Amazon Prime Rewards Visa: Is It Worth It?

Amazon's Prime Day has quickly become one of the biggest shopping events of the year. Now is a good time to figure out which credit card is best for your Amazon Prime Day purchases.

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa is the first card that comes to mind when choosing a credit card for Prime Day, but is it the best option? Keep reading to find out why we like the Amazon Prime card and our thoughts on a couple of alternative cards to use for Prime Day.

What are the best Prime Day deals?

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The No Brainer: Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card

Like many of you, quite a few of us here at Brad’s Deals shop at Amazon. A few of us even have the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card. Here’s what we love about using the Amazon Prime Visa on Prime Day:

• $100 Amazon Gift Card, instantly upon approval (no spend required)
• 5% cash back at Amazon and Whole Foods
• 2% cash back at gas stations, drug stores, and restaurants
• 1% cash back on everything else
• No annual fee

Every deal on Prime Day instantly becomes 5% better if you're using the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card. The rewards are loaded into your Amazon account at the end of each billing cycle, making it easy to redeem on everyday Amazon purchases.

In addition, certain bigger ticket items you might consider buying on Prime Day are easier to finance at 0% APR with the card. You can also choose to forgo the rewards in order to have more time to pay off your purchases. It can be a convenient and stress-free option for families, but keep in mind that you do have to pay off the bill at some point, so as we always recommend, be mindful of your spending!

Bottom line, this card is worth it if you’re a heavy Amazon shopper. If you are only shopping Prime Day deals once a year, there are a couple of other options we’d like you to consider.

Best Sign Up Bonus + Cash Back: Blue Cash Preferred® from American Express

This one takes a bit more effort than saving your credit card to your Amazon account and clicking "buy," but hang with us. The Blue Cash Preferred Card® from American Express offers a $350 statement credit when you spend $3,000 in the first three months after approval.

What's even cooler is its 6% cash back at grocery stores (up to $6,000 in a calendar year). Many grocery stores sell Amazon gift cards, so you could buy one for the amount you plan on spending on Prime Day with this card at your grocery store and use that to shop during the Amazon sale. Doing this essentially gets you 6% back on your purchase, which is 1% more than using the Amazon Prime credit card.

There are some caveats, though. Since you’re conducting sales transactions with a gift card, you won't have the credit card protections you normally get, like purchase protection or warranties. Still, the additional cash back might outweigh the extra effort here to save even more on Prime Day.

Best for High Dollar Purchases: Amex Gold Card®

If you’re making an expensive purchase, the protection offered with select American Express cards could save you hundreds of dollars if the item ends up being faulty or breaks quickly.

The Amex Gold Card® offers stronger purchase protection than most other cards, with up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per year, as long as your claim is within 90 days of purchase.

Most other non-Amex cards offer $500-$1,000 per claim. That means the expensive computer you are looking to buy from Amazon gets a little extra protection, just for using the Amex Gold Card®. The Amex Gold Card® also adds an extra year of manufacturer's warranty to your purchase, if the original warranty is five years or less in length.

Commonly Overlooked Digital Prime Day Deals

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Our Final Thoughts

Prime Day is a great day to save, and you have a number of choices on what credit card to use to maximize your savings, finance your purchases, or protect the products you buy. Hopefully, these credit card options enable you to get the best out of Amazon's Prime Day.