Today is Amazon Prime Day. The dates for 2021’s event are planned on June 21 and 22.
Is your bank account prepared to make the most of the lowest possible net price during Amazon Prime Day?
You aren’t prepared for Amazon Prime Day if you don’t have at least one of the credit cards recommended here. However, applications are still being accepted up to the big day. Keep reading to find out which cards will get you the best deals on Prime Day, and how to select a credit card offer that will continue to benefit you long after the sales have ended.
Best Credit Cards for Amazon Prime Day: The Winners
In honor of Amazon Prime Day, these are the top credit cards to utilize. Either they give special benefits for purchases made on Amazon.com, or they have rewards programs with bonus categories that often favor online purchasing. Two of the best are, of course, associated with Amazon.
- Visa Signature Amazon Prime Rewards Card
Get 5% Back on All Your Amazon and Whole Foods Purchases, Forever!
The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card is tailored at dedicated Prime members who often shop at Amazon and Whole Foods Market and would benefit from substantial savings on such purchases. There is no better credit card for Amazon Prime subscribers on Prime Day.
If you use this card to pay for Prime Day purchases, you’ll get 5% cash back on all your purchases, no matter how much you spend. After Prime Day is over, you may continue to use your membership card to get 5% back at Amazon and Whole Foods, plus 2% back at restaurants, petrol stations, and drugstores.
- As a welcome gift for signing up, you’ll get a $100 Amazon gift card after your application has been processed. Conditions and restrictions apply.
- Get 5% cash back on all purchases at Amazon and Whole Foods Market, no limit. You may get 2% cash back on all your purchases at grocery shops, pharmacies, and petrol stations. The 1% cash back applies to any and all other qualifying purchases.
- Rewards Redemption. The most popular method of redeeming points is for Amazon store credits, which can be used for purchases of any size and can help you save money on Prime Day if you already have points saved up. Besides gift cards, products, and cash (through statement credit or direct deposit), you may also cash out for cash. Minimums and maximums for non-cash and non-Amazon redemptions may also differ.
- Essential Costs. Although there is no annual charge associated with this card, you must be a paying Prime member to receive 5% cash back on purchases made at Amazon and Whole Foods. In addition, there is no additional charge for making a purchase in a different currency.
In addition, this card offers a suite of Visa Signature perks, such as reimbursement for lost or damaged rental cars when you pay in full with your card, access to a range of travel insurance options, an extra year of warranty coverage on eligible items with original warranties of three years or less, and protection against damage or theft for 120 days after purchase, up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. Particularly useful for protecting expensive Prime Day purchases is buy protection.
- Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card
Save an unlimited 3% on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases forever!
A less generous alternative to the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature is the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature. There are essentially three key distinctions:
- This card does not require a paid-up Prime membership.
- Purchases from Amazon and Whole Foods receive only 3% cash back. In other words, all Prime Day purchases will earn you 3% cash back.
How do you know which Amazon credit card is best for you? Spending enough at Amazon and Whole Foods to get the 2% cash-back bonus offered by the Prime Rewards Visa Signature might help you break even on the $139 yearly cost of a Prime membership. This one is fine if you don’t spend a lot of money on Amazon.
- You will receive a $50 Amazon gift card as a welcome gift when you have been approved. Conditions and restrictions apply.
- Receive unlimited 3% cash back on purchases made at Amazon and Whole Foods Market; receive unlimited 2% cash back on purchases made at restaurants, drugstores, and petrol stations; and receive unlimited 1% cash back on all other qualifying purchases.
- Rewards may be cashed in for any amount of Amazon credit, which is the best method to cut down on your overall spending during Prime Day. There are a wide variety of redemption options, including basic cash back (through bill credit or direct deposit), gift cards, products, and more.
- Important Fees: There is no annual charge for this card, and Prime membership is not necessary to get 3% cash back on purchases made at Amazon and Whole Foods. Payments made in a foreign currency incur no additional fees.
- Other Benefits Like the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, you’ll enjoy the full range of Visa Signature perks.
- EDU Student Credit Card Deserved
Free Student Membership to Amazon Prime for a Year ($69 Value)
The Deserve EDU Student Credit Card is the greatest non-Amazon card for students and young people (ages 17-23) to use on Amazon Prime Day and any other day of the year.
