Prime Day is coming – these are the best credit cards for Amazon purchases to help you maximize rewards

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Amazon Prime Day runs June 21 and June 22, 2021, and along with scoring deep discounts, you'll want to use a credit card that earns the most rewards for your spending to sweeten the deal.

The best credit cards for Amazon purchases in 2021:

Category	Best credit card for Amazon purchases
5% cash back at Amazon and Whole Foods:	Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
2% cash back at Amazon and everywhere else:	Citi® Double Cash Card
Often includes Amazon as a bonus category:	Chase Freedom Flex℠
50% bonus if you make 30 purchases each billing period:	Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card
Best for purchase protection:	Platinum Card® from American Express
Best if you're targeted:	Any American Express card that has an Amex Offer** for shopping with Amazon
Best for big spenders:	Any credit card with an annual spending bonus

Even if you're not planning to shop on Prime Day, using one of the best credit cards for Amazon purchases throughout the year is an easy way to maximize rewards on purchases you're making anyway.

Here are the best credit cards to use at Amazon in 2021.

Earn 5% back at Amazon and Whole Foods: Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card

Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card offers 5% cash back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, including Amazon gift cards – as long as you're an Amazon Prime member (otherwise, you'll earn 3% back on these purchases). Cardholders also get an extra 5 to 15% cash back on certain promotional items, which is one of the highest rewards rates you'll find. This makes the card a great option for your Amazon purchases.

Read more: Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card review: Prime members should strongly consider applying – if only for the 5% cash back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases

New cardholders who apply for the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card will instantly receive a $150 Amazon gift card upon account approval. Cardholders can also earn 5% cash back at Zappos.com until September 21, 2021.

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card also earns 2% cash back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores. Considering those are pretty common spending categories for most people, this isn't a bad card to have in your wallet, especially since it has no annual fee.

Earn 2% cash back at Amazon and everywhere else: Citi® Double Cash Card

Citi Citi® Double Cash Card

If you prefer a versatile cash-back credit card with a solid earning rate at Amazon (and everywhere else), the Citi® Double Cash Card is hard to beat. You'll earn 2% back (1% at the time of purchase and 1% when you pay your bill) on all purchases, with no limit to what you can earn.

Read more: Citi Double Cash card review: One of the best cash-back cards has no annual fee, and 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months

Because the Citi® Double Cash Card has no annual fee, it's a good card to keep for the long term. You can also convert your cash rewards into Citi ThankYou points, which you can redeem for travel, gift cards, merchandise, and more.

Often includes Amazon as a bonus category: Chase Freedom Flex℠

Chase Freedom Flex℠

The Chase Freedom Flex℠ offers 5% cash back on the first $1,500 (then 1%) spent on rotating bonus categories every quarter, once you activate the bonus each quarter via your card account.

Read more: Chase Freedom Flex review: Taking a great cash-back card and making it even better

Sometimes those categories include Amazon purchases, in which case the Chase Freedom Flex℠ is a great option for shopping on that site. In 2020, Amazon was a bonus category from July to September – but we don't yet know if or when Amazon will appear in 2021.

50% bonus if you make 30 purchases each billing period: Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express

Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express

The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express is a solid choice for Amazon purchases. The card earns 1 American Express Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on non-bonus category spending, which includes Amazon. So why use it if you're just earning 1 point?

One reason is that Amex Offers often runs bonus-point promotions for Amazon purchases. All you have to do is check the currently available Amex Offers** via a tab under your account. If you're eligible, just register and make purchases with your card to earn those extra points.

Read more: Amex EveryDay Preferred review: A good card for earning Amex travel points, and it gets even better if you use it 30 times a month

Additionally, Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card cardholders earn 50% bonus points every billing period when they charge 30 or more purchases to the card. So if you charge at least one purchase per day on the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card, you'll essentially earn at least 1.5 points per dollar spent.

Best for purchase protection: Platinum Card® from American Express

Platinum Card® from American Express

It doesn't earn bonus points at Amazon (unless your account is eligible for an Amex Offer** for bonus points at Amazon), but Platinum Card® from American Express is also worth considering, especially for more expensive Amazon purchases. That's because it offers purchase protection for up to 120 days from your date of purchase, with a maximum of $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account per year.

Read more: Amex Platinum review: The best card for airport lounge access and other high-end travel perks, with a 75,000-point welcome bonus

The card has a $550 annual fee (See Rates), so it's not worth getting for this benefit alone, but if you can take advantage of benefits like annual statement credits for Uber, airline incidental fees**, and Saks purchases, not to mention airport lounge access, it can be a great option.

Any Amex card with an Amex Offer for Amazon

One benefit of having an American Express card is that you get access to Amex Offers**. These are deals for bonus points or cash back when you shop with a specific retailer. There are frequently Amex Offers for bonus points on Amazon purchases.

Read more: The best American Express cards of 2021

Since Amex Offers are targeted (they vary for each cardholder), you may not see this offer in your account, but it's worth checking. Keep in mind that you need to add the Amex Offer to your account online to be eligible for the bonus.

Some of the best American Express cards include:

• Best for dining rewards: American Express® Gold Card (this card also earns 4x points on the first $25,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each calendar year, then 1x, and this category includes Amazon partner Whole Foods)
• Best for cash back: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
• Best for bonus points on travel: American Express® Green Card
• Best premium business card: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• Best business card for everyday spending: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Any card that offers an annual spending bonus

If you're more concerned with long-term gain, consider charging your Amazon purchases to a credit card that offers an annual incentive for meeting certain spending thresholds.

Read more: I was hesitant to pay the Hilton Aspire card's $450 annual fee, but I got $3,700 in value toward travel in my first year

For example, the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card offers an additional annual weekend night reward after you spend $60,000 in a calendar year. You can use your reward at just about any Hilton hotel, including high-end resorts with rates approaching $1,000 per night or more.

Another option is to put your Amazon spending on a Southwest credit card in order to earn the Southwest Companion Pass. If you're unfamiliar with this benefit, it essentially allows you to bring a designated companion along with you for free (just pay taxes and fees) on paid and award tickets.

You'll earn the Companion Pass when you earn 125,000 qualifying Southwest points in a calendar year, and points earned via credit card sign-up bonuses and spending count towards this requirement. However, for 2021, Southwest has added 25,000 Companion Pass qualifying points Rapid Rewards accounts that were open as of December 31, 2020 – effectively reducing the requirement to just 100,000 points in 2021.

You can earn welcome bonuses on the following Southwest credit cards. Note that you can only have one personal Southwest co-branded card at a time.

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card – 80,000 points (50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months ,and an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months)
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card – 80,000 points (50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months ,and an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months)
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card – 80,000 points (50,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months ,and an additional 30,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 9 months)
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card – 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 in the first three months from account opening
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card – Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

Read more: 5 credit card pairings that get you even more benefits and rewards – in most cases, with just one annual fee

If you earned the welcome bonus from one of these cards and used it for everyday spending, including Amazon purchases, you could get within easy reach of the Southwest Companion Pass. You could also earn a bonus from one personal Southwest card and one business Southwest card, which would make qualifying even easier.

Ariana Arghandewal is a travel rewards expert and content strategist. She launched her award-winning travel blog, Pointchaser, in 2012.

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