Amazon Secured Card: Benefits, Rewards & More | Shop & Earn at Amazon

Do you shop a lot from Amazon and want to save money on your Amazon spending? If yes, then you definitely need an Amazon Secured Card. This card is offered by Amazon and can only be used to buy stuff from the official website of Amazon. In this post, we will give you an honest Amazon Secured Card review. We will also discuss its merits, demerits, annual fee, deposit, and basically everything you need to know to get your hands on an Amazon Secured Credit Card. So let’s get started. 

What is Amazon Secured Card? 

If you shop a lot on Amazon then Amazon Secured Credit Card is a must-have for you. It is great for credit building as well. The Amazon Credit Card needs a minimum deposit of $100. You can make a maximum deposit of $1000. Also, your credit limit is equal to your deposit. 

This means if you make a security deposit of $700, then your credit limit will be $700 each month. Moreover, if you maintain your credit card well, leave a balance on your credit card, and pay the bills on time every month then you can upgrade it to an unsecured card. The only downfall is, you can only use this card on the official website of Amazon or any offline Amazon store. 

There are basically two types of Amazon Secured Cards: 

1. Amazon Secured Card: Anyone can get this card. You do not need to have a good credit score or something. You just need to apply for this card and submit a security deposit and you will get your credit card. But you would not get any cash backs with this card. 
2. Amazon Prime Secured Card: Amazon Prime Secured Credit Card is only given to people who have an active prime membership. If you qualify for this card and submit the security deposit, then only you will get this credit card. The good part is, this gives you a 2% cash back on all your Amazon purchases. 

If you have really bad credit and want to build credit then this is a great option for you. You can buy all the important stuff from Amazon and build your credit. It is a low-maintenance card because it has zero annual fees and a very low APR. 

Amazon Secured Card Features

Now in this Amazon Secured Credit Card Review, we will discuss some of the most important and attractive features of this credit card. 

Fee

Do you know what is the most amazing feature of this card? It has a $0.00 annual fee. So you can increase your credit score without paying the annual fee. Also, the late payment fee is just $5.00. 

• Annual Fee: $0.00
• Late Payment Fee: $5.00

Use

We think that this is the biggest downfall of this credit card, that it can only be used on the physical Amazon stores or on Amazon’s official website and Amazon’s official application. You cannot use this card for any other purchases. 

Interest Rate

Coming to the interest rate, the interest rate of this Amazon card is pretty low. Where the other secured cards come with a high APR, the APR of Amazon Secured Card is just 10%, that too fixed. Even if you are not able to pay the bill on time, the minimum interest charge is just $1.50. This is the perfect card to improve your credit score. 

• Regular APR: 10% (Fixed) 
• Minimum Interest Charge: $1.50

Monthly Payments (Equal)

This is a special offer, only available on some products. Under equal monthly payments, you will not have to pay the complete purchase price at once, instead, you can pay it in installments. The number of months is different for each product and this offer is especially for big purchases. 

So for example, if the actual price of a product is $1,500 and the number of months for that product is 5 months maximum. Then you can make an equal payment of $300, for 5 months. 

• This is good for people with a small credit limit. 
• No interest is charged on the monthly payments.
• You will have to pay an interest fee if you fail to make the monthly payment. 
• Even if you are a prime member, you will not get any cash backs on equal monthly payments. 
• You can set up the automatic payment option because on failing, you will have to pay an interest fee.

Special Promotional Financing

Special Promotional Financing offer is available on only some of the products which cost over $150. Under this program, if you pay the entire purchase amount in a limited number of months then the APR on that purchase will be 0.00%. 

There are three different monthly plans under this offer. 

• 6 months, 
• 12 months, and 
• 24 months

But you have to be well aware of the terms and conditions if you want to use this program. Because if you fail to make the complete payment within the monthly plan then you will have to pay the interest fee for all the months, according to your plan. 

Credit Monitoring

As we told you, Amazon Secured Card helps a lot in improving your credit score. So, if you want to check how much progress you have made after using this credit card then you can check it on TransUnion CreditView. Amazon Card holders can watch their credit score on this Credit View website for free. 

Credit Reporting

Credit reporting is very important, because if it is not done then your credit score will not increase. Amazon cards are affiliated with Synchrony Bank. So this bank issues all the Amazon cards. At the end of every month, this bank reports your credit update to all the credit bureaus, including TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. 

