You can find just about anything you need on the Amazon website and you may have considered using your stash of credit card rewards to pay for those purchases via the online retailer’s Shop with Points feature.
It may seem like those points are free money to use however you please, but that’s like having a buy-one-get-one-free coupon and saying, “No thanks, I’ll just take the one.” Getting the best value for your points is no different than getting the best price on an item you want to buy. You should know that in many cases, the redemption values for major rewards currencies at Amazon are less than if you simply took your earnings as cash back.
Just keep in mind that if you charge a purchase then pay it off with a statement credit as opposed to using earnings directly for a purchase, you will earn rewards on the purchase, as well. Here’s what to know about the best ways to use your rewards to shop with points on Amazon and what to avoid.
| Reward Program | Value of a Point (In Cents) |
|---|---|
|
Amazon
|
1 point = 1 cent
|
|
American Express Membership Rewards
|
1 point = 0.7 cents
|
|
Bilt Rewards
|
1 point = 0.7 cents
|
|
Capital One Cash Back
|
1 point = 1 cent
|
|
Capital One Miles
|
1 point = 0.8 cents
|
|
Chase Ultimate Rewards®
|
1 point = 0.8 cents
|
|
Citi ThankYou Points
|
1 point = 0.8 cents
|
|
Discover
|
1 point = 1 cent
|
|
Hilton Honors Points
|
1 point = 0.2 cents
|
Prime Visa
For existing Prime members who frequently shop at Amazon and Whole Foods, the 5% rewards rate is stellar. To further sweeten the deal, the Prime Visa card offers a 2% rewards category plus Visa Signature benefits.
- 5% cash back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases
- No spending required for the welcome bonus
- No foreign transaction fees
- Travel and shopping protections
- Requires an Amazon Prime membership
- No 0% introductory APR
- Low cash back for purchases outside of bonus categories
- Get a $100 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval exclusively for Prime members
- Earn unlimited 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership
- Earn unlimited 5% back on Chase Travel purchases with an eligible Prime membership
- Earn unlimited 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare)
- Earn unlimited 1% back on all other purchases
- No annual credit card fee
- No more waiting. Redeem daily rewards at Amazon.com as soon as the next day
- Member FDIC
Amazon Points
The rewards earned by using one of the Amazon credit cards are worth a penny per point regardless of how you redeem them. These cards include:
- Amazon Visa Credit Card*
- Prime Visa
- Amazon Business Prime American Express Card*
- Amazon Store Card*
If you’d prefer to just keep your earnings in the Amazon ecosystem, you can use them toward the value of a purchase or you can redeem your points as a statement credit toward past purchases. Other options are available too, also at the same penny-per-point value. With the Amazon Visa Credit Card* and the Prime Visa, you can redeem via the issuing bank for cash back, travel or gift cards. Minimum redemption amounts may apply.
Although the Amazon Store Card* and the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card* earn rewards for spending at Amazon, those rewards can only be used within the Amazon ecosystem to buy more merchandise or taken as a statement credit. It’s the best choice because it’s the only choice.
Bottom line: Use your Amazon card rewards to shop with points or pay yourself back as a statement credit for Amazon purchases.
Find The Best Credit Cards For Amazon For 2024
American Express Membership Rewards
You can use your Membership Rewards points from an eligible American Express card to pay for all or a portion of your Amazon purchase. Eligible cards include:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express (Terms apply)
- American Express® Gold Card (Terms apply)
- American Express® Green Card*
- Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card*
- Amex EveryDay® Credit Card*
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Terms apply)
- American Express® Business Gold Card (Terms apply)
- Business Green Rewards Card from American Express*
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Terms apply)
But redeeming on Amazon wouldn’t be the most effective way to use your points given that a Membership Rewards point is worth only 0.7 of a cent when redeemed for Amazon purchases.
You are likely to get the most bang for your Membership Rewards buck by using your Membership Rewards points for airfare redemptions or transfers to travel partners. Other redemptions are worth less than a penny a point, including redeeming points for a statement credit against a purchase, which is typically worth 0.6 of a cent.
Bottom line: Don’t use American Express Membership Rewards points to shop with Amazon.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Up to 2X Reward Rate
Earn 2X points on the first $50,000 in purchases each year; Earn unlimited 1X points on purchases thereafter
Welcome Bonus
Earn 15,000 points
Annual Fee
No annual fee
Regular APR
18.49% - 26.49% Variable
Credit Score
Excellent/Good (700 - 749)
The Blue Business Plus card is a rare example of a no-annual-fee way to game your rewards earnings. You’ll earn 2X points on all purchases up to $50,000 per year. It’s a perfect fit if your business is small enough to spend less than $50,000 per year. If not, spend up to the $50,000 max, then switch to another card for the rest of the year’s purchases. You’ll win either way.
