Tell me your Amazon Credit Card experience

[Ready]

OP here, I got the letter from Chase about my denial of an Amazon Prime card.
"Our decision was based on the following reason(s)
Your Credit report reflects too few open credit card accounts
Insufficient balance in deposit and investment accounts with US"


My bolding.


Both true, I only have one credit card with an $11k limit and usually less than a $500 balance, (Paid monthly, is that the problem?)
I don't have an account with them. My credit score is above 780, I have no late payments and plenty of excess income.




Now it has become a challenge. What methods could I use to get the card?


I could without disrupting anything, move $30k into a Chase savings account and apply for a Chase CC. (temporarily, until I get the card I want)


Any other ideas?

The $11K limit on your only credit card doesn’t give you much total credit. Is there a reason your limit is so low? Have you tried requesting an increase? Overall though I can’t imagine why they would not at least give you a small credit line instead of rejecting you completely. I would try calling them and talking to someone.

 

[ER Eddie]

I buy a shitload of stuff on amazon, so to me, the card is well worth it. I probably get around $300 back per year, give or take.

I'm talking about the amazon prime card. Not sure if that's the one you're referring to.

 

[Time2]

The $11K limit on your only credit card doesn’t give you much total credit. Is there a reason your limit is so low? Have you tried requesting an increase?

Not for over 30 years. I thought that was high then and now. I certainly don't need higher.

Overall though I can’t imagine why they would not at least give you a small credit line instead of rejecting you completely. I would try calling them and talking to someone.

 

[Time2]

I buy a shitload of stuff on amazon, so to me, the card is well worth it. I probably get around $300 back per year, give or take.

I'm talking about the amazon prime card. Not sure if that's the one you're referring to.

Ya, I think so.

 

[Markola]

I buy a shitload of stuff on amazon, so to me, the card is well worth it. I probably get around $300 back per year, give or take.



I'm talking about the amazon prime card. Not sure if that's the one you're referring to.

Us, too. We get about $230 back/year. The no-fee card we have attached to the account and only use there pays for the annual Prime membership!

 

[old medic]

I have the Amazon card where I get 5% back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases. I only use it for Amazon and Whole Foods but 5% is a great deal. I buy a lot on Amazon so I get a monthly credit that I can use toward Amazon purchases. I’m happy with it.

We use ours quite regular and Get the 5% back, and have used it for several large 0% purchases... Most of the time its paid off each month besides any 0% balance.

 

[Sunset]

Instead of an amazon CC, I use a BOA CC set to online purchases.
I get 5.26% back on all online purchases including Amazon.

 

[Gumby]

....
Anyway, it is WAY faster than scrolling through the normal order list pages. But still a bit of a hassle for us, mainly because we buy so much on Amazon. And I want it classified correctly in our expense tracking, which obviously requires some manual intervention when every single line item on the statement comes in as just "Amazon."

Let me share my decidedly low tech method for doing this. When I get notice of my credit card statement from Chase, I print out just the transactions page. Each of the transactions has an Amazon order number. With that page in hand, I go to the order history in Amazon, which is in inverse chronological order, so the items in the credit card statement are likely to be among the first few in the Amazon order history. Usually, I can quickly tell which order by the amount, but if there is any question, I look at the order number. I have never needed to use more than the last 4 digits to correctly identify the order. Then, on my printed statement sheet, I write a spending category next to that transaction. When I've checked every item, I sum the items in the same category and manually enter that sum in my overall spending spreadsheet.

It took me longer to type this than it does to allocate my Amazon spending for a typical month.

 

[Ready]

Instead of an amazon CC, I use a BOA CC set to online purchases.
I get 5.26% back on all online purchases including Amazon.

That’s really good. Do you have a link where we can learn more about this card? I’ve never heard of it.

 

[Cobra9777]

Let me share my decidedly low tech method for doing this. When I get notice of my credit card statement from Chase, I print out just the transactions page. Each of the transactions has an Amazon order number. With that page in hand, I go to the order history in Amazon, which is in inverse chronological order, so the items in the credit card statement are likely to be among the first few in the Amazon order history. Usually, I can quickly tell which order by the amount, but if there is any question, I look at the order number. I have never needed to use more than the last 4 digits to correctly identify the order. Then, on my printed statement sheet, I write a spending category next to that transaction. When I've checked every item, I sum the items in the same category and manually enter that sum in my overall spending spreadsheet.

It took me longer to type this than it does to allocate my Amazon spending for a typical month.

Thanks. As I said, we buy a lot on Amazon, especially stuff like household goods on Subscribe and Save (dogfood, paper goods, groceries, cleaning supplies, pool chemicals). Each S&S item comes in as a separate order. So the transactions usually fill 2-3 pages of the monthly statement.

