The Amazon Platinum credit card offers Reward Points points when you use it to make purchases. So if you’re an Amazon shopper, is the card worthy of a place in your wallet? Or are there better reward credit cards out there? Let’s explore
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What does the Amazon Platimun credit card offer?
The Amazon Platinum credit card offers Amazon Reward Points every time you use the card to make a purchase of at least £1.
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Use your Amazon credit card for a non-Amazon purchase, and you’ll collect 0.25 points per £1 spent. However, if you use the card at Amazon you’ll earn a lot more points.
The amount you earn will depend on whether you have signed up to Amazon’s popular Prime membership scheme:
- As a Prime member, you earn 1.5 points per £1 spent at Amazon.
- As a non-Prime member, you earn 0.75 points per £1 spent at Amazon.
Aside from giving you Reward Points, the Amazon Platinum credit card has other benefits too.
If you are accepted for the Amazon credit card, you’ll bag yourself a £30 Amazon gift card. This will be added to your Amazon account straight after approval if you qualify for Amazon’s ‘instant spend’ scheme. If not, you’ll get it as soon as you activate your card.
On top of these benefits, you also get a three-month 0% spending period. This means that anything you buy within the first three months of card membership, at Amazon or elsewhere, will be interest-free for three months. However, while this is a decent offer, if you are looking for a card to borrow, it could be best to look at a specialist 0% purchase credit card instead.
As with any 0% credit card, ensure you clear your balance each month before the end of the 0% period. If you don’t, you’ll pay interest at an APR of 21.9%.
How much are Amazon Reward Points worth?
Once you have collected 1,000 Amazon Reward Points you’ll earn yourself a £10 Amazon gift card, which will be added to your account automatically.
This effectively means that each point is worth 1p at Amazon. So if you’re a Prime member, this equates to 1.5% cashback on Amazon spends. If you’re a non-prime member, you’ll effectively earn 0.75% cashback.
On non-Amazon purchases, the cashback rate is effectively 0.25%, regardless of whether or not you are a Prime member.
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Can I redeem Amazon Reward Points for anything else?
Unlike other reward schemes, such as American Express Membership Reward points, Amazon points cannot be redeemed for anything other than Amazon gift cards.
If you are looking for a scheme with more flexibility, you may wish to look at other reward credit cards instead.
How does the Amazon Platinum credit card compare with other reward cards?
It’s fair to say that the Amazon Platinum credit card offers a decent rate of cashback if you’re a regular Amazon shopper with Prime Membership. That said, if you don’t have Prime, or don’t make a lot of Amazon purchases, you may be better off looking at other reward cards.
For example, the Amex Platinum Cashback Everyday Credit Card pays 5% cashback to new cardholders during the first three months. This is up to a maximum of £100. After the three months, you earn 0.5% cashback on spends up to £10,000. Above this, you get 1% back. This cashback is on all spending, so there’s no need to stick with one retailer.
The Amex card has no annual fee, but do make sure you repay your balance in full each month to avoid paying interest at an APR of 24.5%. You must spend at least £3,000 on the card within a year to get any cashback at all.
Another option, the Amex Platinum Cashback Credit Card, also pays 5% on purchases in your first three months. However, you can earn up to £125 with this bonus rate, rather than the £100 maximum with the Cashback Everyday card.
After this, you earn 0.75% cashback on spends of up to £10,000 and 1.25% on spends above £10,000. While this is a very decent cashback offering, do be mindful that the card has a £25 annual fee.
To avoid paying interest at an APR of 29.8% (including the fee), fully repay your balance each month.
To get the 5% introductory offer with either of these cards, you can’t have had a personal Amex card within the past 24 months.
For more options, see our top-rated rewards credit card guide.
