Amazon just announced an attractive upgrade to its existing rewards credit card — but it’s for Prime members only.
The new Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card, in partnership with JPMorgan Chase, will be offered exclusively to Amazon Prime members. It will grant 5% back on all Amazon.com purchases, as well as 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores, and 1% back on every other purchase, the companies said in a press release Wednesday.
Amazon currently offers a rewards credit card to all account holders with 3% back on all Amazon.com purchases. Prime members with this card will be upgraded to the new card — made with metal, like the popular Chase Sapphire Reserve card — and start earning rewards immediately.
The card awards $ 1 for every 100 points. Once members reach 2,000 points, they can redeem them for cash.
There’s no cap on the amount in rewards that members can earn, and there’s no expiration date as long as the account stays open. All points will be lost if a member closes the account linked to the rewards card.
While there’s no annual fee or foreign transaction fees for the new rewards card, it’s available only to those who pay for a Prime account, which costs $ 99 a year and includes access to free two-day shipping and TV and movie streaming, among other perks. Non-Prime members can upgrade their accounts to apply for the new card. They’ll also get a $ 70 Amazon.com gift card upon approval.
The new Amazon-Chase rewards card comes on the heels of the bank’s announcement last week that it was slashing its 100,000-point sign-up bonus in half for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, effective January 12.
That credit card, which has a $ 450 annual fee, made waves for its lucrative rewards offerings when it debuted in August. But it included benefits that were perhaps too generous. In December, JPMorgan Chase said it expected an earnings dip in the fourth quarter to the tune of $ 200 million to $ 300 million as a result of the card’s popularity, according to CEO Jamie Dimon.
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