Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Review

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The first co-branded Amazon business card, this offering from Amazon and American Express is a relatively new credit card option for small business owners.

As with many cards, the Amazon Business Prime Card has its own specific niche. Unsurprisingly, it’s aimed at businesses that frequently buy items on Amazon.com or make other purchases under the Amazon banner, such as on Amazon Web Services or at Whole Foods Market. With a very generous reward rate for purchases in featured categories, this card could be an excellent option for businesses that make regular online purchases or require cloud services.

Would the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card be a good fit for your business? Find out below.

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card At A Glance

Eligibility

While Amazon hasn’t revealed the specific credit requirements for this card, you usually need to have good credit or better when applying for American Express cards. That means you’ll probably want to carry a credit score of 640 or above before applying for the Amazon Business Prime Card.

Don’t know your credit score? Find out for free by visiting one of our favorite credit score sites.

Also note that having an Amazon Prime membership is not required for this card. However, if you have an eligible Prime account, you will be able to increase the number of rewards you can earn.

Rewards & Fees

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Bonus Offer

This card’s welcome offer is pretty straightforward: once you’re approved, you’ll get a $125 gift card for Amazon.com. The only caveat is that you’ll need an eligible Amazon Prime account to receive the gift card.

While this offer isn’t the best around when it comes to business card welcome bonuses, $125 is nothing to sneeze at—especially if you frequent Amazon for business purchases.

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Ongoing Rewards

Unlike many credit cards, the Amazon Business Prime Card lets you customize your rewards to your liking. If you have an eligible Amazon Prime membership, you can choose to receive 5% back or an extra 90 days of interest-free payment terms when you purchase from Amazon.com, Amazon Business, AWS, or Whole Foods Market. If you don’t have a Prime membership, your options are 3% back or 60-day terms on purchases from those places.

The extra 90 or 60 day terms are especially nifty if you need additional time paying off a specific purchase. After selecting the payment terms option at checkout, you’ll get 90 or 60 days to pay off the purchase without interest.

Beyond those Amazon-specific rewards, you’ll also earn 2% back on purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers. For all other purchases, expect to get 1% back.

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Introductory Period

There is no intro period for the Amazon Business Prime Card’s APR. While this is somewhat disappointing, it’s far from rare. Of course, you won’t need to worry about APR as long as you pay your balance of regularly.

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card APR

For APR, you’ll have to pay between 16.24% and 24.24%, based on your creditworthiness when you open your account. This rate is variable and can change depending on how the prime rate fluctuates.

There is also a penalty APR of 29.99% if you make a payment that is returned, make 2 late payments in 12 months, or fail to post the minimum payment during the period it is due.

If you must do a cash advance, expect an APR of 26.99%. This rate is also variable.

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Fees

There are no annual fees for the Amazon Business Prime Card. However, to take full advantage of the card’s rewards, you’ll need an eligible Amazon Prime membership. Eligible membership options include a personal Prime account ($119 per year), a Student Prime membership ($59 per year for active students), or a Business Prime membership (starts at $179 per year for three users).

Because a Prime membership increases your rewards rate from 3% to 5% on purchases under the Amazon banner, you’ll need to spend around $6,000 annually to recoup the cost of Prime with your card alone. Of course, Prime comes with its own array of benefits, including two-day free shipping, access to Prime Video and Music, exclusive deals, and more. It’s also worth mentioning that the $125 welcome Amazon.com gift card covers one year of a personal Prime membership. This means that Amazon’s premium membership may be well worth it, even if you won’t be breaking that $6,000 mark on Amazon purchases.

There are no foreign fees, although for cash advances you’ll have to pay either $5 or 3% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is higher.

Redeeming Rewards

Your rewards will be allotted to you as Amazon Reward Points. These points can then be used during checkout at Amazon.com and Amazon Business (U.S.) when you use your Amazon Business Prime Card. You can apply any or all of your points to the purchase and the remaining balance will be charged to your card.

Other Benefits

This card comes with the gamut of standard credit card benefits, including employee cards, ability to connect to QuickBooks, and a spending manager. You’ll also get purchase and return protection alongside extended warranty. If you’re traveling, you can also take advantage of the card’s car rental loss and damage insurance as well as insurance plans for travel accidents and baggage. Additionally, there’s a Global Assist Hotline and roadside assistance available.

Final Verdict

While this card won’t be for everyone, Amazon’s credit card offering is an excellent choice for a specific niche of small businesses. Even for businesses outside that frequent-Amazon-buying-niche, it could still be worth a second look. If you’re looking for a secondary credit card, this could be a solid option that you whip out whenever you buy something on Amazon.com.

Is the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card right for your business? You might want to apply for this card if:

• You shop on Amazon.com frequently or use other services that fall under the Amazon banner, such as Amazon Business, AWS, or Whole Foods Market.
• You occasionally need extra time to pay off a balance for purchases.
• You’re looking for a second card with great rewards to buy items on Amazon.com

On the other hand, you might want to pass if:

• You rarely shop on Amazon.com, Amazon Business, AWS, or at Whole Foods Market.
• You plan on making a large purchase soon and need an intro APR period.