Here’s the Best Way for Businesses to Save Big on Prime Day
If Amazon purchases are a noticeable portion of your business’s budget, you may want to consider the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card*. Not only can you save on everyday purchases and earn extra savings on the ongoing Prime Day deals, you can also choose short-term, interest-free financing for many purchases from Amazon. Plus, this card touts business-friendly accounting and data integrations to organize your transactions.
You do need a Business Prime account — which ranges from $69 to over $10,000 depending on your business size and needs — to get this credit card, but there is no annual fee beyond that. Business Prime membership gets you free same-day, one-day or two-day shipping on millions of items, along with some other perks.
If your business orders office supplies or other essential items from Amazon frequently, adding this card as a supplementary business credit line may make sense. Below we review the details of the rewards program, welcome offer and business applications.
Read more: Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card: The Consumer Prime Card
In this article
Amazon Business Prime American Express Card
Intro OfferEarn a $100 statement credit after you make $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months.
APR15.74% – 23.74% Variable
Intro Purchase APRN/A
Recommended Credit Excellent/Good
- Take advantage of 5% Back or 90 Day Terms on U.S. purchases at Amazon.com, Amazon Business, AWS and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership. You will earn 5% Back on the first $120,000 in purchases each calendar year, 1% Back thereafter
- 2% Back at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers
- 1% Back on other purchases
Annual FeeNo annual fee
Late Payment Fee Up to $39
Foreign Transaction Fees None
Penalty APR 29.99% Variable
- Take advantage of 5% Back or 90 Day Terms on U.S. purchases at Amazon.com, Amazon Business, AWS and Whole Foods Market with an eligible Prime membership. You will earn 5% Back on the first $120,000 in purchases each calendar year, 1% Back thereafter
- 2% Back at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers
- 1% Back on other purchases
Rewards and financing
As with most retailer credit cards, you get the option to choose cash-back rewards or interest-free financing on most of your purchases.
When choosing cash-back rewards with the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card, you earn 5% cash back on select U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market. Particularly if you have a larger business, be aware that there’s a $120,000 spending cap on this rewards rate per year. Any spending beyond this amount receives a 1% rewards rate.
Your other option is interest-free financing for 90 days, which could make sense if you need to buy items now and pay for them later. You’re not locked into making minimum payments or set installments either — you’re just required to pay back the full amount by the end of the 90 days. This is a good short-term, recurring financing option that may suit your business better than the best introductory APR cards, since these cards tend to offer higher value early on and less so over time.
The Amazon Business Prime American Express Card also offers a handful of other rewards categories. You’ll earn 2% back on U.S. purchases at restaurants, gas stations, and wireless phone services (if they’re purchased right from the service providers) and 1% on all other purchases. You won’t have the option for short-time financing with these other rewards categories.
If your spending doesn’t match up with this spread, other business credit cards offer more targeted business-oriented categories.
Welcome offer
For the welcome offer, you can earn an $100 statement credit if you spend $3,000 in the first three months. Since this isn’t competitive when it comes to other business welcome offers, don’t weigh it heavily in your decision on whether or not to get this card. Chase business cards, for instance, offer better welcome offers.
Business integrations
The Amazon Business Enhanced Data Views is a program designed to simplify tracking and organizing your transactions — making your spending data modular and downloadable. The most distinctive of Amazon’s business-specific integrations, this could be valuable if it allows you to recognize additional business insights. For example, it might help you predict future spending if you’re working out a budget.
You can connect your Business Prime Card to QuickBooks to automate accounting for any transaction made on the card. You can also add employee cards to the account, but these features are typical of most business credit cards.
Similar cards
Amazon Business American Express Card
The Amazon Business American Express Card* is the same card but for businesses without a Business Prime account. It doesn’t have an annual fee, but you’ll earn lower Amazon reward rates without a Prime account. You earn 3% instead of 5% on Amazon.com, Amazon Business, AWS and Whole Foods purchases. Interest-free financing only lasts for 60 days rather than 90. Otherwise, the rewards categories and welcome offers are the same.
Ultimately, the break-even point where you save more money in rewards over the cost of the simplest Business Prime membership ($69 annually) is if you spend $3,450 or more on Amazon in a year.
Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card
While this card won’t earn you Amazon-specific rewards, it offers more flexibility in how you earn rewards. The top rewards rate with this card is 3% on a category of your choice: gas stations, office supply stores, travel, TV/telecom and wireless, computer services or business consulting services. You’ll also earn 2% on dining, and 1% on other purchases.
Like Amazon Business Prime, the Business Advantaged Customized Cash Rewards card has a spending cap — but it’s much lower. You’ll only earn 2% and 3% reward rates for up to $50,000 per calendar year, combined (then 1%). Still, if you have a cyclical budget, this flexible rewards feature may come in handy.
You can also take advantage of the 0% introductory APR for the first nine billing cycles (thereafter a 12.99% to 22.99% variable APR) to finance any large purchases on Amazon or elsewhere.
FAQs
What is a business credit card?
Business credit cards are specifically geared toward small business owners. They can help you keep your business finances separate from your personal transactions, distribute and manage employee cards and earn rewards in typical small-business spending categories.
Do you need to have a Business Prime membership to shop at Amazon?
You don’t need a Business Prime membership to shop at Amazon or Amazon Business, though Business Prime members enjoy free, quicker shipping on millions of items, along with other perks. You do need a Prime membership to apply for the Amazon Prime Business Card, but there is also a non-Prime equivalent.
Does the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card have foreign transaction fees?
There are no foreign transaction fees with the Amazon Business Prime Card, which will save you an average of 3% on each transaction you make overseas. However, it’s important to note that the 5% rewards rate only applies to eligible U.S. purchases.
Our approach
CNET reviews the cards that are in the highest demand and offer the best benefits. We scour the fine print so there aren’t any surprises when you open an account. We find the key factors that make a card stand out and compare them to other top cards. That way, readers can opt for a different card with similar features if our pick isn’t right for them. Our reviews are regularly checked and updated to incorporate new recommendations, as well as to reflect changes in offers and the market.
*All information about the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card and the Amazon Business American American Express Card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
