Amazon Credit Builder arrives with 5% cash back, gift card perks, more

This morning Amazon and Synchrony Financial are announcing a new partnership to help those with unestablished credit. Officially dubbed the “Amazon Credit Builder“, it will expand Amazon’s already expansive stable of credit card options. But if you’re just starting out, you may want to go easy here. Amazon will be ready to pounce on any missteps, like missed payments and the like. However, that’s just the life of starting to build your own credit. Shoppers will be privy to many of the perks Amazon offers its cardmembers, including 5% cash back on select purchases. Head below for additional details.

Amazon Credit Builder: Some perks for Prime members

As expected, the Amazon Credit Builder card has some major caveats that consumers will want to pay extra attention to. This includes varying credit lines which start at $100. Those with better credit histories can expand that to a maximum of $1,000. Of course, that may not seem like much, but you also have to remember this is for novice credit users only.

Like other popular retail cards, the Amazon Credit Builder will be for Amazon purchases only, thus making it a closed-loop situation. Those looking to go outside Amazon’s virtual walls will need to be eligible for the online giant’s other cards.

If you’re looking to cash in on the 5% cash back feature, you’ll need to have a Prime membership in your stable of annual subscriptions. This adds another $119 to the mix, so be sure to do your math correctly here before assuming you’re coming out ahead with the cash back option.

After making an initial account-opening deposit, Amazon will be offering new customers a $40 gift card. Another notable perk is Amazon offering access to special 0% APR on select large purchases. Details are rather thin on what that all entails at this point. The APR is set at 28.24% otherwise, which is higher than the national average this year. Learn more here.

9to5Toys’ Take

There are two ways to look at the Amazon Credit Builder. On the one hand, it’s a decent way to get started if you’re committed to stay on top of billing cycles and the potential built-in downfalls.

Amazon already has a healthy stable of credit card offerings. Be sure to hit up our coverage and breakdown of each to find which one may be best suited for your shopping habits. One thing is for sure, these Prime perk credit cards that are billed as not having an annual fee are trickery at their finest.

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