US Bank Cash + for Amazon

[kkapdolee]

I just got a US Bank Cash +.

My understanding is there is a 5% category specifically for Amazon Kindle stores.

I think they're coded differently from regular Amazon purchases under VISA MCC.

So does regular Amazon purchase not count? Not even just regular electronic gift card with which one can purchase kindle books?

If so, I guess I'll have to get Sallie Mae.

[trumpet-205]

There is NO dedicated category for Amazon Kindle on Cash+. In fact there is no dedicated category on Amazon period.

What it does have is a generic category for bookstore. I don't know how Amazon codes its Kindle and gift card sales, but 95% of the time it codes Amazon LLC and Amazon Marketplace as bookstore. Some time it codes them as computer service.

[kkapdolee]

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@trumpet-205 wrote:

There is NO dedicated category for Amazon Kindle on Cash+. In fact there is no dedicated category on Amazon period.

What it does have is a generic category for bookstore. I don't know how Amazon codes its Kindle and gift card sales, but 95% of the time it codes Amazon LLC and Amazon Marketplace as bookstore. Some time it codes them as computer service.

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Here's what it says on Cash+'s categories.

Below is a partial list of popular merchants in this category.¹ While this list can be a helpful guide, U.S. Bank does not control how individual merchants or purchases are categorized.²

AbeBooks.com®	Half Price Books®	Textbooks.com™
Amazon Kindle Book purchases	Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore	Textbooksrus.com
Barnes & Noble	Highlights.com™	The Book Company
Barnes & Noble NOOK® Book purchases	Husky Bookstore	The Bookie - WSU Bookstore
Barnesandnoble.com	iPad® Book purchases	The Hornet Bookstore
Beck's Bookstore	Joseph-Beth Booksellers	The Ohio State University Bookstore
Better World Books®	LifeWay® Christian Store	Third Place Books
Book MARQ Bookstore	MBS Direct Textbooks	Truman Bookstore
BookRenter.com™	PCC Sylvania Bookstore	University of Kentucky® Bookstore
Books a Million Bookstore	Portland State Bookstore	University of North Dakota Bookstore
Books Are Fun™	Powell's Books	UWM® Bookstore
Boswell Book Company	Powells.com	Varney's Bookstore
Campus Book Rentals	Regis Bookstore	Webster's Bookstore
Chegg.com®	Saint Louis University Bookstore	Xavier University Bookstore
Creighton Bookstore	Sony Reader® Store
DuBois Bookstore	Spartan® Bookstore
Follett® Virtual Bookstore	Student Book Exchange

Amazon Kindle Book Purchases but not Amazon.com purchases under the Bookstores category.

[-NewGuy-]

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@kkapdolee wrote:

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@trumpet-205 wrote:

There is NO dedicated category for Amazon Kindle on Cash+. In fact there is no dedicated category on Amazon period.

What it does have is a generic category for bookstore. I don't know how Amazon codes its Kindle and gift card sales, but 95% of the time it codes Amazon LLC and Amazon Marketplace as bookstore. Some time it codes them as computer service.

---

Here's what it says on Cash+'s categories.

Below is a partial list of popular merchants in this category.¹ While this list can be a helpful guide, U.S. Bank does not control how individual merchants or purchases are categorized.²

AbeBooks.com®	Half Price Books®	Textbooks.com™
Amazon Kindle Book purchases	Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore	Textbooksrus.com
Barnes & Noble	Highlights.com™	The Book Company
Barnes & Noble NOOK® Book purchases	Husky Bookstore	The Bookie - WSU Bookstore
Barnesandnoble.com	iPad® Book purchases	The Hornet Bookstore
Beck's Bookstore	Joseph-Beth Booksellers	The Ohio State University Bookstore
Better World Books®	LifeWay® Christian Store	Third Place Books
Book MARQ Bookstore	MBS Direct Textbooks	Truman Bookstore
BookRenter.com™	PCC Sylvania Bookstore	University of Kentucky® Bookstore
Books a Million Bookstore	Portland State Bookstore	University of North Dakota Bookstore
Books Are Fun™	Powell's Books	UWM® Bookstore
Boswell Book Company	Powells.com	Varney's Bookstore
Campus Book Rentals	Regis Bookstore	Webster's Bookstore
Chegg.com®	Saint Louis University Bookstore	Xavier University Bookstore
Creighton Bookstore	Sony Reader® Store
DuBois Bookstore	Spartan® Bookstore
Follett® Virtual Bookstore	Student Book Exchange

Amazon Kindle Book Purchases but not Amazon.com purchases under the Bookstores category.

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There are not mentioned specifically, but the categories are determined by the merchant code that the company is assigned by Visa in this case. Pretty sure Amazon is still coded as a bookstore, hence the reason that it works for Sallie Mae

[trumpet-205]

Those are examples of what orders fit the generic bookstore category.

Regular Amazon orders may or may not be bookstore. Most of the time they are, but there are several instances where they are not. This isn't a problem limited to Cash+, it extends to any other Visa/MC card. Visa and MC categorize its purchase using MCC, and card issuers use MCC to determine if bonus rewards are applied or not.

The only exception is Chase Amazon, where Chase tracks the name "Amazon" rather than using MCC.

[kkapdolee]

Thanks a lot for the response guys. Looks like I won't need Sallie Mae afterall. As long as buying e-gift card on Amazon counts as bookstore, you can really buy anything on Amazon using Cash+ directly or indirectly (through gift cards).