Amazon rewards visa - statement credit or redeem points for purchase?

[Anonymous]

I can't seem to find the option to apply the points for statement credit for my new amazon prime card. But anyways.... Is the math still better to use the points for statement credit vs using points for purchase?


The consensus said use statement credit back in 2016. Not sure if the math is the same in 2018

[UncleB]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I can't seem to find the option to apply the points for statement credit for my new amazon prime card. But anyways.... Is the math still better to use the points for statement credit vs using points for purchase?


The consensus said use statement credit back in 2016. Not sure if the math is the same in 2018

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If you apply your points to a purchase, you don't earn the 5% back on that purchase.  For many this isn't significant, but I like to get every penny I can. 

My own preference is direct deposit, but statement credit serves the same purpose.

[HeavenOhio]

Definitely redeem the points via statement credit or transfer to a bank account. When you redeem on Amazon, you don't get the extra 5% that you would if you use the card.

Because I have zero points right now, I can't give you directions that are 100% exact. But I can give you a reasonable approximation. At the top of your credit card account page, you'll see all your basic info like balance, limit, etc. Under Amazon Prime rewards, there'll be a link. Hit that. If it turns into another link, hit it again. That'll bring you to a page with some options. On the left, hit the link that says "Redeem rewards." On the page that pops up, there should be a "cash back" button (or something like that) on the upper left. Chase's site isn't cooperating with me right now, so I can't get there to confirm. Anyway, hit that link, and redemption should become self-explanatory.

Keep in mind that if you don't have at least 2000 points ($20 worth), your only redemption option would be toward Amazon purchases.

[imaximous]

You always to want to get a statement credit or transfer to your bank instead of using the points for a purchase. If you use points, you lose those points for making the purchase, and any possible benefits like extended warranty, purchase protection, price protection or anything else that may apply to your card.

Edit: **bleep**, I'm pretty slow at responding. The 2 replies above came as I was typing this.

[UncleB]

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

Keep in mind that if you don't have at least 2000 points ($20 worth), your only redemption option would be toward Amazon purchases.

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They've (very) recently taken away the minimums on the AARP Visa and Amazon Visa.  My last redemption was for $11 and some change. 

Here's more info:  https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Chase-AARP-Redemption-Minimums-GONE/m-p/5266401#M15572...

[HeavenOhio]

That's great news, @UncleB. When my rewards have been under $20, I've rarely been able to make it through the month without accidentally spending them on Amazon.

[dlister70]

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@UncleB wrote:

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

Keep in mind that if you don't have at least 2000 points ($20 worth), your only redemption option would be toward Amazon purchases.

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They've (very) recently taken away the minimums on the AARP Visa and Amazon Visa.  My last redemption was for $11 and some change. 

Here's more info:  https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Chase-AARP-Redemption-Minimums-GONE/m-p/5266401#M15572...

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I did not realize this!  Thanks for the information!  I saw the AARP post, but I didn't realize that it applied to the Amazon card as well.  I just went and applied $15 toward statement credit and it worked!