We use Fidelity Full View for expense tracking. The transactions are imported automatically from Chase so I just have to go in and correct the category, which defaults to something like "Merchandise/Misc" when it sees Amazon. I download the item report from Amazon into Excel and then manually match up each "item" with the transaction records in Full View, and correct the categories as I go.

As I said before, the dates don't match and the amounts don't match because of the S&S discount and other reasons. Sometimes there is one item per order and sometimes there are several items per order. In the latter case I often have to split the Full View transaction record if the items belong in different categories.

Maybe I'm overthinking this. And there's probably a simpler way. But it would be very helpful if the Chase transaction records included item descriptions similar to the Synchrony store card. This reconciliation process typically takes me 20-30 minutes per month.

 

[Sunset]

That’s really good. Do you have a link where we can learn more about this card? I’ve never heard of it.

Sure:
https://secure.bankofamerica.com/apply-credit-cards/public/icai-single/#/info/

Don't be discouraged by the 3% in the category of your choice

Preferred Rewards members earn a 25%-75% rewards bonus on every purchase.
By qualifying as a 75% bonus rewards person, you get 3% + (75% of 3%) = 3% + 2.25% = 5.25%

The easiest way I qualified was to open a bank checking account (free type) and open a Merrill lynch brokerage account, and transfer in $100K worth of shares. No trading is needed. no fees in a self directed account.
Here is the link for the Preferred rewards program and the different benefits at different levels:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/

The have a silly 3 month qualification period, but once past that it's continuous.

You can qualify for an additional bonus from ML just for transferring in that much $$.

Ask them how it all works to be sure you don't miss a step.

 

[Ready]

Sure:
https://secure.bankofamerica.com/apply-credit-cards/public/icai-single/#/info/

Don't be discouraged by the 3% in the category of your choice

Preferred Rewards members earn a 25%-75% rewards bonus on every purchase.
By qualifying as a 75% bonus rewards person, you get 3% + (75% of 3%) = 3% + 2.25% = 5.25%

The easiest way I qualified was to open a bank checking account (free type) and open a Merrill lynch brokerage account, and transfer in $100K worth of shares. No trading is needed. no fees in a self directed account.
Here is the link for the Preferred rewards program and the different benefits at different levels:
https://www.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/

The have a silly 3 month qualification period, but once past that it's continuous.

You can qualify for an additional bonus from ML just for transferring in that much $$.

Ask them how it all works to be sure you don't miss a step.

Thanks, I will check it out!

 

[gayl]

WTF!!

I just donated money to a Hike-A-Thon for my grandson via PayPal and it seemed to go through immediately. So I went on to my USAA Visa card to see if I was correct. Normally these things don't clear until after the hike. I was correct, it went through. But then I noticed that I have an Amazon charge on my card. So I called USAA, disputed that charge, and change my Visa card number. I have no idea how Amazon got my card number. I have never bought from them and I don't intend to buy from them in the future. So how did it happen?

 

[wildsun]

does someone else have access to your card number?

 

[gayl]

Just PayPal so I now have a new #. The Amazon charge was 1st. I got a strange call yesterday saying there was a problem with my Amazon charge but in that I didn't charge at Amazon and I thought it was a phishing expedition

 

[troutnut1]

Unlike many stores I believe you need an Amazon account to buy things. If you already disputed the charge I doubt if it will matter, but it would certainly be interesting to know who and where amazon thinks it is sending something. Also I have experienced that crooks with your credit card often make one or more trial charges in small amounts to crooked merchants before they move onto bigger things. I had a charge for 97 cents to some site for a “toy” of some sort before they charged $600 in tires. I have since learned to watch for such small charges instead of ignoring them.

 

[Time2]

OP here, I ask about an Amazon Visa card, got positive replies, applied for the CC. I was denied because lack of Credit Cards and no Chase account.
So, Friday I received a "Your Dispute Results" letter from Experian.
I didn't dispute anything, I believe this is a letter sent any time you are denied credit.
There is nothing in the Dispute Results. I.E. nothing was disputed. It shows the one CC I have and all green since 2014. Then it has a chart of balances, payment dates , Scheduled Amount ($25) and actual amount paid from May 19 to the present. Actual amount paid is marked as

'No Data' for all those months. Each month was paid in full.


Then it gets to "Who has Viewed your Consumer Information"
Hard Inquires
JPMCB (Chase Bank) The company that declined me an Amazon CC.

Duration: This Inquiry is scheduled to continue on record until May 2023.


Reason: Credit Card with 0 Months Repayment Terms.


I don't get the, Reason: Credit Card with 0 Months Repayment Terms.
Does this relate to the 'No Data' on the payment history of the one CC I have?

