Overview
A lot of the content we produce centers around points and miles, and the credit cards that can help you travel for free. And why wouldn’t it? Points are amazing. They can fly you around the world for pennies, see you kicking back in luxury hotels for peanuts, and rake in savings across the board.
But every so often, a cashback card can steal the show, wrestling the limelight from the flashier products and validating its presence in your wallet for years to come. That card could well be the Prime Visa for many of you.
It’s simple, costs nothing to own, and it has no real perks worth noting. You could go as far as calling it boring. But boring wins in this race, when it rewards repeatable spending. Generous earning categories mean this card punches well above its weight — enough that you might be tempted to ditch the points for an unmissable cash injection.
- Best for: Regular Amazon customers
- Annual Fee: $0
- APR: 18.74% - 27.49% Variable
- Reward Rate: 1%-10%
- Recommended Credit: 670-850
Prime Visa
$150 Amazon Gift Card
Offer Details:
Get a $150 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval, exclusively for Prime members
Why we like it
The Prime Visa is one of the few store cards that pulls it weight. With a whopping 5% cashback on Amazon purchases, those with an itchy trigger finger when it comes to online shopping can reap some serious rewards. It may not be a points-earning product, but few other cards can come close to the value offered on Amazon spending. Its introductory offer of a $150 Amazon gift card is a nice addition, considering it has no spending requirement.
Reward details
Prime Card Bonus: Earn 10% back or more on a rotating selection of items and categories on Amazon.com with an eligible Prime membership
Earn unlimited 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and on Chase Travel℠ purchases with an eligible Prime membership
Earn unlimited 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare)
Earn unlimited 1% back on all other purchases
Pros & Cons
Pros
High cashback rate on Amazon
Strong intro offer with no spending requirement
No annual fee
Cons
Need an Amazon Prime membership to earn rewards
Few perks
Less useful beyond Amazon
Terms Apply
The Elephant in the Room (The Bonus)
I’ll get straight to the card’s introductory offer, because it’s great. But it’s also not what I want to focus on today. It’s easy to plug this card for readers because the intro bonus is effectively free money for successful applicants.
That feels like a reason to apply in itself.
And it is.
But there’s more to this card than that.
Still, it’s currently offering $150 Amazon.com gift card to successful applicants. There are no sneaky requirements, no spending threshold, and no catch for you to get snagged by. It’s just that generous. For a card with no annual fee, this is pretty mad. But it’s brilliant and long may it continue.
Who This Card Is Actually For (And Who It Isn’t)
But after you’ve blown the $150 on whatever you felt like blowing $150 on, is the card worth your time? Many will cast it off, banishing it to the sock drawer for eternity without thinking twice. After all, it’s effectively a store card, not unlike that useless one a depressed 17-year-old in Sears convinced you to open fifteen years ago.
But the difference between the Prime Visa and those old store cards is that this one provides solid value from a spending category that a huge portion of us use.
So, who is the Prime Visa good for?
Heavy Amazon.com shoppers
The most obvious market for this card is regular online shoppers. In particular, those who frequent the endless online catalogues of Amazon.com. As a baseline, you’ll get 5% cashback on every dollar spent on Amazon.com. That’s a pretty epic return if you use the site on a regular basis, and already makes a case for you to switch from a points-earning card in this scenario. There are even rotating categories that will earn as much as 10% on specific items. Obviously, you can’t always rely on these, but they can be a solid add-on.
There’s no card in the points and miles sphere that will top this. Sure, you might find a few offers in different shopping portals, but the best-case scenario is that you’re looking at 2x miles per dollar from a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Of course, by transferring those points, you could earn outweighted value, but you’d need to hit more than 2.5 cents per mile on whatever redemption you used.
With that in mind, getting a flat and generous 5% is a solid deal and worth opting for cashback in most cases. Of course, if you have a specific redemption or points goal in mind, you can stick to your guns.
Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh shoppers
If you’re among the copious masses willing to pay a little more for your shopping at Whole Foods, this is also a card that could interest you. With 5% cashback at both Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh, you have a solid opportunity to rake back some of your hard-earned cash.
Of course, this one might be less enticing than the Amazon cashback rate. With cards like the Amex Gold pulling in 4x points per dollar on American supermarkets, there’s a good argument to use a card like that instead as those 4 points could probably stretch further than the 5% cashback.
Still, if you’re not interested in a more expensive card like the Amex Gold, this represents one of the best returns on what can be a pricey supermarket.
Day to say spenders
Even if you don’t fall into the more specific spending categories mentioned above, the Prime Visa still has scope for the everyday spender. With unlimited 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare), it’s more than pulling its weight.
Once again, if your goal is maximum value, you would be better served in this scenario by opting for a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, that offers a flat-rate 2x miles per dollar on everything, but if you’re keeping it simple and don’t want an annual fee, these bonus categories are making a strong case for the Prime Visa to become to a one-stop shop for your spending.
How Much Can It Earn You?
Naturally, everyone spends in different ways. But if we look at some general statistics, we can make some rough estimations.
According to some data, the average U.S family makes over 70 Amazon orders a year, which comes out to around $2,700 a year. With that, you’re already saving $135 a year.
The Whole Foods one is harder to pin down. It’s a little more niche, and many people only use it for specific high-quality or organic brands. One study suggested WholeFoods’s typical customer base is “highly educated 29-year-old women from the West Coast earning $80,000 a year”. They also buy more kombucha than the average person. Seriously, that’s in the study.
Regardless, with an average of around 15 trips a year and $41 each time, you’d be saving around $30 on that spend. That’s at least three free kombuchas.
Remember, these are very basic and averaged-out numbers. I know there are a lot of you spending an embarrassing amount of money on both Amazon.com and Whole Foods. You know who you are, and you’re probably losing out by not opening the Prime Visa.
But even at a base level, saving $165 with a free card isn’t a bad deal.
How Would We Use It?
In an ideal world, this card slips perfectly into a balanced credit card strategy. If you already have a strong lineup, earning big on restaurants, supermarkets, travel, and a sweeper like the Venture, use it just for the Amazon.com perks. No other card will get you a better return, and it’s helping you save.
If you’re looking at it as a primary card, you really need to be in the upper levels of Amazon.com shopaholics. Otherwise, I’d recommend grabbing something with a broader earning scope.
The Point
The Prime Visa isn’t a sexy travel card. It’s a convenient way to earn a solid bit of cashback on your almost inevitable online shopping bills. Its bonus is ridiculously generous and makes it a strong option for almost anyone, especially considering it has no annual fee. Adding this to your lineup can only benefit you, even if you rarely use it.
- Best for: Regular Amazon customers
- Annual Fee: $0
- APR: 18.74% - 27.49% Variable
- Reward Rate: 1%-10%
- Recommended Credit: 670-850
Prime Visa
$150 Amazon Gift Card
Offer Details:
Get a $150 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval, exclusively for Prime members
Why we like it
The Prime Visa is one of the few store cards that pulls it weight. With a whopping 5% cashback on Amazon purchases, those with an itchy trigger finger when it comes to online shopping can reap some serious rewards. It may not be a points-earning product, but few other cards can come close to the value offered on Amazon spending. Its introductory offer of a $150 Amazon gift card is a nice addition, considering it has no spending requirement.
Reward details
Prime Card Bonus: Earn 10% back or more on a rotating selection of items and categories on Amazon.com with an eligible Prime membership
Earn unlimited 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and on Chase Travel℠ purchases with an eligible Prime membership
Earn unlimited 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare)
Earn unlimited 1% back on all other purchases
Pros & Cons
Pros
High cashback rate on Amazon
Strong intro offer with no spending requirement
No annual fee
Cons
Need an Amazon Prime membership to earn rewards
Few perks
Less useful beyond Amazon
by your friends at The Daily Navigator
