2024-08-13 09:57:39
New partner bank
Amazon Visa returns: What is the free credit card good for?
Updated on 13.08.2024 – 08:29Reading time: 3 min.
After the end of the cooperation with Landesbank Berlin, Amazon has found a new partner for its Visa. But is the card even worth it?
Starting credit, cashback and no costs – these are the conditions that attract Amazon’s new Visa credit card. An earlier version was discontinued this year because the online retailer and Landesbank Berlin had ended their collaboration. Now Open Bank, a subsidiary of the Spanish banking group Santander, is making a second attempt on the German market. But how good is the card really?
The comparison portal Verivox has examined the conditions. The result: The credit card offers a number of advantages, especially for regular Amazon customers. But anyone who also wants to use the credit card to withdraw money and pay while traveling will find cheaper offers on the market.
The Amazon Visa does not have an annual fee and customers can use their existing checking account to debit card transactions. The card comes with a 10 euro starting credit for new customers if they do not have a Prime membership. Prime members receive 15 euros starting credit.
Anyone who previously owned the now discontinued Amazon credit card from Landesbank Berlin and is also a Prime member will receive a starting credit of 25 euros. Without a Prime membership, it is 15 euros.
The card includes a cashback function. For purchases made with the credit card, customers are credited with points that they can use to pay at Amazon. For every credit card transaction of 2 euros, cardholders receive one point worth 1 cent. This corresponds to 0.5 percent cashback on all card transactions. If Amazon purchases are paid for with the credit card, they earn twice as many points – i.e. 1 percent cashback. On special Amazon promotional days, Prime customers can receive up to 2 percent.
Like many other free credit cards without an account link, the Amazon Visa has an installment payment function. However, anyone who uses this and only pays off a portion of their credit card transactions each month must pay high interest on the remaining amount, amounting to 20.13 percent per year. Due to the high interest rates, no one should use this financing framework. A line of credit or an installment loan are the cheaper alternative if necessary.
However, cardholders with the Amazon Visa can specify that the entire credit card transaction is always debited in full from the account on the billing date. This means that no interest costs are incurred when using the card. You can read more about credit cards with installment payment functions here.
A weakness compared to competing offers: Amazon Visa customers have to pay fees for both withdrawing money from ATMs and for payments outside the euro zone. Cash withdrawals cost 3.9 percent of the amount withdrawn – but at least 1.50 euros.
If the card is used outside the Eurozone, an additional foreign transaction fee of 1.5 percent is added to the exchange rate. As the Verivox analysis shows, there are several offers on the market that do not incur such additional costs. Read here which banks offer free credit cards with good conditions.
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“For Amazon, the new credit card is primarily a means of customer loyalty. The cashback granted in the form of points can only be redeemed on the company’s own platform. In addition, the amount is manageable at 0.5 to a maximum of 2 percent. The card is therefore particularly interesting for customers who regularly shop at Amazon anyway,” says Verivox Managing Director Oliver Maier.
The credit card is not yet available to customers. According to Amazon, the card will be introduced gradually in the coming weeks.