Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

With Amazon being the go-to site for just about any product, the ability to earn 5% back on all your purchases could be enticing if you’re a frequent shopper. The Prime Visa has no cap on the rewards you can earn and comes with helpful travel perks like auto rental coverage, lost luggage reimbursement and no foreign transaction fees. The card also technically doesn’t have an annual fee, but there’s one catch: you must be a Prime member to qualify for the card.

In this review, CNBC Select breaks down the benefits, rewards and fees of the Prime Visa, and whether it’s a good addition to your wallet.

Spotlight

You can receive an instant $100 Amazon gift card upon approval with no spending requirement.

Good to Excellent670–850

$0 (but Prime membership is required)

Get a $100 Amazon Gift Card

Member FDIC. Terms apply.

Welcome bonus

Benefits and perks

The Prime Visa offers a well-rounded mix of shopping and travel protections that can help increase the card’s value. Benefits include:

  • Auto Rental Coverage: While secondary to your personal insurance, the coverage provides reimbursement for theft and collision damage for most rental vehicles.
  • Baggage Delay Insurance: If your baggage is delayed for over six hours, you’ll be reimbursed up to $100 per day for up to three days for essential purchases.
  • Extended Warranty Protection: Eligible warranties of three years or less can be extended for an additional year, to a maximum of four years from the purchase date.
  • Lost Luggage Reimbursement: Reimburses up to $3,000 per covered traveler to repair or replace any carry-on luggage.
  • Travel Accident Insurance: When you pay for your air, bus, train or cruise transportation with your card, you are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in accidental death or dismemberment coverage.
  • Travel and Emergency Assistance: Can provide legal and medical referrals as well as other emergency assistance services while abroad.
  • Purchase Protection: Protects your eligible purchase from up to $500 of theft or damages.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees: You won’t pay extra fees for making purchases overseas.

The Prime Visa offers an interest-free equal monthly payment feature for Amazon purchases and at eligible retailers with Amazon Pay. You can choose between earning the 5% rewards or splitting your purchase into equal payments over time. Amazon offers an introductory APR for 6 months on purchases of $50 or more, or 12 months on purchases of $250.

Since Chase issues the Prime Visa, you’ll also gain access to Chase Offers. This allows you to activate additional savings at certain stores when you use your eligible card.

Overall, the Prime Visa offers some helpful perks, but how much value they generate depends on how you use them. If you enjoy traveling internationally, the lack of foreign transaction fees or rental coverage might be useful, but if not, you’ll have to generate most of your value through the rewards on spending.

How to earn and redeem rewards

Earning

The Prime Visa card has some of the highest rewards rates at Amazon and offers elevated returns in several other spending categories. With the card, you can earn:

  • 5% back on your Amazon.com purchases with an eligible Prime membership
  • 5% back at Whole Foods Market online or in-store
  • 5% back on your purchases at Audible.com with an eligible Prime membership
  • 5% back on Chase Travel purchases with an eligible Prime membership
  • 2% back at gas stations
  • 2% back at restaurants for dine-in or take-out
  • 2% back on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
  • 1% back all other purchases

Eligible Prime cardholders can also earn 10% back or more on a rotating selection of items and categories on Amazon.com.

Redeeming

Redeeming the points you earn with your Prime Visa is simple. Each point is worth one cent regardless of the redemption method. You can use your points for eligible purchases at Amazon.com or redeem them through Chase.com for cash back, gift cards, and travel.

There’s no minimum balance required to redeem your rewards at Amazon. If you prefer to redeem your points via Chase, you can opt for cashback of any amount, gift cards in $25 increments or a travel option through Chase Travel. Unfortunately, you can’t combine the Prime Visa rewards with Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Rates and fees

While the Prime Visa card technically doesn’t have an annual fee, you must maintain an eligible Prime membership, which costs $14.99 per month or $139 annually (discounted plans available for young adults, students and those on government assistance).

The card charges a late or returned payment fee of up to $39 and a balance transfer or cash advance fee of $5 or 4% of the amount, whichever is greater. There are no foreign transaction fees and there is no extra charge to add authorized users to your card.

Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.

Card comparison

Prime Visa vs. Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

On the American Express secure site

On the American Express secure site

Good to Excellent670–850

Earn a $200 statement credit

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is worth looking into if you’re a less frequent Amazon shopper. It offers bonus rewards at a wider range of supermarkets and online retailers, not just Whole Foods and Amazon, plus a higher return on gas purchases. It also offers a potentially more valuable welcome bonus.

Your cashback is earned as Rewards Dollars and you can redeem them for a statement credit or eligible Amazon products. You’ll also get up to $84 in statement credits if you spend $9.99 or more each month on a Disney Bundle subscription (subject to auto-renewal) with your Blue Cash Everyday® Card. Enrollment required. The card also includes a $180 Home Chef Credit of up to $15 back per month when you purchase a Home Chef meal kit subscription (subject to auto-renewal). Enrollment required.

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express has no annual fee (see rates and fees) and offers an introductory APR period on purchases and balance transfers which might be able to help if you’re wracking up interest.

Learn more: Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Prime Visa vs. Citi Double Cash® Card

Spotlight

Receive a 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers.

Fair to Excellent580–850

The Citi Double Cash® Card offers a simpler alternative if you’re not interested in juggling bonus cash-back categories. This no annual fee card offers a flat 2% back on all purchases (1% when you buy and 1% when you pay). It also has a special offer of 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/25. Plus, its welcome bonus is worth more if you can meet its spending requirement.

The rewards earn come in the form of ThankYou® Points and are geared toward those seeking cash back. They can be redeemed for cash back, gift cards, travel or Amazon.com purchases. They can also be transferred to a limited number of travel partners, albeit at sub-par transfer ratios, unless you pair it with a card like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees).

Apart from extended warranty coverage, the card’s purchase protections are more limited and it does charge a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Learn more: Citi Double Cash® Card

Alternative cards in the Amazon family

Amazon Visa

  • Rewards

    3% cash back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market; 3% back on purchases made through Chase Travel; 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and local transit and commuting, including rideshare; 1% back on all other purchases

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn a $50 Gift Card instantly upon approval.

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit needed

Pros

  • Doesn’t require an Amazon Prime membership
  • No annual fee

If you’re looking for an Amazon card but don’t have a Prime membership, you could consider the Amazon Visa. The card offers a slightly lower cashback rate of 3% at Amazon, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods and Chase Travel, but the same rewards return on other purchases. The welcome bonus is also slightly lower, but the Amazon Visa also comes with the same additional benefits as the Prime Visa and requires no annual fee or Prime membership.

Compare savings accounts

Is the Prime Visa right for you?

The Prime Visa card could be a great fit for those who shop at Amazon and Whole Foods frequently. If you already have a Prime membership, the card carries no annual fee and comes with some valuable travel and shopping perks. However, if you don’t shop regularly on Amazon or aren’t willing to pay for Prime, other cards with broader earning categories, such as the Citi Double Cash® Card or Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, might better suit your spending habits.

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At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best credit cards.

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For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express click here

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.





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