Prime Visa card review: The ideal card for Amazon shoppers

While the Prime Visa's welcome offer might be on the lower side, you won't have to spend anything to earn it. You'll receive a $250 Amazon gift card instantly upon approval. Check out how this card's first-year value compares to its ongoing value after earning the sign-up bonus. To calculate the average yearly rewards, we used Bankrate's card ratings methodology.

The welcome offer does boost Prime Visa's first-year value a bit, but anyone looking for a big sign-up bonus should look elsewhere.

If you're a frequent Amazon shopper, the Prime Visa card is one of the best ways to earn cash back with the online retailer. You can also earn rewards for shopping at Whole Foods, restaurants, gas stations and more. This flexibility is astounding for any cash back card, let alone a retail card, and the card also carries a decent welcome offer and a great range of protections.

Rewards: Unmatched rewards rate at Amazon.com and Whole Foods

Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market and Chase Travel purchases earn an unlimited 5 percent back in rewards. Plus, you’ll earn 2 percent at restaurants, gas stations and transit and 1 percent back on all other purchases.

Regular Amazon shoppers should have no problem earning plenty of rewards with the Prime Visa card. With one of the highest earning rates available for Amazon purchases, you’ll only need to spend $2,780 each year — or about $232 per month — on Amazon or Whole Foods purchases to offset the cost of your Prime membership. Since you can purchase nearly anything from the retailer, even occasional Amazon shoppers could benefit from adding this card to their wallet.

The 5 percent cash back rate at Whole Foods Market is remarkably competitive for grocery purchases considering the Prime Visa is a store card. Its uncapped rate makes the Prime Visa one of the best cards for grocery rewards rates if you do your grocery shopping at Whole Foods Market.

Welcome offer: Decent value for a retail card

Currently, you can get an Amazon Gift Card worth $250 instantly upon approval. Other top no-annual-fee cash back and rewards cards might offer a larger sign-up bonus, but in some ways the Prime Visa is a better value since it doesn't require any spending to earn. It's certainly impressive for a retail card bonus as many store cards don’t offer any sign-up bonus. If nothing else, the bonus can help offset the cost of an Amazon Prime membership for the first year. 

Cardholder perks: Strong travel protection for a store card

The Prime Visa card carries a surprising number of benefits for a retail card, including top-tier travel protections. The card’s auto rental collision damage waiver, roadside dispatch, travel accident insurance, lost luggage reimbursement and baggage delay insurance can help you recoup some expenses if your trip doesn’t go as planned.

The Prime Visa also offers extended warranty and purchase protection that covers damage or theft of new purchases for 120 days (up to $500 per claim, $50,000 per account). Considering how light most co-branded store cards are on perks, the Prime Visa card’s depth of travel and purchase protection coverage is remarkable. 

While the Prime Visa card offers great tiered rewards, it may not be the best option if you don’t shop with Amazon Prime or Whole Foods. Additionally, point redemption options are limited — you cannot redeem or pool points with other Chase programs or portals.

Rates and fees: Must have an Amazon Prime membership 

The rates and fees for the Prime Visa card are standard, but the “no annual fee” comes with an important footnote. You must have an Amazon Prime membership to get the card, which is currently priced at $14.99 per month or $139 per year if paid annually.

It takes spending at least $232 each month on Amazon.com and Whole Foods combined with your card to break even on a Prime membership. Otherwise, you must spend almost $580 per month across your 2 percent categories with the card to offset the Prime membership cost. If you don’t spend much at Amazon or Whole Foods, you may want to consider a different alternative.

Redemption options: Limited for a Chase card

While the rewards terms may suggest you’re earning cash back on purchases, in reality, you are earning points. These points have a 1:1 value and can be redeemed for cash back, travel, gift cards or Amazon purchases upon checkout.

While no minimum rewards balance is required to redeem for cash back or Amazon purchases, there’s a disappointingly long list of items you can’t buy with points. Many of these items are small purchases such as digital music, Kindle eBooks and video downloads. 

But its major drawback is that you cannot transfer points to Chase’s travel partners or other Ultimate Rewards cards. This limitation is disappointing, especially since the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal is one of the most rewarding travel portals, and several other Chase cards can access it. 

Several members of the Bankrate staff love the Prime Visa card and dedicate a regular slot in their wallets to it. Bankrate senior editor Nouri Zarrugh enjoys the versatility the Prime Visa adds to his credit card rotation:

The Prime Visa card has given a nice boost to my cash back strategy. Considering the variety of items available on Amazon, this card gets you 5 percent back on almost anything you can think of — from streaming subscriptions via Amazon Channels to grocery deliveries via Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods to tools and home goods — making this easily one of the most versatile cards in my wallet.

— Nouri Zarrugh, Senior Editor, Bankrate

While maybe not as lucrative for Amazon.com purchases, certain credit cards still provide rewards for online and in-store shopping. Depending on your preferences, one of these cards could be a good option. 

The Prime Visa offers a terrific blend of rewards and protection perks that can make it the ideal card. This card is a no-brainer if you:

• Regularly use Amazon Prime for its subscription services and online shopping
• Grocery shop at Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods
• Make large purchases on Prime Day or spend a lot on holiday shopping with Amazon

On the flip side, you might want to consider other rewards cards if you want higher rates on bonus categories or other retailers. Still, the Prime Visa offers better rates and more versatile rewards compared to many store cards, making it an excellent choice.

If you prefer to avoid the pricey Amazon Prime membership fee and want to still earn rewards on your online shopping, you can apply for the Amazon Store Card which has a lower rewards rate without a Prime membership. For even more versatility, consider these options.

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Best for groceries and online retail

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

Best for simplicity

We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). 

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:

**All information about the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi has been collected independently by Bankrate.com and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.