The best credit cards for maximizing Amazon purchases in 2019

Most of us do at least some of our online shopping on Amazon. It sells virtually everything, and thanks to Prime Shipping, items are often delivered in two days or less.

If you find yourself shopping at Amazon frequently, you’ll want to give some thought to the credit card you’re using on these purchases. After all, it’s important to maximize rewards on every dollar you spend. With that in mind, here are some of the best credit cards for Amazon purchases.

Keep in mind that we’re focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which can far outweigh the value of any rewards.

When you’re working to earn credit card rewards, it’s important to practice financial discipline, like paying your balances off in full each month, making payments on time, and not spending more than you can afford to pay back. Basically, treat your credit card like a debit card.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature offers 5% cash back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases. Cardholders also get an extra 5 – 15% cash back on certain promotional items, which is one of the highest rewards rates around. This makes the card a great option for your Amazon purchases.

The Amazon Prime Rewards card also earns 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores. Considering those are pretty common spending categories for most people, this isn’t a bad card to have in your wallet, especially since it has no annual fee.

Read more: Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card review

Chase Freedom

The Chase Freedom offers 5% cash back on the first $1,500 spent on rotating bonus categories every quarter, once you activate the bonus each quarter via your card account. Sometimes those categories include Amazon purchases, in which case the Chase Freedom is a great option for shopping on that site.

Amazon isn’t included in the Freedom’s bonus categories for October to December, however it is a Q4 bonus category merchant list for the Discover it® Cash back (see below).

Read more: How to earn 5% back or 5x points with the Chase Freedom

Click here to learn more about the Chase Freedom from our partner The Points Guy.

Discover it® Cash Back

Like the Chase Freedom, the Discover it Cash Back card offers 5% cash back on the first $1,5000 spent in select categories every quarter once you activate the bonus. Discover has a cash-back calendar, which shows both previous and upcoming bonus category merchants. Amazon is included on the merchant list for October to December 2019.

The timing of that bonus is especially great considering it falls within the holiday shopping season. So if you’d rather not get trampled over a discounted flat-screen TV at Walmart, you’ve got plenty of incentive to do you shopping with Amazon instead.

Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card

The Amex Everyday Preferred is a solid choice for Amazon purchases. The card only earns 1 point per dollar spent on non-bonus category spending, which includes Amazon. So why use it if you’re just earning 1 point? One reason is that Amex Offers often runs double point promotions for Amazon purchases. All you have to do is check the currently available Amex Offers via a tab under your account. If you’re eligible, just register and make purchases with your eligible card to earn those extra points.

Additionally, Amex Everyday Preferred cardholders earn 50% bonus points every billing period when they charge 30 or more purchases to the card. So if you charge at least one purchase per day on the Amex Everyday Preferred Card, you’ll essentially earn at least 1.5 points per dollar spent.

For purchase protection: the Amex Platinum

It doesn’t earn bonus points at Amazon (unless your account is eligible for an Amex Offer for bonus points at Amazon), but the Platinum Card from American Express is also worth considering, especially for more expensive Amazon purchases. That’s because it offers purchase protection for up to 120 days from your date of purchase, with a maximum of $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account per year.

The card has a $550 annual fee, so it’s not worth getting for this benefit alone, but if you travel frequently and can take advantage of benefits like annual statement credits for Uber, annual incidental fees, and Saks purchases, not to mention airport lounge access, it can be a great option.

Click here to learn more about the Amex Platinum from our partner The Points Guy.

Any card that offers an annual spending bonus

If you’re more concerned with long-term gain, consider charging your Amazon purchases to a credit card that offers an annual incentive for meeting certain spending thresholds.

For example, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card offers an annual free weekend night after you spend $60,000 in a calendar year. Don’t think that’s worth much? I’m writing this article from the Waldorf Astoria Maldives, where I redeemed one of these free weekend nights in exchange for a villa that normally goes for $2,000 per night.

Read more: I pay $450 a year for a Hilton credit card, and I just earned half that fee back in a single night

Another option is to put your Amazon spending on a Southwest credit card in order to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. If you’re unfamiliar with this benefit, it essentially allows you to book free airfare for a designated companion if you earn 110,000 qualifying Southwest points in a year. Points earned via credit card sign-up bonuses and spending count towards this requirement, making the Companion Pass much more attainable.

You can earn sign-up bonuses on the following Southwest credit cards. Note that you can only have one personal Southwest co-branded card at a time.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card ($69 annual fee) — 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 in the first three months; another 20,000 points after you spend $12,000 in the first 12 months
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card ($99 annual fee) — 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 in the first three months; another 20,000 points after you spend $12,000 in the first 12 months
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card ($149 annual fee) — 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 in the first three months; another 20,000 points after you spend $12,000 in the first 12 months
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card ($99 annual fee) — 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 in the first three months
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card ($199) — 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 in the first three months

If you earned the sign-up bonus from one of these cards and channeled your everyday spending, including Amazon purchases, on to it, you could find the Southwest Companion Pass to be within reach. You could also earn a sign-up bonus from one personal Southwest card and one business Southwest card, which would make qualifying even easier.

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