Amazon is the undisputed king of brand presence and ubiquity. By offering a bevy of products across virtually every imaginable category, including video and music streaming, the e-commerce giant has ballooned its Amazon Prime membership base north of 54 million as of 2016. To bolster the already strong lineup of Prime benefits, the company announced on Monday that it would be rolling out a Prime credit card in collaboration with Chase.
Separate from the previously released Amazon Rewards card, the Amazon Prime Rewards card offers benefits with a generosity that has become the trademark of the Prime loyalty program. On top of more traditional cash back rewards, the card offers a flat 5% discount on all Amazon purchases.
“We are adding, even more, value to Prime by offering rewards on Amazon and everywhere else you shop,” said Max Bardon, Vice President at Amazon. “Prime members will enjoy 5% Back on Amazon.com, 2% Back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores, and 1% Back on every other purchase – plus best in class benefits including no foreign transaction fees, travel protection and 24/7 concierge service.”
The Amazon Prime strategy is underlined by one key statistic: Prime members spend nearly twice as much as non-members. For those that wonder how Amazon can make a sizable profit with the value of its Prime benefits, the answer is a matter of engaging and retaining customers that would otherwise spread their wallet among other retailers.
The card is available exclusively to members of Amazon Prime, adding another reason for customers to not only sign up for the program, but to turn to the retailer first for purchases in pursuit of the discounts, cash back, and other rewards offered to members.
“Hundreds of millions of people shop at Amazon.com and there is no better way to earn rewards for their purchases than Chase’s new Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card,” said Kevin Watters, CEO of Chase Card Services. “We are thrilled to be working with Amazon to offer even more value to our card members.”
The Visa Signature card is available now for eligible Prime members, who can receive the full benefits of the new rewards structure while using their existing Amazon Rewards card until the new one arrives.