Rewards

Coming to the rewards, if you want to get rewards for your Amazon purchases then you should go with Amazon Prime Secured Card. Amazon Secured Card does not come with any rewards. 

But when it comes to Prime Card, you get 2% cash back on eligible Amazon purchases. If you want to have a Prime card, you will need to get an active prime membership. You will also need to have a decent credit score.  

Should I Get Amazon Secured Card?

Amazon credit card is the right choice for you, only if you are a frequent Amazon user. It is not the best credit card for bad credit, but if the credit limit of your normal credit card is low and does not allow you to do a lot of Amazon shopping then you can definitely go with an Amazon credit card. 

It is a good card for you in the following circumstances. 

1. You Want to Improve Your Credit Score

This card is great for improving your credit. You just need to make some purchases from Amazon using this card, leave a balance and pay the bill on time. At the end of every month, Amazon will report your credit activity to all the credit bureaus, and your credit score will improve. 

2. You have Amazon Prime Membership

If you have an active prime membership then you should definitely get your hands on the prime card because it gives you a cashback of 2% on eligible products. This will help in saving your hard-earned money. 

3. You Shop a Lot from Amazon

If you shop a lot from amazon then you can use the Amazon Card to make the transactions easy and avail of other schemes like Special Promotional Financing and Equal Monthly Payments. 

4. The Credit Limit of Your Credit Card is Low

In case the Credit limit of your normal credit card is low and you are not able to make your Amazon purchases from that card, as the credit limit exceeds then you should definitely get an Amazon card. This will allow you to extend your credit limit and make easy Amazon transactions. 

Amazon Secured Card Vs Amazon Store Card

Did we tell you that Amazon also offers Amazon Store Cards? These cards are also very similar to the Amazon Secured Cards. It has several similar features like equal monthly payments and special promotional financing. But has some additional benefits as well. So let us have a look at the special features of the Amazon Store Card. 

Our Rating: 4.3/5

So, considering all the benefits, rewards, and welcome bonuses, we recommend you get an Amazon Store Card instead of an Amazon Secured Credit Card or Amazon Prime Secured Credit card. Because the benefits of an Amazon Store Card are way higher, though the qualifying criteria are also strict.  

Other Alternative Options

In this section, we are going to tell you about the alternative options for secured credit cards, if you do not want to go with Amazon secured card because of its limited scope. 

1. Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

Our Rating: 4.2/5

If you are looking for a credit card with a wider scope that you can use not only on Amazon but other places as well then you can go with Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card. It comes with a zero annual fee. Also, there is no fee for foreign transactions. 

Where other secured cards ask for a minimum deposit of $200, it is the maximum security deposit amount for Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card. The minimum deposit amount is also just $49. 

2. Discover It Secured Credit Card

Our Rating: 4.3/5

You must have come across the name Discover It Secured Credit Card. Because it is a very famous credit card all across the nation. You will have to make a security deposit of somewhere between $200 to $2,500 depending upon your credit score. 

But you will also get good rewards and cash backs. It does not have any annual fee or maintenance fee. Later you can also apply for a credit limit increase, on paying the bill on time in the initial months. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. How do I know if my Amazon secured card becomes unsecured?

Your Amazon Secured Card will not become unsecured automatically. If you leave a balance on your credit card and pay your bills on time for 12 months then you will get a notification. You will get this notification from Amazon that now your card has qualified to become unsecured and if you want to upgrade it to an unsecured card. 

If you apply for the upgrade, then only your card will be upgraded and you will receive a notification on your Amazon App and e-mail. 

Q2. How to cancel Amazon secured card?

If you want to cancel your Amazon Secured Card then you can call on their customer care number and ask for it. Then you will receive a mail and there you can mention your reason for cancellation. They will conduct an inquiry regarding the payments and bills. If all that is clear then they will cancel your Amazon card. 

Q3. Does Amazon Secured Credit Card help in building credit?

Yes. An Amazon card definitely helps in building credit. They report all your credit activity to all three major credit bureaus. And if you pay the bill on time and leave some balance, then you can definitely build a good credit score with an Amazon Secured Card just within a small time. 

Q4. Which are the best credit cards for no credit? 

If you have no credit at all and you still want to have a credit card then you can either go with Discover It Secured Credit Card or Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card. Your security deposit can be high and the credit limit can be low.