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Only Amazon feature I truly hate
I had the Chase Amazon Visa 3% back credit card, which I was happy with. I had set my Chase checking account to auto full pay the card each month, so the only thing to remember was to periodically use the saved credit points on a purchase (can be an odd value like $3.21; doesn't have to be $20 increments like most point cards). And free extended warranty!
With that great experience, the new Amazon Store Card with 5% sounded even better. But what's the catch?? For purchases over $149, Amazon Store Card automatically switches the benefit option from 5% credit to 0% credit with 6+ months extended financing. Sneaky sneaky, but I figured I'd just be vigilant to manually change the reward option back to 5% credit.
Not so fast. Amazon Store Card becomes your default payment, so my subscribe and save purchase (costing over $149) automatically got the extended financing. Since I pay in full each month (especially with its ridiculous 25% APR, I hope everyone does), this amounts to LOSING a 5% discount: a $200 invoice should've been $190 after 5% credit, but now I've lost out on that $10.
I've reverted my default payment to Amazon Visa, but then miss out on the extra 2% discount for subscribe and save. For regular purchases, I now have to manually change regular payment option to the Store Card, confirm it's 5% credit instead of extended financing, and manually pay the monthly statement while adding on the previously forced extended financing amount.
And the Store Card does NOT have free extended warranty, which Chase Amazon Visa has, so I use the Visa for more expensive purchases. But then it kind of defeats the purpose of the Store Card.
Now, if I close out the Amazon Store Card, it'll mess up my credit length (already -23 points from Store Card's hard credit inquiry). I'll close it out regardless in a few months for my sheer spite for it.
By the way, regardless of your credit score, your starting limit is amazingly low. That itself is not a big deal; GE / Synchrony Bank (which manages the Amazon Store Card) automatically raises your limit after several months of full payment.
I'd highly recommend applying for or staying with Chase Amazon Visa instead (I'm not affiliated with Chase).
October 2014 · Unknown