Chase Amazon Visa Card Is Getting Better
I just received a letter from Amazon.com which informs me that my Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card is being upgraded to Amazon.com Rewards Visa Signature Card with Signature benefits.
I got the card in 2006 when I started to make more and more purchases at Amazon.com. I thought getting the card makes sense for the 3% cashback it offers for shopping at Amazon.com (actually, 3 points for every dollar spent and the bonus points can be redeemed for Amazon gift card). Three years later I still have the card, but I only use it at Amazon because rewards for shopping at other places with this card isn’t really that rewarding. With the upcoming upgrade, however, it seems that the card can get a little more usages.
The upgrade will come on October 1, 2009 automatically for existing cardholders. With the new Signature card, card members can enjoy one more newly added benefit: get 2 rewards points for gas, dining and drugstore purchases for every dollar spent, in addition to the usual cashbacks for shopping at Amazon.com (3%) and elsewhere (1%).
These days, I can pretty much get 1% rebate with any credit card that offers a rewards program, but not many will go above the 1% mark and it is becoming increasingly difficult to get good rewards from card issuers because of changes in credit card rules (I think the new law actually punishes people who are using their plastics responsibly). In this environment, I think 2% cashback, though limited to only gas station, restaurant, and drugstore purchases, is a pretty good offer.
With the above being said, I don’t think I will switch to the Amazon card any time soon. Right now, I am still getting 3% cashback from Chase Freedom card at gas stations and grocery stores. When shopping at other places, I use Fidelity 529 card which gives me 2% back on every purchase. As long as I still have these benefits, I will stick with them for my everyday purchases.
BTW, the 2% rebate isn’t the benefit the new card will start to offer. The Amazon.com Signature card will also become a card with no pre-set spending limit, which I am not sure whether it’s a good change or a bad one.
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You’re 100% right: the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Signature Card is one of those credit cards that do not report your credit line to the 3 credit bureaus; they will only report your current balance and the highest balance in the last 2 years. Moreover, since it’s a premium-type card (a Visa Signature), you can be sure the card issuer will profit more for the Visa interchange rates it charges merchants, and will profit from less time/submissions of your credit line to the credit bureaus. BUT, you benefit: you say they’ll give you an extra 2pts per $1 spent for gas, dining and drugstore purchases, in addition to the usual cashbacks. So, it sounds good. I’ curious if you received any notices from Chase on raising balance transfer/cash advance transaction fees to 5%, and other changes recently?
I use my PenFed Visa for all gas purchases. The card has 5% discount for gas, but this is not cash back, they credit your account once a month with your rewards.
@SavingEverything, where are you getting that info? Cards with no preset spending limits do report a credit limit to the agencies, because the cards do in fact have a credit limit of sorts. It is called the “revolving line”, which acts as a credit limit in order to maintain good standing. the no preset spending limit is a temporary surge credit which you have to repay the difference above the revolving line limit in order to maintain good standing.
I too like the amazon chase. as with everything branded, it is really only worth getting if you buy things routinely on amazon; otherwise, it is basically a 1% cash credit you can only spend at amazon. i don’t use ours unless i’m spending on amazon, because it isn’t worth it otherwise.
One source is here; http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/credit-card-with-no-pre-set-limit-is-it-bad/
or here, which can also lead you to search more recent forum of information on topic at http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=creditcard&thread.id=171620
Maybe i misunderstanding and ymmv: For Chase, US Bank, and FIA (Bank of America) credit cards with NPSL that I have, they do not report my revolving line limit to the credit bureaus. Instead, they report only the actual balance that I have revolving from each month to month. For example, my US Bank FlexPerks Rewards Visa Signature card statements always show that I have a revolving line of $6000 limit. My most recent statement says the revolving line limit is $5427, with a balance due of $572.89. My Experian report shows that I have a revolving line with my USBank Visa Signature credit card in amount of $573. There is no information supplied for the credit lines; it just says NA.