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Points & Prime

FAQ

Common questions

The questions people actually type, answered in a sentence or two, with the source and the date attached.

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The cards

Amazon's credit cards

How many Amazon credit cards are there?
Four consumer cards across two issuers: the Prime Visa and the Amazon Visa from Chase, and the Amazon Store Card and Amazon Secured Card from Synchrony Bank. All four, defined.
What is the difference between an Amazon credit card and an Amazon store card?
Network and issuer. The credit cards are Visas from Chase and work anywhere Visa is accepted. The store cards are closed-loop cards from Synchrony and work only at Amazon and Amazon-owned services. The full reference.
Does the Prime Visa have an annual fee?
No. The card is free to hold. The Prime membership that unlocks its 5% rate is not, which is why our break-even arithmetic is measured against the membership fee rather than a card fee. The break-even math.
Does the Prime Visa charge foreign transaction fees?
No. Chase states you pay no foreign transaction fees on purchases made outside the United States. Every benefit, sourced.
Is the Prime Visa a regular credit card?
Yes. It is a Visa issued by Chase and works anywhere Visa is accepted, which is the structural difference between it and the store cards.
What are the downsides of the Prime Visa?
The 5% is conditional on a paid membership, points are worth a flat one cent with no way to increase that, and the purchase APR is high enough that carrying a balance for a couple of months wipes out a year of rewards. Where the answer is no.
Can you use the Amazon Store Card anywhere?
No. It works for Amazon purchases only: Amazon.com, Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, Audible, AWS, Alexa Skills and your Prime membership charge. The literal list.
Did the Amazon Store Card's financing change in 2026?
Yes. Synchrony stopped offering deferred-interest promotional financing on new Store Card purchases from the week of 16 February 2026. Equal Monthly Payments remains. What replaced what.
Which Amazon card is easier to get approved for?
The Synchrony-issued store cards are reported as more accessible on fair credit than the Chase-issued Visas. Neither issuer publishes an approval cutoff, so treat that as a pattern rather than a rule. If an application is declined.
What credit score do you need for an Amazon card?
Neither Chase nor Synchrony publishes a minimum score for these cards. Any specific number you see quoted is an estimate, and we do not publish one. What is actually knowable.

Prime

The membership and the free trial

How much does Amazon Prime cost?
$14.99 per month or $139 per year for a standard membership. Prime Student and Prime for Young Adults are $7.49 a month or $69 a year, and Prime Access is $6.99 a month for qualifying government assistance recipients. All four tiers.
How long is the Amazon Prime free trial?
Thirty days for eligible customers. Prime Student and Prime for Young Adults come with a six-month trial instead. Do you qualify?.
Can everyone get the free trial?
No. Amazon's own wording is that eligible customers can sign up for a 30-day free trial. Eligibility is Amazon's decision and it is not published as a rule set. How to check in a minute.
Will the free trial charge me?
Yes, unless you cancel before it ends. You can cancel on day one and still use the remaining trial days, which removes the risk entirely. How to cancel safely.
Is Amazon Prime worth it?
Divide the $139 annual fee by what you would otherwise pay per order in delivery. That is your break-even order count. Above it, delivery alone covers the membership; below it, the other benefits have to carry it. Run the numbers.
Is there an age limit for Prime Student?
Amazon describes it as open to higher education students of any age. The gate is enrollment verification rather than a birth date. How verification works.
How much is Prime for Young Adults?
$7.49 a month or $69 per year for 18-to-24-year-olds, with six months for $0 for eligible new members. You do not need to be a student. The 18-24 route.
Is Amazon Prime free with an Amazon credit card?
No. The cards do not include or discount a membership. You pay for Prime separately, and that fee is what the cards' 5% rate has to justify.

Rewards

Points, redemption and balances

What are Amazon points worth?
One cent each. Chase states that each $1 in percentage-back rewards earned equals 100 points, which fixes the rate across every redemption route. The conversion table.
Do Amazon rewards points expire?
No, as long as the card account remains open. Closing the account is what puts an unredeemed balance at risk. How the points work.
What is the best way to redeem Amazon points?
Every route pays the same one cent, so choose on flexibility rather than value. Cash back or a statement credit keeps the money usable anywhere. The ranking, and the one to avoid.
Why did my Amazon points disappear?
Usually a returned or canceled order reversing the points it earned. Rewards attach to the transaction, so undoing the transaction undoes the reward. Troubleshooting a balance.

This site

How Points & Prime works

How is this site paid?
Amazon pays a flat fee when a reader signs up for a program through one of our links. It is a bounty rather than a commission, so we are not paid per purchase and earn nothing on what you buy afterwards. The full disclosure.
Have you tested these cards?
No, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. We read the published terms, compile them, do the arithmetic and cite the sources. Describing what a card felt like to use would be fabrication. Where we stand.
How current are the figures on this site?
Every figure carries the date it was last checked, on the line where it appears. A build script fails the site's build if any figure has gone 120 days without a re-check. The method in full.
Why do some numbers say 'secondary source'?
Because the issuer's own page could not be reached when we checked, so the figure was confirmed against a corroborating publisher instead. We label those rather than presenting second-hand figures as first-hand. What we do when a source will not load.

Last reviewed: 2026-08-11