Billions of people visit Amazon each month, so getting a decent cash back rate at Amazon can be fairly important. The company isn’t without controversy, but we’re going to focus solely on cash back credit cards with the below information. Amazon still has more than 200 million Prime members and has been designated America’s most trusted retailer. Note that Amazon frequently has promotions to save even more money.
Outside of these top 5 options (which are all Visa Signature cards), check out our list of the best cards for everyday spending. It’s pretty easy to earn 2% to 5% cash back on all purchases.
1. Affinity Federal Credit Union Cash Rewards
Affinity Cash Rewards earns 5% cash back at Amazon and bookstores. It doesn’t have annual fees or foreign transaction fees. There’s a sign-up bonus of $200 for spending $3,000 in 90 days, and another $200 for spending $20,000 within 12 months. The card then earns 2% cash back on select categories, although any decent everyday card is a better choice there. Affinity also includes perks like cell phone protection and occasional bonus 5% cash back in other categories.
This is a clear winner for year-round cash back at Amazon. No significant hoops to jump through and the spending limit of $42,000 per year is irrelevant for 99.9% of people. Anyone can join the credit union even if Affinity is headquartered in New Jersey. The downside of the Affinity card is that it’s only for general Amazon purchases. According to some reports, it doesn’t give 5% cash back on digital transactions like Amazon Prime membership or video rentals.
2. Amazon Prime Rewards
If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll earn 5% cash back at Amazon and Whole Foods with this card. Sometimes there are additional bonuses, and the card doesn’t have foreign transaction fees either. The sign-up bonus goes as high as $150 or $200, with no spending requirements.
It’s technically a no-fee card, although Prime membership is a factor. Prime costs $12.99 per month ($155.88 per year) unless you pay for an entire year at once ($119) or you qualify for a 50% off plan. Your annual spending should be at least $6,000 (not including any Prime bonuses) to offset the $119 annual cost of Prime membership. If you spend less than $6,000 at Amazon and Whole Foods, a different card could be better. It depends on your personal value from having Prime, and you’ll have to run the numbers.
Note that Amazon cards are issued by Chase Bank, so the 5/24 rule likely applies.
3. Bank of America Cash Back Rewards
BoA’s rotating-category card gives 6 options for earning at least 3% back. One of them is “online purchases” which includes Amazon. This is more flexible than an Amazon-specific card, so people may prefer this card, even if the cash back rate is less than the above cards. However, some Bank of America customers do get higher rewards. With Platinum Honors status or higher, cardholders get 5.25% on their chosen category and 3.5% on groceries. The main downside is the $2,500 quarterly spending limit and needing to manually enroll into categories. Some people get multiple cards to bypass these quarterly limits.
4. Amazon Rewards
If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you’ll earn 3% cash back at Amazon and Whole Foods. Other than that, the card is almost identical to the Prime Rewards card above. The sign-up bonus is $75 as of December 2021, so it’s best to get Prime (even if it’s only for a month) to get the Prime Rewards card instead. Amazon automatically downgrades/upgrades cash back earnings depending on Prime membership status, and your credit score isn’t affected.
Note that Amazon cards are issued by Chase Bank, so the 5/24 rule likely applies.
5. Vantage West Connect Rewards
This card can earn 5% cash back at Amazon or 1 of 8 other categories. Unfortunately, Vantage West is limited to southern Arizona only, and there’s a quarterly spending limit of $1,500. It’s a tough card to get, so it barely makes it onto our best-of list. Still, if you’re eligible for the card, it’s worth a look.
A better alternative (but even more difficult to get) is the PCMCU Platinum Rewards Mastercard. It earns 5% cash back on everything, up to $1,000 in monthly spending. It does have an annual fee but that’s waived if you use multiple PCMCU services. The main issue is that membership is limited to Wisconsin residents (only Marinette or Green Bay).
Honorable mentions:
- Discover It Cash Back usually gives 5% cash back at Amazon in October, November, December (every year for at least 4 years) and using Discover points can sometimes give a discount at Amazon.
- Abound Credit Union sometimes gives 5% cash back at Amazon (Q4 2020 and Q4 2021 so far) and always gives 5% cash back on gas purchases.
- Chase Freedom Flex sometimes gives 5% cash back at Amazon (or more) and using Chase points can sometimes give a discount at Amazon.
- AOD Federal Credit Union Visa Signature earns 3% cash back on everything, possibly limited to Alabama only (YMMV)
- Coinbase Debit can potentially earn up to 4% cash back on everything.
- Capital One Venture X can potentially earn more than 2-3% cash back on everything (with good utilization of their transfer partners)
- Having an American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points (not cash back) can sometimes give a discount at Amazon.
- Purchasing Amazon gift cards at office supply stores using Chase Ink Business Cash for 5% cash back (or more).
- Purchasing Amazon gift cards at grocery stores using Citi Custom Cash or another high-earning card.
Disclaimer: This page was last updated in December 2021. Information may change in accuracy. Please do research as appropriate to ensure you get the best possible deal.