Prime Visa Review

The Prime Visa, issued by Chase, offers exceptional value to Amazon Prime members. It earns a generous cashback rate on purchases at Amazon.com and Whole Foods, charges a $0 annual fee and comes with a long list of benefits. Plus, unlike the Amazon Prime Store Card, you can use the Prime Visa wherever Visa is accepted.

Be aware that without a Prime membership, you’ll only be eligible for the Amazon Visa rather than the Prime Visa, and will earn cash back at a reduced rate.

The information related to the  Amazon Prime Store Card and the Amazon Visa has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuers of these cards prior to publication.

• Earn cash back at a generous rate

  Cardholders earn 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and on Chase Travel purchases with an eligible Prime membership, 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare), and 1% back on all other purchases. Frequent shoppers at Amazon or Whole Foods will find this cashback program hard to beat.

  You can redeem cash back as follows:

  • Statement credits to your card
  • Cash back deposited to a bank account
  • Gift cards from a variety of retailers
  • Travel

• Get an Amazon gift card once approved

  This sign-up bonus is very easy to earn — you’ll get a $150 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval and earn 5% back everywhere on up to $2,500 in spending for the first 3 months after account opening ($125 value).* Eligible Prime membership required.

  It’s true that there are credit cards with bigger sign-up bonuses, but this one doesn’t requires any spending on the card to earn it.

• No annual fee

  Between the Prime Visa‘s generous cashback program and its $0 annual fee, this card is a money-saving tool for frequent Amazon shoppers. However, note that you do need to have an Amazon Prime membership — the most affordable subscription being the annual plan, at $139 (or $69 for college students).

  If you spend $2,780 on purchases that earn 5% cash back, you’ll recoup the amount of your Prime membership (or if you spend $1,380 on such purchases, you’ll recoup the amount of the student membership). For those who already have Amazon Prime, getting this card is an easy decision. But if you don’t already have Prime, you should do the math on how much you spend on Amazon purchases each year and determine if its worth signing up for a Prime subscription.

• Promo APR on large purchases

  On purchases of $50 or more, you’ll get an option to select an interest-free period of equal monthly payments. The length of the payment plan will depend on your purchase amount — six months on purchases of $50 or more, 12 months on purchases of $250 or more and 18 months on purchases of $500 or more. However, if you opt to take advantage of a promo APR period, you won’t earn cash back on your purchase. The card’s regular APR is 18.99%–26.99% variable apr.

• No foreign transaction fee

  You can take the Prime Visa with you when you travel abroad without worrying about having an additional fee tacked onto every transaction you make. This card has a $0 foreign transaction fee.

• You need Prime if you want 5% cash back

  To qualify for the Prime Visa, you’ll need an Amazon Prime membership. Without Prime, you’ll only be able to apply for the Amazon Visa which earns cash back at a lower rate: 3% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and on Chase Travel purchases, 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare), and 1% back on all other purchases.

• Know your 5/24 status before applying

  The Prime Visa is issued by Chase, and as such is subject to the Chase 5/24 rule. This means that Chase will deny applicants who have been approved for five or more credit cards from any issuer in the past 24 months. If you aren’t sure of your 5/24 status, you can use a free LendingTree account to review when you opened your credit card accounts.

• You must choose between cash back or the promo APR

  This card offers a helpful feature on purchases of $50 or more where you can take advantage of a 0% promo APR period ranging from six to 18 months (depending on the purchase amount). However, if you utilize that feature, you won’t earn cash back on the purchase.

It’s hard to beat the Prime Visa if you’re a dedicated Amazon shopper with a Prime membership. However, if you’re planning a big purchase and need a card with a solid intro APR period, generous sign-up bonus and robust cashback program, as well as a solid balance transfer intro APR, a card that might serve you better is the Chase Freedom Flex℠. It’s also a Chase credit card, so check your 5/24 status before applying.

Enjoy a 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 15 months. After, a 20.24% - 28.99% variable APR applies.

There is also a 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 months. After, the regular APR will be 20.24% - 28.99% variable. The balance transfer fee is either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening! That’s a easy-to-earn sign-up bonus with a relatively low spend requirement.

For ongoing rewards: 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter! Plus, earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. Note that the 5% rate on rotating categories is capped at $1,500 spent per quarter, after which your rate will drop to 1% in that category. If you max out the $1,500 spend, that’s $75 in cash back.

While the rotating categories change from year to year, examples of past categories include Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, gas stations and home improvement stores, grocery stores (excluding Target and Walmart) and select streaming services.

In addition, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ comes with helpful benefits such as cellphone protection (up to $800 per claim with a $50 deductible, max of $1,000 reimbursement per year), purchase protection, extended warranty protection, trip cancellation and interruption insurance and auto rental collision damage waiver.

The Chase Freedom Flex℠‘s annual fee is $0. Unfortunately, it does come with a foreign transaction fee of 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars, so leave this card at home if traveling outside the United States.

For consumers who already have an Amazon Prime membership, adding this $0-annual-fee cashback card to your wallet is simply a smart decision. But if you’re debating whether to get Amazon Prime, consider whether you spend enough on Amazon that this card’s generous cashback program outweighs the $139 cost of an annual subscription (or $69 if you’re a college student).

And if you’re not a dedicated Amazon shopper, but are looking for a card with a robust cashback program that can help when planning a big purchase, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ is worth considering instead.