Amazon Visa Rewards Approved!

[Themanwhocan]

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@Brusilov wrote:

Congrats!!!  Did you get the black version of the card?  It's very pretty indeed.    Great rewards if you shop a lot at Amazon too!

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How great does the Blue one look?

[tonyjones]

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@Themanwhocan wrote:

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@Brusilov wrote:

Congrats!!!  Did you get the black version of the card?  It's very pretty indeed.    Great rewards if you shop a lot at Amazon too!

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How great does the Blue one look?

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I'll let you know when I get it in the mail

[B335is]

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@tonyjones wrote:

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@Themanwhocan wrote:

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@Brusilov wrote:

Congrats!!!  Did you get the black version of the card?  It's very pretty indeed.    Great rewards if you shop a lot at Amazon too!

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How great does the Blue one look?

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I'll let you know when I get it in the mail

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I have the blue one - I'd give it a 6 on a 10pt appearance scale, not to burst your bubble.  Congrats on the approval, persistence pays off!

[jrodzmc09]

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@Brusilov wrote:

Congrats!!!  Did you get the black version of the card?  It's very pretty indeed.    Great rewards if you shop a lot at Amazon too!

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WHICH BLACK VERSION CARD!?!?! lol! I want it! I just got approved on the 6th and there was only 3 options. Blue, Green and Red or orange.. I forgot lol.. How do I get that black version!!

[Brusilov]

Here's a pic:

Can't really tell from this but it has really cool texturing on the card plus all the lettering is in reflective silver type.

[enharu]

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@jrodzmc09 wrote:

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@Brusilov wrote:

Congrats!!!  Did you get the black version of the card?  It's very pretty indeed.    Great rewards if you shop a lot at Amazon too!

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WHICH BLACK VERSION CARD!?!?! lol! I want it! I just got approved on the 6th and there was only 3 options. Blue, Green and Red or orange.. I forgot lol.. How do I get that black version!!

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call CSR and tell them you want the black version.

This is the number on the back of the card: 1888-247-4080

[JonStur]

Mine is like a weird funky lime-green color...

[longtimelurker]

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@Brusilov wrote:

Congrats!!!  Did you get the black version of the card?  It's very pretty indeed.    Great rewards if you shop a lot at Amazon too!

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Just as a public service reminder:  Amazon is strange in that the "official" branded card is not always the one with the highest reward on Amazon.   If you are looking for a card, consider:

Sallie Mae: 5% on first $750 a month at bookstores including Amazon.

US Bank Cash Plus: 5% on first $2000 per quarter (shared between bookstores and another choice you pick)

Citi Forward: 5% unlimited on bookstores including Amazon.  Only for students now.

And sometimes the rotating cards will offer 5% as well, but these above are year round.  

And for those into simple arithmetic:

Amazon pays 3% without a limit.   So let's say you spend $x a year.  Amazon's cash back would be 0.03x

Sallie Mae pays 5% on first $9,000, 1% on the rest, so $450 + 0.01(x-9000) = $360 + 0.01x

So Amazon is better when 0.03x > $360+ 0.01x, when 0.02x > $360, when x> $18K

So if you spend more than $18K on Amazon a year, the Chase Amazon card is better than the Sallie Mae (which is better than the US Bank Cash Plus).  The Citi Forward is always better if you can get it.   ("Better" here just means "gives more back on Amazon purchases", obviously there are other key factors to consider when choosing these cards).

[enharu]

The sallie Mae is a great card for most people, but at the same time the way the rewards structure is designed, it can be an inconvenience.

For instance, the caps are refreshed every month. So if you decide to spend 2k for a laptop on amazon this month, you will be getting only 5% for the first 750. The 750 cap doesn't rollover from precious months, so essentially one should be buying items or spending less than 750 each month on amazon to maximize rewards. Most online retailers, amazon included, do not allow for spilt payments either.

The amazon visa on the other hand, is a simple no-frills card, though the rewards is just 3% as opposed to 5% on sallie Mae.

As such, I think the US bank cash+ is a better alternative, since the cap is spread across a few months, so it would work for a large one-time purchase of 2k. Obviously, for items that cost more than 2k, one will then run into the same issue as sallie Mae.

At the end of the day I guess it boils down to how much one is spending and what one is buying on amazon.

[longtimelurker]

True.  But if you know you will spend a lot on Amazon at various times in the year, the thing to do is buy $750 Amazon gift certificates on Amazon.com each month with your Sallie Mae (for as long as you desire).  Then when you buy something, you can indeed split payments between the gift certs and your favorite credit card.  Not everyone will want to tie up money this way, but for frequent heavy shoppers this gives a good discount.