Is the Amazon card good???

[longtimelurker]

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@bigblue7722 wrote:

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@sailor_mercury wrote:

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@credit0011 wrote:

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@ibmrad7 wrote:

and easy to get compared to Chase Amazon

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I heard the chase amazon was hard to get. Do you know what report they pull for approval?

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Bears - The OP asked which CA is pulled for Chase Amazon

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This is why myfico should buy out the who gave me credit website and actually make it useful.  What are the down sides of the chase amazon? I dont here like anything about it on the boards. 3 points on amazon thats great and 2 points on resturants thats great too not a lot of cards offer that. What am I missing?

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There isn't a down side in the sense that bad things happen ("Oh, you missed the bit where we charge you $100 each week when you don't buy the top 10 hardback best sellers from Amazon.")   But when applying for any card, you should always consider other cards that you could be applying for.    The Chase Amazon is very strange in that it is NOT the card that gives the best discount on Amazon (whereas most of the time Card X does give the best deal at X).

So Sallie Mae, Cash Plus, and probably others all give 5% at Amazon rather than 3%   (As did the old Citi Forward).  They cover other categories too.

Now the caveat is that these are capped, so if you spend a lot at Amazon, then the Chase Amazon is better.   How much is a lot?

Sallie Mae covers $9K a year at 5% and 1% on anything over, Chase gives 3% on all.   So if you spend X, .03*X > 9000*.05 + .01*(9000-X)   when X > $13,500 a year.

So if you spend that or more at Amazon(and don't need the grocery/gas coverage from Sallie Mae or one of the 5% categories from US Bank) Chase is better.

Otherwise, the other cards win.

(There is also the case when you need to buy something for more than $750 say.  You couldn't use the Sallie Mae directly and get the full 5%, but if you have bought Amazon certs each month with the Sallie Mae, then you can.  But certainly Chase is more convenient here)

Edit: And as discussed before, even if you DO spend a lot on Amazon, it's still worth getting SM or Cash Plus as well, to get the higher discount on the initial spend.

[longtimelurker]

And one downside is that you cannot PC from it!  I tried several times.

[sailor_mercury]

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@bigblue7722 wrote:

well sense discover it and chase freedom are so similar I think I will take freedom off my wish list and add the chase amazon. I still cant figure out why no one really talks about it on myfico?

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If looks matter the new card is black and dark gray with a bright yellow core.  I've had a few people compliment it.  But what matters to me is what rewards I can earn.  I'll figure that out over the next 6 months but I think I will be very happy.

[bigblue7722]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@bigblue7722 wrote:

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@sailor_mercury wrote:

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@credit0011 wrote:

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@ibmrad7 wrote:

and easy to get compared to Chase Amazon

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I heard the chase amazon was hard to get. Do you know what report they pull for approval?

---

Bears - The OP asked which CA is pulled for Chase Amazon

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This is why myfico should buy out the who gave me credit website and actually make it useful.  What are the down sides of the chase amazon? I dont here like anything about it on the boards. 3 points on amazon thats great and 2 points on resturants thats great too not a lot of cards offer that. What am I missing?

---

There isn't a down side in the sense that bad things happen ("Oh, you missed the bit where we charge you $100 each week when you don't buy the top 10 hardback best sellers from Amazon.")   But when applying for any card, you should always consider other cards that you could be applying for.    The Chase Amazon is very strange in that it is NOT the card that gives the best discount on Amazon (whereas most of the time Card X does give the best deal at X).

So Sallie Mae, Cash Plus, and probably others all give 5% at Amazon rather than 3%   (As did the old Citi Forward).  They cover other categories too.

Now the caveat is that these are capped, so if you spend a lot at Amazon, then the Chase Amazon is better.   How much is a lot?

Sallie Mae covers $9K a year at 5% and 1% on anything over, Chase gives 3% on all.   So if you spend X, .03*X > 9000*.05 + .01*(9000-X)   when X > $13,500 a year.

So if you spend that or more at Amazon(and don't need the grocery/gas coverage from Sallie Mae or one of the 5% categories from US Bank) Chase is better.

Otherwise, the other cards win.

(There is also the case when you need to buy something for more than $750 say.  You couldn't use the Sallie Mae directly and get the full 5%, but if you have bought Amazon certs each month with the Sallie Mae, then you can.  But certainly Chase is more convenient here)

Edit: And as discussed before, even if you DO spend a lot on Amazon, it's still worth getting SM or Cash Plus as well, to get the higher discount on the initial spend.

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The sallie mae card is from barclaycard right? My student loan was with sallie mae which is the only bad thing on my credit how much would that hurt or does it matter at all?

[sailor_mercury]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

And one downside is that you cannot PC from it!  I tried several times.

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Good info in both posts.  Thanks!  I'm not apping but maybe I will have to put one of the 5% cards on my wish list for later.

If I ever spend over $13k in one year at Amazon someone had better break my hands so I can't type, use my cell phone, etc.  LOL

[Mannymal]

I got a CLI from $1,200 to $6,000 on the GE Amazon store card the very same day I got approved. I simply called the back door and asked. One thing though, the APR is ridiculous at 25%. So I will only use it for the 0% financing options on large purchases. For smaller purchases I will just go with the Chase Amazon. 

[credit0011]

I tried to apply for the amazon store card but recieved the message 7-10 days letter so im guessing i was denied. Should i try again in a year?

[w003ptr]

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@credit0011 wrote:

I tried to apply for the amazon store card but recieved the message 7-10 days letter so im guessing i was denied. Should i try again in a year?

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7-10 day doesn't necessarily mean denied.  

[takeshi74]

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@bigblue7722 wrote:
What are the down sides of the chase amazon? I dont here like anything about it on the boards. 3 points on amazon thats great and 2 points on resturants thats great too not a lot of cards offer that. What am I missing?

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Not a downside of the Chase Amazon itself but those looking to max Amazon rewards generally use another approach to earn 5% whether it's another card that offers 5% on Amazon like Sallie Mae, etc or a card that gets 5% at places that sell Amazon gift cards.

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@sailor_mercury wrote:

If I ever spend over $13k in one year at Amazon someone had better break my hands so I can't type, use my cell phone, etc.  LOL

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Don't overlook the $750/month limit with Sallie Mae.  May not be an issue for you but it may be for some.

[longtimelurker]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@bigblue7722 wrote:
What are the down sides of the chase amazon? I dont here like anything about it on the boards. 3 points on amazon thats great and 2 points on resturants thats great too not a lot of cards offer that. What am I missing?

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Not a downside of the Chase Amazon itself but those looking to max Amazon rewards generally use another approach to earn 5% whether it's another card that offers 5% on Amazon like Sallie Mae, etc or a card that gets 5% at places that sell Amazon gift cards.

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Yes, I had forgotten those places.  So the common example is the Chase Inks, which give 5x at office supply stores, which usually will say Amazon gift cards.  The limit is pretty high on these cards, 25K or 50K.   Not as convenient as paying directly with the Chase Amazon, but worth it for the extra 2%