save 3% by buying through Amazon, and get two-day delivery if using Prime.

Tip #3:  Use the gift card trick. You can get gift cards for Amazon or other places through the marketplace and earn 3% back.

This option is great for gifts or for purchasing gift cards in categories the card does not earn in, such as grocery stores, home improvement stores, and department stores.

Unfortunately, the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card rewards don’t go above a $0.01 per point value, no matter how you redeem.

Note that the card has minimum redemption amounts that must be used depending on the award. For instance, to get a gift card you would have to redeem a minimum of 2,500 points.

There are a few things worth mentioning in order to ensure you get the most value:

Tip #1:  Don’t use your reward points for direct payment on Amazon.com.

While your points will be worth the stated value of $0.01 each, you miss out on the opportunity to earn 3% cash-back, and therefore diminish the value of your purchase.

See the Card Math section for details.

Tip #2:  Don’t use your points for gift cards to gas stations, restaurants, or drugstores.

The same explanation applies as Tip #1; see Card Math for details.

Tip #3:  Redeem points for domestic travel. This option does not interfere with your earnings categories, and allows you to purchase domestic tickets with your points.

Domestic travel typically gives a $0.01 to $0.015 per point value when using loyalty programs, so you will be redeeming for the same value.

Tip #4:  Redeem reward points for statement credit. This option is the easiest and safest bet.

By using points for statement credit, you ensure you get the full value of the points you have earned while continuing to earn on all your purchases.

This is also easier than purchasing travel with the card, which will take some effort in calling Chase and booking the flight. You also miss out on the 1% cash-back you could earn for the ticket.

Amazon.com is your only partner with this card. You can book travel with any carrier at a set value, but there are no bonuses for a specific partner.

While the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card has no annual fee, it is good to know how the value of the earnings and rewards stack up against other cards.

We will show how using the card pans out for our model families, do some calculations to show why you should redeem for statement credit, and compare the value to some other cards.

A Quick Card Recap

Here is the summary of the card details:

The value of the card starts at the break-even point, meaning you won’t lose money by owning the card like you would with those that have an annual fee.

Also note that the sign-up bonus ensures you already get value out of the card just by opening it!

Cash-Back Value of Model Family Spending

Using the fictitious family spending patterns we’ve created, we will assume that the Amazon reward credit card is used for everything during a year of spending; the amount spent per category is detailed in the table below.

An assumption of drugstore spending had to be made, since this is not a category that we broke out in the exercise. We will assume that the families spend $200, $400, and $600 at drugstores, respectively.

Similarly, online shopping is not detailed, so we will conservatively estimate that the families spend $1,000, $2,000, and $3,000 at Amazon.com yearly.

This drugstore and Amazon.com spending will be pulled from the “other” spending, and we’ll assume the rest cannot be purchased with a card (so it will be left out of the equation).

*This table assumes spending at Amazon.com and drugstores based off the “other” category of spending for the model families.

Value of the Cash-Back Rewards

At the spending levels noted, the families will make the following amount of cash-back over the course of one year on the Amazon credit card:

*Total cash-back value at the spending limits noted in the previous table.

That’s not bad for a no annual fee card; each family will see a few hundred extra dollars per year to offset their statement balance. The only issue is not being able to boost this value using certain redemption options.

The above table assumes the families utilize Amazon for some household purchases and maybe entertainment, but utilize the other categories at standard, brick-and-mortar locations.

What would happen if the families purchased all their groceries through Amazon Prime Now or Amazon Fresh?

This moves between $7,000-$15,000 in supermarket spending to the Amazon category, meaning it goes from a 1% to a 3% return. The following table shows each family’s new spending patterns:

*Shifting all groceries over to Amazon

Now, this table shows the new cash-back values for making this huge shift, as well as the difference in values from the original calculation:

*The cash-back value after shifting groceries to Amazon, and the difference in value between the two examples

As you can see, there is much more value in using Amazon for groceries!

The caveat here is you must ensure the prices you pay through Amazon are the same or better than at your typical supermarket, including any delivery fees or tips you might add.

