Amazon Prime Visa vs. Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards
Key takeaways
- Both cards have similar welcome offer values and potential rewards earnings for the average spender, but the Prime Visa doesn’t provide intro APR offers or bonus cash back.
- The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card could be more rewarding if your spending is divided across a range of online retailers, grocery stores and wholesale clubs.
- The Prime Visa card carries one of the highest year-round rates for Amazon.com purchases and groceries at Whole Foods Market, plus a solid roster of unlimited, additional reward categories.
Despite being a co-branded card, Amazon’s Prime Visa card is a top-tier cash back credit card, thanks to its variety of unlimited rewards categories and stellar rewards rate for online and grocery purchases via Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market. This puts it in a unique role to compete head-to-head with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card, one of the only other cards with a diverse category roster that includes online shopping and grocery categories.
Their sheer everyday rewards potential make the Prime Visa and Customized Cash card two of the best cards for online shopping, and our rewards spending calculations show that the average person can rake in a surprisingly similar cash back value each year with both cards. Unless you prefer stronger travel protections, or you already bank with Bank of America, the card that comes out on top entirely depends on your card feature preference and whether you mainly shop with Amazon and Whole Foods or with a wider variety of online and grocery retailers.
Main details
| Cards | Prime Visa | Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome bonus | Get a $150 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval exclusively for Prime members | $200 online cash rewards after spending $1,000 within the first 90 days of account opening |
| Rewards rate |
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(up to $2,500 in combined 2% and 3% purchases each quarter, then 1%) |
| Intro APR |
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| Annual fee |
$0 (Amazon Prime membership required; $139 per year or $14.99 per month) |
$0 |
Prime Visa vs. Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards highlights
Both of these cash back credit cards are top-tier for online shopping, but each one has an edge with its other additional rewards categories.
The Customized Cash card can be much more versatile for its wider category roster and comprehensive online shopping category — especially since it isn’t a co-branded card. However, the Prime Visa can be lower maintenance (and potentially more rewarding) since it doesn’t require you to rotate out its categories, and it packs a stronger rewards rate on Amazon purchases and groceries (as long as you shop with Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh).
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Prime Visa
Which card earns the most?
Determining which of these credit cards earns the most rewards depends on your monthly spending habits. The Prime Visa is hands-down the best card for shopping on Amazon, making it the better choice if that’s where you make the bulk of your online purchases.
The Prime Visa can net decent rewards on eligible commuting expenses and groceries, but the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card may be the better pick if you want more versatile online shopping and everyday categories.
Prime Visa vs. Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards spending example
Bankrate’s recent Holiday Shopping Survey found that 42 percent of people planned to do the majority of their holiday shopping online this year. To help capitalize on upcoming gift buying, cooking and travel expenses for the holidays, let’s use the monthly spend example below* to see whether the Prime Visa or Bank of America Customized Cash will be more rewarding:
- $1,000 on gift shopping (online): $400 at Amazon, $600 with other merchants
- $700 on groceries: $300 at general grocery stores, $300 at wholesale clubs and $100 at Whole Foods Market
- $300 on transportation: $205 at gas stations and $95 on public and other transportation
- $400 on dining
| Prime Visa | Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card | |
|---|---|---|
|
Online shopping |
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Groceries |
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Transportation |
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Dining |
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Total rewards |
$51 | $51 |
Both cards can rake in the same rewards value based on these spending estimates, but differences in your spending throughout the rest of the year can easily sway your decision toward either card. The Bank of America Customized Cash will likely rack up a bit more rewards value if you spend slightly more with online retailers other than Amazon — like Walmart.com, Target.com and specialty stores like Etsy. It could also be the better pick if groceries are a big part of your budget, and if you don’t want to rework your grocery shopping around Whole Foods.
On the other hand, you might want to consider the Prime Visa if most of your online shopping is with Amazon and the year-round, unlimited transit and dining rewards will be more lucrative for you than the Customized Cash card’s flexible category structure.
*Gift shopping total based on the Gallup average projected spending (Amazon spend based on the retailer’s share of holiday sales, projected by Investor’s Business Daily) while the other overall totals are based on the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) average annual consumer expenditures data — divided into equal months as an estimate. The total grocery and dining spends were increased from the BLS figures to factor in potential holiday spending.
