New Amazon reward credit card – is it worth going for?

Barclays and Amazon have teamed up to launch a new reward credit card that allows you to earn between 0.5% and 2% back on spending with no annual fee.

This is the first Amazon-branded card since its partnership with New Day ended in January 2023.  

Here, Which? reveals if the new credit is worth it,  how it stacks up against other reward cards and if Barclays is a good credit card provider.

What does the Amazon Credit Card offer?

Customers will get 1% rewards on all Amazon purchases, and Prime members will get 2% back on spending during designated shopping event days such as Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

You’ll get 0.5% rewards on everyday spending at other retailers for the first 12 months, and 0.25% after that. 

You can track your rewards in the Barclaycard app. When you’ve earned £5 in Amazon rewards you can transfer them onto an Amazon Gift Card linked to your Amazon account. 

You can transfer gift cards in multiples of £5 and gift cards will be available to spend within two hours of transferring them. 

New customers can get a £20 Amazon gift card as an introductory offer and no interest on purchases for the first six months. 

The card is powered by Visa, has no annual fee and a representative APR of 28.9% (variable). 

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What's in the small print?

Only new Barclaycard customers can apply for the credit card right now, so existing customers won't be able to take advantage of this new deal. 

This also applies if you’ve had a Barclaycard within the last six months. If you hold a Barclays current account but not a credit card, you should be able to apply. 

Barclays said it is hoping to open applications for existing Barclaycard customers in the coming months. 

This credit card is an app-only account so you’ll need to use the Barclays or Barclaycard app to manage and use your account. 

Apple Pay is unavailable with this card so you’ll only be able to add it to a digital wallet if you have an Android device via Google Pay. Apple users can still use contactless via their physical card.

You must have a linked Amazon.co.uk account in order to redeem your Amazon Barclaycard Rewards. 

Some spending is excluded from earning rewards including cash withdrawals, gambling, and business transactions.

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How much can you earn?

To give you an idea of how the rewards work, we’ve crunched the numbers on what you could earn spending £100 and £1,000 on Amazon.co.uk and elsewhere.

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Who's the Amazon Credit Card aimed at?

Barclays said this was the ‘perfect credit card for anyone who loves to shop at Amazon’. As you can only spend the vouchers at Amazon, we’d be inclined to agree, with Prime members able to earn the most cashback. 

However, as this is a reward credit card, we recommend paying off your balance in full each month or any gains will be wiped out by interest charges. Therefore you shouldn’t consider this card if you won't be able to do this. 

If you do wish to pay off a big purchase made on Amazon, you may be better off using an interest-free credit card – the top cards on the market currently offer 21 months interest-free. 

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How to apply

First, you’ll need to complete an eligibility check – this won’t impact your credit score. You can do this by logging into your Amazon account. 

You need to be at least 18 years old to apply for the credit card. Amazon said you'll be more likely to be accepted if you always make payments on time, have at least four years’ experience managing credit and have a personal income of more than £20,000 per year. 

Amazon said applications typically take a few minutes to complete and a decision by Barclaycard might be made immediately or between five to seven working days. 

If approved by Barclaycard, your digital credit card will be ready to use on Amazon.co.uk from the Barclays or Barclaycard app right away. Your plastic credit card will arrive within seven working days. 

Your new card will be automatically selected as your default payment option.

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How does it compare?

We’ve looked at reward credit cards that let you earn rewards on your everyday spending, with no restrictions on where you can spend your cashback. 

We’ve ordered this list alphabetically.

The best cashback rate is offered by American Express – however, be aware that you only get the 5% cashback rate for the first three months before the rate reduces. After this point you get 0.5%, increasing to 1% on purchases over £10,000.

However, 0.5% matches what Amazon will pay on everyday purchases elsewhere. However, if you predominantly spend with Amazon you'd be better off with its own card as you’ll get 1%.

Is Barclaycard a good credit card provider?

Which? surveyed thousands of credit card customers in October 2023 to find out how satisfied they were with their providers. 

We also asked them to rate the companies across a range of customer satisfaction categories, from the application process through to ease of banking online and customer service.

Barclaycard achieved an excellent customer score of 72%, coming 7th out of 31 providers.

Customers gave it four stars for the ability to manage the account online or via the app and the clarity of statements. It received three stars for its transparency of charges and customer service in general and two stars for its application process.

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source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/new-amazon-reward-credit-card-is-it-worth-going-for-aATlc7b9Oe6q