Reasoning is basic: Spend at least $500 in the first three months, and you’ll get a free year of Amazon Prime, making it the only credit card that gives you free Prime membership.
Sign up for Amazon Prime Student, pay for your membership using your Deserve EDU Student Credit Card, and reach the minimum required spending amount to receive the full $69 worth of this promotion.
Once your promotional time is up (if applicable), the Prime Student cost will be automatically refunded to your card. If you choose the monthly payment option for Amazon Prime Student, you will be reimbursed for nine consecutive months.
- Earning Rewards: All qualifying purchases earn limitless 1% cash back, with no earning limits.
- Redeeming Rewards: You can redeem any amount for Amazon store credit or cash back via statement credit or direct deposit. Additionally, you may redeem points for gift cards, apparel, and other products at varying thresholds and point values.
Zero introductory APR. - This card does not have an annual fee. There is no cost for overseas transactions.
- In addition to a free year of Amazon Prime Student for those who fulfill the minimum spending requirement, this card offers a multitude of additional incentives. A crucial advantage is a cell phone protection coverage with a maximum claim value of $600.
On Amazon Prime Day, the best credit cards to use are cash-back cards.
Consider these best cash-back credit cards for Prime Day purchases if you aren’t interested in applying for one of the clear Prime Day winners or a card with a price protection advantage.
- Citi® Double Cash Card
If you pay off your monthly statement in full, you may get 2% cash back on all of your purchases, forever.
Anytime you pay off your Citi® Double Cash Card balance in full, you’ll get 2% cash back, no matter how much you owe. That’s basically a 2% subsidy on your Prime Day spending, providing you don’t carry a balance past the current statement cycle.
Cash back earned with this card expires after 12 consecutive months of account inactivity, so at a minimum, you’ll want to make Double Cash your go-to Prime Day spending assistance each year.
- There is currently no sign-up incentive available.
- Gaining Benefits: Get 1% cash back on all purchases, no matter how much you spend, at any time. Then, for every payment you make on time, you’ll get 1% of that amount back. When your statement is paid in full by the due date, you will get a 2% effective rate of return. If your account is dormant for more than 12 months, any cash back you’ve earned will be forfeited.
- A minimum of $25 is required to redeem your rewards for a paper check, statement credit, gift card, or bank account deposit.
- Enjoy a 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for 18 months! After that, the standard annual percentage rate kicks in, which presently ranges from 16.99% to 26.99% (depending on your creditworthiness and market conditions).
- One of the most important fees is that there is no annual cost with this card. The charge for making an international payment is 3%. In addition, you may choose your own payment due date and get full assistance from Citi® Identity Theft Solutions if you ever become a victim of identity theft.
- Chase Freedom Flex℠ Card
Get 5% back on your first $1,500 quarterly spent on several categories; Chase Ultimate Rewards Members Get 5% Cash Back on Eligible Travel Purchases; 3% Reward on All Drugstore and Restaurant Bills; On Everything Else, You’ll Get a One Percent Refund
With the ability to redeem points for Amazon.com purchases in a single step, the Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card is a powerful spending assistance for Amazon Prime Day buyers.
These Freedom Flex purchases earn additional cash on top of the standard 1% cash back on most qualified purchases.
- 5% cash back on quarterly rotating categories up to $1,500 if you activate in time (see this quarter’s Chase Freedom categories).
- 5% cash back on purchases of Lyft made through March 2022
- 5% cash rebate on travel purchases made via Chase travel
- 3% cashback on purchases made at restaurants, including takeout and delivery, and pharmacies.
- Chase Freedom® Unlimited Credit Card
Large Initial Deposit Bonus and Recurring Reward Scheme
Even without a large welcome offer, the Chase Freedom® Limitless Credit Card is a great option for Prime Day shopping since it offers unlimited 1.5% cash back on all transactions.
This sign-up incentive, however, becomes significantly more meaningful when coupled with the best value in its category. You’ll get 1.5% more cash back on your first $20,000 in purchases that qualify throughout the first year. That amounts to a 3% rebate on qualified Amazon orders.
As with the Chase Freedom Flex, the Chase Freedom Unlimited card offers Purchase Protection and is compatible with Amazon’s Shop With Points program, allowing for direct point redemption through the online retailer. What could be better than purchasing on Prime Day, racking up a ton of extra points, and then using those points to offset the cost of your next Amazon purchase?
