Amazon Secured Card
Rewards rate
N/AAnnual fee
N/AIntro offer
N/ARegular APR
10.00% Non-variableRecommended Credit Score
No Credit HistoryAmazon Prime Secured Card review: Build credit and earn rewards at Amazon.com
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- 5 min read
Edited by
Itzel Garcia Ruiz
Itzel Garcia Ruiz
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- 5 min read
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Snapshot
3.0
Bottom line
The Amazon Prime Secured Card lets users build credit while they earn 2 percent back on eligible Amazon purchases. A security deposit of at least $100 is required to get started, yet this card helps you build credit when others won’t. The best part? There’s no annual fee.
Amazon Prime Secured Card overview
The Amazon Prime Secured Card works similarly to other secured credit cards in the fact you have to put down a cash deposit as collateral. However, this card is also available to a broader range of credit profiles, including people with a low credit score or no credit history at all.
Users can earn 2 percent back as they shop on Amazon.com, and free credit tracking tools make it easier to see your credit progress over time. This Amazon Prime Secured Card works best for people with bad credit or no credit, as well as those who frequently shop on Amazon for food or supplies.
What are the pros and cons?
Pros
- You can report your credit balances and payments to the three credit bureaus, which will help you build credit and improve your score with time.
- No annual fee.
- Earn cash back on eligible Amazon purchases including food purchases made with Amazon Fresh, with an eligible Amazon Prime membership.
- Low starting fixed APR lower than the average APR for all credit cards combined, which applies when you carry a balance.
- After you have used your secured card responsibly for 12 months, you can graduate to an unsecured store version of this card that earns 5 percent back on eligible purchases.
- Fully refundable security deposit whether you upgrade this card to the Amazon Store Card or you close your account in good standing.
Cons
- Amazon Prime membership required, which requires an annual fee of $119 on its own.
- You need to put down cash to build credit and earn rewards with this card.
- Credit limits may be as low as $100, and the maximum you can be approved for is $1,000.
- No welcome offer.
- If you upgrade your card to a store card after 12 months, you’ll pay a high 25.99 percent variable APR on revolving balances.
A deeper look into the current card offer
Quick highlights
- Rewards rate: Earn 2 percent back on Amazon purchases with an eligible Amazon Prime membership
- Welcome offer: N/A
- Annual fee: $0
- Purchase intro APR: N/A
- Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
- Regular APR: 10.00 percent fixed APR
Current welcome offer
The Amazon Prime Secured Card does not offer a welcome bonus of any kind, although this is pretty common among secured credit cards.
Rewards rate
Cardholders who choose to build credit with the Amazon Prime Secured Card also get the benefit of earning 2 percent back on purchases provided they are Amazon Prime members. This rewards rate is very good for Amazon spending, particularly since it applies to grocery delivery purchases made through Amazon Fresh.
However, it’s important to note that the Amazon Prime Secured Card cannot be used for anything other than eligible Amazon purchases. For example, you cannot use it at grocery stores, gas stations or restaurants like you can with some other secured credit cards.
How you earn
Sign up to earn 2 percent back in rewards on eligible Amazon.com purchases, which can include Amazon shopping and grocery delivery through Amazon Fresh. This rate is very good for eligible purchases, particularly since the Amazon Prime Secured Card charges no annual fee.
How to redeem
Once you are ready to cash in the rewards you have earned, you can redeem rewards directly for Amazon.com purchases. You can also redeem your rewards points as a one-time statement credit, or you can set up your account to automatically redeem your available rewards balance for a statement credit at the end of each billing cycle.
The card’s issuer, Synchrony Bank, notes that your account has to be in good standing in order to be eligible for rewards redemptions.
How much are the rewards worth?
Rewards earned with this card are offered in the form of cash back, so calculating your rewards value is simple. For example, 2 percent back with this card translates to $2 in rewards for every $100 you spend.
Other cardholder perks
The Amazon Prime Secured Card doesn’t offer many benefits, but this is common among secured credit cards. Since this card is mostly for building credit with the secondary benefit of earning rewards, most of its perks center around these two features.
Credit-building tools and features
This secured card is easy to get approved for, which is a major benefit if you need to build credit but cannot get approved for an unsecured card. Other credit-building features are available through a TransUnion CreditView dashboard, which lets you track your credit score and progress in real-time.
Upgrade your card after 12 months
Also note that you may be eligible to upgrade to an Amazon Store Card after you use the Amazon Prime Secured Card responsibly for 12 months. For the most part, this means keeping debt at a reasonable level and always paying your bill on time.
If you upgrade to an Amazon Store Card, you’ll get your full security deposit back.
Rates and fees
The Amazon Prime Secured Card comes with no annual fee required, which is a major plus. In the meantime, the fixed APR of 10 percent is considerably lower than the average credit card APR, which is currently a little over 16 percent.
Also be aware that the Amazon Prime Secured Card charges a late fee of just $5, which is considerably lower than other cards charge.
How the Amazon Prime Secured Card compares to other secured credit cards
Before you sign up for the Amazon Prime Secured Card for the purpose of building credit, you should check out other secured credit cards and what they have to offer. The following options also let you build credit and earn rewards with no annual fee.
Amazon Secured Card
Annual fee
N/AIntro offer
N/ARewards rate
N/ARecommended credit
No Credit History
Discover it® Secured Credit Card
Annual fee
$0Intro offer
Cashback Match™Rewards rate
1%–2%Recommended credit
No Credit History
Amazon Prime Secured Card vs. the Discover it® Secured Credit Card
Since the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is a Discover credit card, you can use it nearly anywhere you shop in-person or online. You’ll also earn cash back rewards on everything you buy, and Discover will even double all the rewards you earn after year one.
There’s no annual fee, either. However, it’s worth noting you need a security deposit of at least $200 with this card. This is double the minimum deposit for the Amazon Prime Secured Card.
Amazon Prime Secured Card vs. the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card
First off, you should know that the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card is a Visa credit card that can be used nearly anywhere around the world. You also earn 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases with no annual fee required, and your credit limit can be as high as $4,900 with an equal security deposit.
However, a minimum security deposit of $300 is required to get this card, which can make it a tough option if you need to build credit but cash is tight right now.
Best cards to pair with this card
If you decide to pair the Amazon Prime Secured Card with another card, you may be able to earn rewards on non-Amazon purchases and add even more depth to your credit history. We can suggest other secured cards on the market today that earn rewards, including the Discover it® Secured Credit Card and the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card we profile above.
Just remember that you’ll have to make separate security deposits for each secured card you apply for, which could be a costly barrier considering both of the mentioned cards have higher minimum security deposit requirements.
Bankrate’s Take: Is the Amazon Prime Secured Card worth it?
If you want to build credit with a credit card and you are already an Amazon Prime member, the Amazon Prime Secured Card could be the right card for you. The fact you can only use it for Amazon purchases could be a pro or a con depending on your needs. For example, you may feel limited by this fact and wind up wishing you got a secured card that’s a Visa, Mastercard or Discover card instead. On the flip side, you might feel like an Amazon-only card lets you build credit in a slow, deliberate way without extra temptation to spend.
Take our advice: Compare the Amazon Prime Secured Card to other secured credit cards you might be interested in, then decide which features you care the most about. If you are a big Amazon shopper anyway, the Amazon Prime Secured Card might be just what the doctor ordered.
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