- Wide variety of airline transfer partners
- No annual fee
- High rewards rate on the first $50,000 in annual spending
- There’s a foreign transaction fee
- 2 points per dollar rewards rate falls to 1 point per dollar after $50,000 in annual spending
- Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- 0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 18.49% – 26.49%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors at account opening. APR will not exceed 29.99%
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter.
- You’ve got the power to use your Card beyond its credit limit* with Expanded Buying Power.
- *The amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to us, and other factors.
- No Annual Fee
- Terms Apply
Bilt Rewards
The rewards earned on the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® are a flexible currency that can be used to book travel, transfer to Bilt’s travel partners, pay rent or a down payment on eligible housing, used to book an eligible fitness class or to Shop With Points on Amazon.
A Bilt Reward point used on Amazon is worth 0.7 cents, making it a less valuable use of your earnings than other options. The options worth the most value per point from your Bilt Rewards include booking travel through the Bilt Rewards travel site, where a point is worth 1.25 cents or transferring to eligible airline partners, where the value can often meet or exceed a penny per point. Paying rent with your earnings is valued at 0.55 cents per point.
Bottom line: Don’t use Bilt Rewards points to shop with Amazon.
Capital One Rewards
There are multiple Capital One cards that are eligible for the Shop with Points option on Amazon. These include the following:
Cards that earn cash back:
- Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Savor Rewards Credit Card*
- Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Journey Student Rewards from Capital One* (This card is no longer available for applications.)
Cards that earn miles:
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business*
- Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business*
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. On the Capital One cash-back cards, earning a dollar back on the card is worth a dollar in spending on Amazon. But on the Capital One Travel cards that earn miles, you’ll need 125 miles to redeem for a dollar on Amazon. This means your Capital One miles are worth only 0.8 cents each. Your rewards will be worth a higher rate of 1 cent per point when redeeming for travel.
Bottom line: Use your rewards from Capital One cash-back cards to shop on Amazon, but not the miles earned on Capital One travel cards.
Find the Best Rewards Credit Cards of 2024
Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Chase Ultimate Rewards® are a highly flexible currency that allows you to take your earnings as cash back, a statement credit, a gift card, travel or transfer to Chase’s travel partners (if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card).
You can also use your earnings to Shop with Points on Amazon. Eligible cards include:
- Chase Freedom Flex℠*
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Ink Business Premier® Credit Card
However, at a value of 0.8 cents per point, that’s the lowest value redemption of all of your choices. Typically, cash back, statement credit and most gift cards via the Chase Travel℠ will yield a value of a penny a point.
You can get even more value out of your Chase Ultimate Rewards® by booking through Chase’s travel portal where points are worth anywhere from 1 cent to 1.5 cents each, depending on which Chase card(s) you have.
Even if you have no desire to use your points for anything but Amazon purchases, you’d get better value out of buying whatever you want on your card and then taking cash back as a statement credit. For example, buy something for $100 on Amazon with your Chase card and then redeem 10,000 points as a cash-back statement credit. To buy that same $100 item using Amazon’s Shop with Points, it would take 12,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Bottom line: Don’t use Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to shop with points on Amazon.
Citi ThankYou Points
You can use Citi ThankYou Points to shop via Amazon’s Shop with Points.
Eligible cards include:
Using your ThankYou points to shop directly with Amazon is not the best use. A ThankYou point is only worth 0.8 of a cent when redeemed on Amazon.
Note that cash back as a deposit in your qualifying account or as a check is worth as little as 0.5 cents per point with some Citi cards. Citi Premier® Card and Citi Prestige® Card* cardholders can redeem points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point.
If you have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card*, Citi ThankYou points can also be transferred to a long list of travel partners where they can be worth over 1 cent each. Holders of the Citi Rewards+® Card and Citi Double Cash® Card can transfer points to a shorter list of travel partners.
Bottom line: Don’t use Citi ThankYou points to shop with points at Amazon. You’re better off using your points for travel or or redeeming for cash back if you have an eligible card.
Discover
You can use your earnings from Discover cash back and travel credit cards to shop with points on Amazon.com. Eligible cards include:
- Discover it® Cash Back
- Discover it® Miles
- Discover it® Chrome
- Discover it® Student Chrome
- Discover it® Student Cash Back
- Discover it® Secured Credit Card
A cent of cash back and 1 mile both are worth one cent when shopping with your earnings through Amazon.com, so it’s a solid redemption value.
Bottom line: Use your earnings from your Discover card to shop with points on Amazon.com.
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Hilton Honors
If you have a pile of Hilton Honors points and you aren’t sure what to do with them, you could use them at Amazon via the Shop with Points feature. But, that may not be the best use of your hard-earned rewards. It takes 500 Hilton Honors Points to equal $1 worth of merchandise at Amazon, which means each point is only worth 0.2 cents, a poor redemption value any way you look at it.
Bottom line: Don’t use Hilton Honors Points to shop with points at Amazon.
Bottom Line
When using rewards to shop on Amazon, some cards are definitely better than others. Be sure to understand exactly what you’re getting and what you’re giving up before you pay with points on Amazon.
