How my Amazon Prime Visa card helps pay for my holiday gift giving

I have a painfully simple credit card strategy that creates around $300 in extra Amazon dollars each year. The extra money goes toward my holiday gift giving budget to help dampen the financial impact of the holiday season.

Here’s the strategy: I use my Amazon Prime Visa card for every Amazon and Whole Foods purchase I make throughout the year. I save up all my cash back from those purchases and then use it in November and December each year. 

That’s it. That’s the whole strategy. I told you it was painfully simple. Still, here’s a bit more about how I use my Amazon Prime card and how to consider if it might make sense for you too. 

The Amazon Prime Visa card – How it works

In Bankrate’s Prime Visa card review, we describe it as ideal for people who shop regularly at Amazon and Whole Foods. That is me, and I fully agree. The key value of this card for me is the 5 percent cash back it earns on every Amazon and Whole Foods purchase. 

The card also has a special offer right now: Prime members can get a $200 Amazon gift card instantly after being approved for the card. That’s a solid dent in this year’s gift-giving budget even before beginning to earn rewards over the coming year toward the 2025 holidays (if you use this strategy, of course). 

Like many people, I am a fairly regular Amazon customer. The card is attached to my account for easy payment and rewards earning on every purchase. I also shop at Whole Foods at least a few times a month.

The card has a bunch of solid secondary perks, such as extra cash back on certain Amazon purchases, no foreign transaction fee and an auto rental collision damage waiver. But for me, it’s all about that 5 percent cash back rate on core Amazon and Whole Foods purchases.

One thing to note: this card technically has no annual fee, but you do need an Amazon Prime subscription that costs $139 per year or $14.99 per month. That means I am mindful of making sure the annual rewards I reap from this card always stay above that $139 annual subscription fee (similarly to how I approach annual fee travel cards). 

How Amazon Prime Visa rewards add up

My family’s Amazon purchases include monthly cleaning and household maintenance items; sporting goods and school supplies for the kids; shoes and clothing; and occasional bigger ticket items like a new coffee maker or new tool. While I do most of our weekly grocery shopping at other stores, I do regularly shop at Whole Foods for higher-quality meat and seafood and other specialty items. 

For my family, all this spending adds up to about $500 per month worth of transactions on our Prime Visa card. At 5 percent cash back, that’s $25 per month and $300 per year in cash back for Amazon. Here’s how it breaks down for a few other monthly spending figures:

As you can see, the 5 percent cash back rewards from Amazon and Whole Foods purchases add up even if you spend considerably less than $500 per month. And that’s just for cash back rewards on purchases at these two stores — the math could become even more favorable if you used this card for other expense and rewards categories. You just want to be mindful that whatever total annual cash back you get with the card covers that $139 annual Prime subscription. 

The bottom line

The Amazon Prime Visa card is great for people who regularly shop at Amazon and Whole Foods. The 5 percent cash back rate adds up quickly for use on future Amazon purchases, but it’s important to remember some key credit card fundamentals. Make sure you always pay your bill in full and on time, and don’t charge more than you’re able to pay off each month. The card’s regular variable APR will easily overwhelm any 5 percent cash back earnings you get and could lead to lingering and expensive credit card debt.