- Gain an additional 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases (up to the first $20,000 spent) during the first year your account is open as a welcome bonus. In the first year, you can earn a maximum of 3% cash back on all purchases (up to $20,000), 6.5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, travel, gift cards, and more, and 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery service).
- After the conclusion of the offer period, customers will continue to receive 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases. However, you may earn up to 10% cash back on select purchases purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards online platform. The Chase Ultimate Rewards site offers 5% cash back on travel expenditures, and 3% cash back on qualifying purchases made at restaurants and drugstores. The cash back you receive will never expire after it has been received.
- The points you earn can be redeemed for anything from statement credits and bank account deposits to credits toward Amazon purchases made through the Shop With Points program. You may exchange them for a wide variety of goods and services, including gift cards (including Amazon gift cards, which are occasionally available at discounted rates), products, vacation packages, and more. When redeeming for something other than cash, the minimum required and the value of a point may be different.
- You’ll get a 0% intro APR on purchases and debt transfers for 15 months. After that, your variable regular APR (currently 17.99% to 26.74% APR) will apply, according to your creditworthiness.
- Essential Costs: No yearly charges are made. The charge for making an international payment is 3%.
- Extra Benefits: In addition to Purchase Protection, cardholders may get free loss and damage insurance on any rental car paid for in full with their card, and the length of manufacturer warranties can be extended by up to an additional year.
Welcome bonuses, travel rewards, and 0% APR financing are all available.
For Prime Day and beyond, the following cards are the best ones to use while shopping on Amazon. However, these aren’t the only choices for shoppers who want to make the most of their credit cards on the busiest shopping day of the summer.
- Cards with Special Offers
Before Prime Day, apply for one of our recommended credit cards to take advantage of the sign-up bonus. The above list includes the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex, but you may also want to look into:
American Express Platinum
If you open an American Express Platinum Card and spend at least $6,000 during the first six months, you will receive 100,000 extra Membership Rewards points. You may likely take care of a large portion of the necessary expenditure on Prime Day if you front-load holiday or big-ticket purchases.
Capital One Venture Rewards
If you open a Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and spend at least $4,000 during the first three months, you’ll receive 75,000 bonus Venture miles, which may be redeemed for $750 in travel expenses.
- Travel Rewards Cards
Consider one of these top-tier credit cards with enticing travel perks if you’re a regular flyer.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus can be worth as much as $750. However, it stands out from the crowd thanks to its exceptional travel perks, such as a $50 yearly hotel credit on spending with hotels through Chase Ultimate Rewards and 1-to-1 point transfer arrangements with approximately a dozen leading travel merchants.
The cost of overseas travel may be greatly reduced by exchanging Ultimate Rewards points for airline miles or hotel points. All of this is leading up to this year’s Prime Day sales event.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Sapphire Reserve from Chase is like the older sibling of the Sapphire Preferred. It has the same advantageous 1: 1 point transfer ratio, and it also has an extremely generous redemption rate of $0.015 per point when used for travel expenditures. Sapphire Reserve is a decent choice for regular flyers who want to make the most of their Prime Day reward points.
- 0% APR Cards
If your normal budget won’t stretch far enough to cover your planned Prime Day shopping blitz, one of these best 0% APR credit cards will help you avoid paying interest on purchases for a certain amount of time (often, the promotional period ends when the balance is paid in full).
Pay down your Prime Day purchases in full by the promotion’s expiration date to avoid being responsible for any interest that may have accrued.
Quicksilver Cash Rewards from Capital One
You won’t find a 1.5% cash-back card like the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card anywhere else. It’s the best credit card in its category for financing large purchases over time, and it’s available for a full 15 months after your first purchase on Prime Day.
Citi Simplicity
The Citi Simplicity Credit Card shines most as a balance transfer card, but the 0% intro APR offer on purchases for 12 months also makes it a good option for Prime Day financing with no interest.
Bottom Line
Every year, retailers celebrate special events, and it’s not only Amazon Prime Day that’s worth putting away money for. Every year around the conclusion of the third quarter, Americans celebrate Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the two largest retail holidays in the country.
They started as one day events but have since become multi day affairs with thousands of retailers (both online and off), including Amazon. Feel free to put your spending power to the test on Prime Day by using any of the credit cards recommended below. Don’t go crazy and spend all of your money for the year on shopping this month. You should set aside some Christmas spending money in November.
