Our Verdict
Unless your business spending revolves around ordering stuff that comes in cardboard boxes with an A to Z logo, other business credit cards will deliver more overall value than the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card*.
Pros
- No foreign transaction fee
- Free employee cards include purchase controls
- On each eligible purchase, choose 5% back or 90-day terms at Amazon and Whole Foods
Cons
- Amazon Prime membership required
- No intro APR offer
- Standard APR can be high, depending on your credit
Highlights
- Earn a $125 Amazon.com gift card upon approval for the card
- No annual fee
- Choose 5% back or 90 days terms on eligible U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership
- The 5% rate applies to the first $120,000 in purchases each calendar year, 1% thereafter
- Earn 2% back at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers
- Earn 1% back on other purchases
Introduction
It takes a certain love for Amazon-centric purchases for the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card* to be a good fit for your company spending. In addition to the online behemoth’s website, this card also earns elevated rewards on the Amazon Web Service (AWS) cloud platform, the upscale grocery chain Whole Foods and self-checkout shops called Amazon Go.
You will find the best value in the card if your business can satisfy all or most of its spending needs within the Amazon ecosystem, and you have an existing Prime membership. This card will earn an unlimited and generous 5% back in rewards or 90 day terms on eligible U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods on the first $120,000 spent in a calendar year with an eligible Prime membership, 1% thereafter. Earn 2% at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and 1% on other purchases.
But for companies with significant business expenses outside of physical goods or using the AWS cloud service, the rewards on the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card* become less impressive. Spending at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers will net 2% back and all other spending earns a ho-hum 1%.
You’ll need a personal or Business Prime membership to apply for the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card*. If you don’t have a personal Prime account, a Business Prime plan will set you back $179 to $10,099 annually (depending on how many users you need the plan to cover). While the Duo level of Business Prime is free for one user, it’s only available as an add-on to your personal Prime.
Related: Best Business Credit Cards
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Quick Facts
- $0 annual fee (but a consumer or Business Prime membership is required)
- 5% back in rewards or 90 day terms on eligible U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods on the first $120,000 spent in a calendar year with an eligible Prime membership, 1% thereafter. Earn 2% at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and 1% on other purchases
- No intro APR offer
Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Rewards
Earning Rewards
In addition to earning rewards (5% back in rewards or 90 day terms on eligible U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods on the first $120,000 spent in a calendar year with an eligible Prime membership, 1% thereafter. Earn 2% at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and 1% on other purchases), the Amazon Business Prime American Express Credit Card comes with a welcome offer: $125 Amazon.com gift card upon approval.
Redeeming Rewards
Rewards earned on the card can be redeemed for any amount and at any time toward an eligible purchase at the time of purchase or as a statement credit against your balance. One point is worth one cent. You cannot redeem rewards for actual cash back. If you don’t have enough rewards to cover your purchase, you can pay the difference with your Amazon Business Prime Rewards card.
The Amazon Business Prime American Express Card* has a unique financing offer: You can choose to forgo rewards on an Amazon purchase and instead choose to finance that spending for 90 days without accruing additional interest. This might be worth more if you typically carry a balance as even a 5% rewards rate will be outweighed by the card’s double-digit finance charges.
Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Rewards Potential
Earning 5% back on Amazon-centric purchases is a stellar rate. But you’ll still need to consider if you would earn enough in rewards for it to be worth the annual Business Prime membership fee.
There are six tiers of Business Prime membership:
- Duo: One user for free (over and above Personal Prime membership fee)
- Essentials: Up to three users for $179 a year
- Small: Up to 10 users for $499 a year
- Medium: Up to 100 users for $1,299 a year
- Enterprise: Over 100 users for $10,099 a year
Note that Duo is only available as an add-on if you already have a personal Prime membership, which starts at $139 per year.
To evaluate the card’s ongoing value, consider the following examples of how much you’d need to spend to recoup the other membership tiers by earning 5% cash back.
An Essentials membership would require $3,600 in annual spending to recoup the cost, a Small membership would require $10,000 in annual spending and a Medium membership would require $26,000 in annual spending. An Enterprise membership would require $530,000 in annual spending in the 5% categories (after the first $120,000 in spending the earn rate drops to 1%). However, spending in the card’s 2% categories (which have no rewards caps) would lower the break-even point for Enterprise-level members.
Depending on the size of your business expenditures, meeting those break-even spending thresholds may or may not be an issue. You’ll also have to weigh if you’d rather have a 90-day window to pay off an Amazon-related purchase instead of taking the rewards.