 

[audreyh1]

You can still try for the Amazon Store Card which is issued by Synchrony. You get the 5% cash rewards if you are a Prime Member.

Don’t know about your credit report problem.

 

[Time2]

You can still try for the Amazon Store Card which is issued by Synchrony. You get the 5% cash rewards if you are a Prime Member.

Don’t know about your credit report problem.

Just sent an inquiry letter to Experian. This has become a huge curiosity to me, I'm hunting down answers.

 

[Aerides]

I don't get the, Reason: Credit Card with 0 Months Repayment Terms.
Does this relate to the 'No Data' on the payment history of the one CC I have?

You probably have too slim of a credit history. Clean and perfect doesn't tell a lender you can pay bills. A lot of folks think no credit cards, no loans, nothing but one paid off card, is good. And it is for practical reasons, but it doesn't show a lender that you are good at managing credit and debt. Kinda like a young person with no real credit history has a hard time getting their first card.

Amazon probably has enough demand, and sets their criteria of risk. You can have spotless credit and not qualify with any number of lenders.

 

[Chuckanut]

I recently received this email from Chase in regards to my Amazon Prime CC:

From 5/15/21 to 8/15/21, earn a total of 5% Back for every $1 you spend on travel purchases and at gas stations on up to $1,500 in total combined purchases with your Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature® card.

My Discover card currently give 5% back for gasoline , April-June. I may have to plan another road trip for June-July.

Discover card for gas in June.
Amazon card for gas July through mid-August
Amazon card for hotels in June through mid-August.
Costco card for gas/hotels after I hit the spend limit on the Amazon and Discover card.

It's better than a kick in the pants.

Supplemental information: terms and conditions.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

* To be eligible for this bonus offer, you must activate by 08/15/21 11:59 p.m. E.T. You will earn 5% Back total for each $1 spent in the travel and gas station categories on up to $1,500 in total combined purchases from 05/15/2021 to 08/15/2021. Total % Back shown are the maximum you will earn on those purchases during the promotion, regardless of what you already earn on those purchases in your rewards program. For more information about Chase rewards categories, see chase.com/RewardsCategoryFAQs. Purchases posted to your account with a transaction date during the offer period are eligible for this offer. Delays by the merchant, such as shipping, could extend the transaction date beyond the offer period. Please allow up to 8 weeks after qualifying purchases post to your account for % Back to post to your account. ("Purchases" do not include balance transfers, cash advances, travelers checks, foreign currency, money orders, wire transfers or similar cash-like transactions, lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, race track wagers or similar betting transactions, any checks that access your account, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, and fees of any kind, including an annual fee, if applicable.) To qualify for this bonus offer, account must be open and not in default at the time of fulfillment. This bonus offer is non-transferable and applies only to the account of the primary cardmember referenced in this offer. Eligible credit cards: Amazon Prime Rewards Visa card. See your Rewards Program Agreement for more details.

 

[tulak]

Thanks for that info Chuckanut. I need to check out the details, but 5% back for gas/hotels will be handy for my upcoming road trip.

 

[Another Reader]

You have to read the gas cashback rules carefully to see if they will be of any benefit. Many cards limit the cash back to stand alone gas stations. Costco and Safeway, where I buy most of my gas, are usually excluded.

For Discover: Purchases made at Gas Stations include only merchants in the category that sell automotive gasoline that can be paid for either at the pump or inside the station. Gas Stations affiliated with supermarkets and supercenters may not be eligible.

For Chase Freedom: Costco is included, supermarkets are not. I did not get the Prime card offer, but would guess it's the same.

 

[Chuckanut]

You have to read the gas cashback rules carefully to see if they will be of any benefit. Many cards limit the cash back to stand alone gas stations. Costco and Safeway, where I buy most of my gas, are usually excluded.

For Discover: Purchases made at Gas Stations include only merchants in the category that sell automotive gasoline that can be paid for either at the pump or inside the station. Gas Stations affiliated with supermarkets and supercenters may not be eligible.

For Chase Freedom: Costco is included, supermarkets are not. I did not get the Prime card offer, but would guess it's the same.

+1

I also posted the conditions for the Amazon Prime card. It's limited to $1500 of spending on gas and travel. Thankfully, I drive a gas sipping Hybrid and stay in dive hotels.

Still $75 is $75. When that offer is maxed out I can switch to the 3% on the Costco Card and max that out. These days my credit card cash rewards are outstripping the interest on my savings accounts and CD's.

 

[tulak]

The conditions for a road trip work for me. Odds are high that I won’t be looking for the best deals on gas and will use whatever is convenient. I need to put some thought on lodgings. Probably time to burn through some of my accumulated points.