Amazon Prime Credit Card: How It Saves You Even More Money On Prime Day

Amazon Prime Day is coming June 21-22, and as always, there will be a number of big Prime Day deals, many of them exclusive to Amazon Prime subscribers. The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card comes with its own benefits, both during Prime Day and year-round.

Like competing cards, the Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card is meant to be used year-round for regular purchases, but being tied to Amazon means you get the most out of it during Prime Day. The company has already announced some extra bonuses for Amazon cardholders for Prime Day 2021, some of which you can claim simply for signing up. Here's a rundown of the limited-time Prime Day benefits for Prime Rewards cardholders:

$150 sign-up bonus

As part of a pre-Prime Day offer, Amazon is offering a $150 Amazon gift card sign-up bonus for the Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card. These bonuses are common for new credit card offers, but this is the largest one we've seen from Amazon. The bonus isn't tied to Prime Day, so you can use the credit anytime. But it's deposited in your Amazon account as soon as you're approved, so it should be ready to spend in plenty of time for Prime Day.

Keep in mind that to qualify for the $150 sign-up bonus, you need to be an Amazon Prime member. That costs roughly $120 per year, which cuts into the sign-up bonus if you're only getting it for that reason. But as a Prime member, you'll get other benefits throughout the year, such as free one-day shipping, Prime Video access, and free monthly PC games. For non-members, a separate Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card offers a $50 Amazon gift card.

6% back during Prime Day

The Prime Rewards card typically gets 5% back on all purchases at Amazon (as well as Amazon subsidiaries like Whole Foods). During Prime Day, though, you'll get an additional bump to make it 6%. That's the largest Amazon bonus from any credit card. Those rewards come in a point system that you can trade in for Amazon goods, cash back, and gift cards.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card

Get $150 gift card, 6% back during Prime Day, and more

See at Amazon

More rewards on select Prime Day items

In addition to the 6% cash back on all Amazon Prime Day purchases, you can get an even bigger cash back bonus on select items. Amazon hasn't announced which items those will be--and likely will not before the big sales day kicks off--but last year it included offers like 25% back on Amazon Ring and Amazon Basics, and the year before it offered 25% back on Kindle tablets and e-readers.

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card year-round benefits

While you can maximize the Prime card's usefulness during Prime Day itself, the card has general benefits throughout the year. Aside from the 5% back on Amazon purchases, you also get 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drug stores, and 1% back on other purchases. Those all contribute to the same points system that can be traded for Amazon goods, cash, and gift cards. The Prime card comes with purchase protection and an extended warranty on items you buy with the card, both at Amazon and other retailers.

The Amazon card also doesn't have foreign transaction fees, which makes it fairly convenient if you do a lot of international travel. Booking your travel with the Prime card also gets you access to travel and emergency assistance, accident insurance, and other perks.

Is the Amazon Prime credit card worth it?

The Amazon Prime card is especially useful during Prime Day, but it is still a credit card. That means it's in competition with credit card offers from other companies, and as you might expect, Amazon is most useful if you're a frequent Amazon shopper. If you are, though, CNET named it one of the best cash-back credit cards for 2021.

For example, the 1-2% back on non-Amazon purchases is outmatched by competitors like the Citi Double Cash card, which gives you 2% back on all purchases. And while the Prime Day benefits are maximized with the Prime card, you can get a similar effect with the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card, which gives you up to 20% back on Amazon purchases for up to $200 within the first six months. If you got your card just before Prime Day, that's a solid return. And competing cards with an annual fee often offer more rewards than a card that has no annual fee like Amazon's.

And as always, use caution with any credit card. Credit cards often come with relatively high interest rates and can impact your credit score in various ways, so be sure to spend within your means--on Prime Day or otherwise.

For more tips on maximizing your Prime Day deals, check out how you can get $20 in Amazon credit to spend during Prime Day, and how to get Prime for free (or less) in advance of Prime Day. Plus, read up on the best Prime Day deals available now and tips on how to snag the best Prime Day deals.