0% Introductory Rates
This card doesn’t offer an introductory 0% APR period, but you can choose a 90-day 0% APR on Amazon purchases instead of earning 5% rewards on eligible purchases. After the 90-day interest-free period, you will have to pay interest on purchases at the card’s regular APR (19.49% - 27.49% variable APR on purchases).
Other Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Benefits
Owning the card comes with a few extras beyond the rewards structure. As an American Express card, the Amazon Business Prime American Express card comes with travel protections and insurances, including:
- Car rental loss and damage insurance. Secondary coverage up to $50,000 per rental agreement for damage to or theft of a rental vehicle in a covered territory for up to 30 days of the rental agreement if you pay for the rental with your card and decline the collision damage waiver at the rental counter.*
- Global Assistance. Access to the American Express Global Assistance hotline. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.
- Return protection. With Return Protection, you may return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase. American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible American Express® Card. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
- Baggage insurance. Baggage Insurance Plan coverage can be in effect for Eligible Persons for eligible lost, damaged, or stolen Baggage during their travel on a Common Carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus) when the entire fare for a Common Carrier Vehicle ticket for the trip (one-way or round-trip) is charged to an eligible Account. Coverage can be provided for up to $1,250 for carry-on Baggage and up to $500 for checked Baggage, in excess of coverage provided by the Common Carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus). For New York State residents, there is a $10,000 aggregate maximum limit for all Covered Persons per Covered Trip. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
*Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible Card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the Commercial Car Rental Company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
Fine Print
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 19.49% - 27.49% variable
- Purchase intro APR: N/A
- Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
Fees
- Annual fee: $0
- Balance transfer fee: N/A
- Foreign purchase transaction fee: None
How the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Stacks Up
Amazon Business Prime American Express Card* vs. Amazon Business American Express Card*
If your business spends a fair amount on Amazon Business or AWS services, but the Prime Business membership fees are a turn-off, consider the Amazon Business American Express Card*. The rewards on Amazon-related spending drop from 5% back to 3% but you don’t have to pay the Prime membership fees.
This version of the card also only offers a 60-day financing window to the Business Prime card’s 90 days. Still, if you’ve looking to save some money on Amazon spending, this card can help achieve that goal.
Amazon Business Prime American Express Card* vs. Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
If you’re looking for big rewards but don’t want to commit to doing most of your spending online, consider the no-annual-fee Ink Business Cash® Credit Card.
It has a rewards structure that also offers generous rewards in areas businesses may find appealing. You’ll earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year and 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.
The Chase Ink Business Cash card allows employee cards without an additional fee, like the Amazon Prime Business Card, but rewards can be redeemed for cash back, gift cards or travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program. Plus, it offers new customers the opportunity to earn an excellent welcome bonus: $350 bonus cash back after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening.
Amazon Business Prime American Express Card* vs. Capital One Spark Cash Plus*
If tiered rewards in different categories sound like an Amazonian headache, look to a card that offers that same flat-rate back on all your spending, like the Capital One Spark Cash Plus*.
For an annual fee of $150, you’ll earn 2% cash back on every purchase and 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel which you can redeem at any time, in any amount. Because you’re getting straight cash back, you’re free to use it any way you’d like and not just on future work purchases. It, too, also comes with a nice welcome offer: Earn $1,200 cash bonus after spending $30,000 in the first three months.
During the first year, earning the welcome offer can more than offset the annual fee. But in year two and beyond you’d have to spend at least $7,500 to earn enough cash back to break even with the annual fee. However, you can have as many employee cards as you’d like at no additional cost. This could make it more palatable to you than one of the higher-tier Business Prime memberships.
Also note that this is a charge card. That means you must pay in full every month—there’s a 2.99% monthly late fee if you don’t. But the upside is that this card has no preset spending limit, and what you can spend adapts based on factors such as past spending, payment history and your credit profile. This offers flexibility you won’t get with many other cards.
Evaluate Credit Cards Side By Side
Is the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card for You?
If you already have a Business Prime membership, adding the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card* to your arsenal can help save you money on purchases you’re already making. But if you’re considering signing up for a Business Prime membership to get the Amazon Business Prime American Express card, consider if the majority of your business spending will align with the 5% categories. You may find another card with lower fees and/or spending categories that better correspond to your purchases.
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor: Amazon Business Prime American Express Card, Amazon Business American Express Card, Capital One Spark Cash Plus. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