However, you also save time and gas money by not having to go to the store yourself. It’s up to you to decide what is worth it!

Bottom Line:  The Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card earns fairly well for the typical Amazon user, but shifting more of your purchases (such as groceries) to the Amazon store can really boost your cash-back.

Why You Should Redeem as Statement Credit

While the reward points being used will always be worth $0.01 each, math comes into play when you consider how you choose to redeem them.

This is because you may be redeeming the points for categories in which the card would earn bonus cash-back. If you do this, you’ll miss out on the 1-3% cash-back for those rewards!

Any time you choose to pay with points, you choose to forego any potential cash-back. An example will show how this works.

Consider someone who spends $1,000 each quarter on their card, earning 1% cash-back. They use this cash-back to pay for statement credit, and therefore their balance is only $990, which they pay with cash.

*The money spent each quarter goes on the card, and the earned cash-back is immediately applied against the balance before paying.

If they choose to pay with their points instead, the math is a little different: they earn less cash-back overall because the amount they are actually purchasing is lower.

Note that they can’t apply the pay with points until their next purchase. We will add in a Q5 purchase equivalent to the leftover cash-back so that the full rewards are spent.

*Money spent each quarter is offset by the available cash-back rewards rather than used as statement credit.

In the second example, we show the purchase value and price separately since the actual price put on the card is offset by the available rewards.

At the end of the second example, you would spend $3,970.20 on your card versus the $3,960 in the first example. But your total purchase value is also $4,009.90 versus $4,000 in the first.

How can you tell which is better? Simply take the difference in the value of the purchases and the cash spent. In example one, the difference is $40, and in example two it is $39.80.

That means that in example one, you get $0.20 more value out of your purchases by using the points as statement credit. This clearly is nothing to write home about, but it’s technically something!

For those who spend more (and if we consider a 3% versus 1% cash-back), the value only increases. If we change the previous example to 3%, for instance, the difference in value comes to $2.65.

Finally, the last thing to consider here is the fact that applying a statement balance is also the easiest option overall; simply click redeem and it’s done!

The other options involve waiting for a gift card or calling in to book travel, and your time is more valuable than that.

Bottom Line:  There is a slight advantage in value to using points as statement credit over other redemption options with the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card, both in dollar value and in the time and hassle it takes to get the other redemptions.

Comparing to Other Rewards Cards

So what value can you get from one card versus another? Taking some Card Math examples from other reviews, we can compare how much this card makes versus others.

Over the course of a year’s worth of spending, the value of the Amazon credit card versus other cards can be approximated to be the following, adjusting each calculation to the same amount of yearly spending.

*Value of a year of spending on each card, assuming the same spend for each (modeled after spending of The Kennedys).

All the calculations above are based off the yearly spending of the Kennedys, but does not take into account sign up bonuses or annual fees. Per these calculations, the card actually comes in at second best to the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.

In last place is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, and in second to last is the Discover it Miles Card. In third place is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

However, when considering the travel rewards cards can transfer points to travel partners and get $0.02 or more per point, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes out on top and the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express becomes much more valuable.

The value of all these cards will change depending on the actual money spent. If you spend less in travel and dining and more in the Amazon credit card categories, that card will likely be more valuable.

Check out each of the cards or review the rest of the cards provided to choose the card that best fits with your budget.

Bottom Line:  At the chosen spending level and categories, the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card is the fourth most valuable among the cards considered here.

Card Math Conclusion

Overall, the Chase Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card will provide you with at least a few hundred dollars of value, depending on your overall spend. The more you spend at Amazon.com, gas stations, restaurants, and drugstores, the more valuable the card becomes.

While other cards may be more valuable at certain levels of spending, this card is easy to use for someone who doesn’t travel too much and just wants a simple solution for cash-back.

Photo Credits/Credit/Copyright Attribution:

Online Shopping Collage: Bloomua/Shutterstock
Small Packages on Keyboard: Oleksiy Mark/Shutterstock
Gift Card: Creative Hat/Shutterstock
Thinking Woman: racorn/Shutterstock