If you have enough in savings with Bank of America, the Customized Cash card could increase its rewards rates by 25 to 75 percent as a Preferred Rewards member.
Why should you get the Prime Visa card?
If you’re a regular Amazon shopper, the Prime Visa could be the best Amazon card if you’re looking to maximize reward earnings on your existing spending habits. Here are some other factors to consider that may make the Prime Visa card worth it.
Additional benefits
The Prime Visa card comes with a few surprising benefits for a co-branded retail credit card.
On top of a few basic protections like purchase protection and extended warranty coverage, this is one of the few no-annual-fee cards to carry lost luggage reimbursement (up to $3,000 per passenger) and baggage delay insurance (reimbursement up to $100 per day for three days). Although these handy travel perks aren’t as helpful for online shoppers, they could give you some peace of mind if you plan on taking advantage of the Chase Travel rewards category.
Like many other Visa Signature credit cards, you may be able to enjoy Signature Luxury Hotel Collection benefits, including automatic room upgrades (when available), complimentary breakfast and late checkout. These potential perks likely won’t be a big influence on your decision, though, considering how common Visa Signature cards can be. In fact, the Bank of America Customized Cash card can also be a Visa Signature card.
Redemption options
The Prime Visa card markets itself as a cash-earning card, but you’re actually earning points that can be redeemed at 1 cent apiece toward cash back, travel, gift cards or Amazon purchases. Unfortunately, you can’t use points on certain Amazon products and services, including Amazon Fresh orders and digital downloads like music, certain Kindle purchases and Amazon Appstore apps. This is a bit of a shame since small purchases like digital items could be a good use for Amazon points.
If you’re not keen on redeeming points through the Amazon ecosystem, your best option may be to redeem points for cash. You can receive cash back in the form of statement credits or an eligible bank account deposit, so your rewards redemption options are essentially on par with many typical cash back cards’ reward options.
However, the Customized Cash card may offer a few more handy cash back redemption options if you already have an eligible account with Bank of America. This may not be a deal-breaker unless you’re a big fan of automatic cash back redemption.
Recommended credit score
You’ll need good to excellent credit to qualify for the Amazon Prime Rewards card, which typically means a FICO score of 670 or higher. Applicants with higher credit scores have the best odds of approval for the card.
Why should you get the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards?
With a pool of reward categories to choose from, intro APR offers on purchases and balance transfers and no annual fee, the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card may be worth it — especially if you already bank with the issuer.
Additional benefits
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card centers around cash back, with few frills or extra benefits beyond standard features and other typical Visa Signature card perks.
However, the Customized Cash card has two key perks over the Prime Visa that could sway a number of applicants: intro APR offers and Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program. The intro APR lengths are typical for a no-annual-fee cash back card, but these offers could save applicants a lot more money on potential interest costs, considering the Prime Visa doesn’t provide intro APR periods at all.
The Preferred Rewards program is the real main attraction since becoming a member could increase your rewards rates by 25 to 75 percent. These boosts could elevate the Customized Cash card far above the competition — up to 4.5 percent on choice category purchases, 3 percent at grocery stores and wholesale clubs along with 1.5 percent on other purchases.
However, the sheer amount of savings Bank of America requires you to keep with them to obtain these rewards rate boosts could make this game-changing perk inaccessible for quite a few applicants. You’ll need at least a $20,000 daily average account balance for a 25 percent boost, and $100,000 in the bank for the full 75 percent boost.
The Prime Visa has the upper hand when it comes to travel perks, since the Customized Cash’s only relevant perk through Bank of America is the Museums on Us admission. On the other hand, the Customized Cash certainly has the edge when it comes to rewards-related perks. Although it’s not necessarily for online shopping, the Customized Cash card even has a promotional offer rewards program like the Prime Visa card: BankAmeriDeals.
Redemption options
As its name suggests, the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card only allows you to redeem your points for cash rewards. You can choose to receive your cash rewards as a direct deposit to a Bank of America checking or savings account, a statement credit or a credit to a qualifying Merrill account. You can also redeem rewards for a check or as a Merrill 529 account contribution.
Since the Prime Visa doesn’t offer a higher redemption value for travel or Amazon purchases, redeeming for cash back via either card is just as valuable. However, the Customized Cash could be more efficient since you have the option to set your cash back to redeem for direct deposits automatically at certain times or reward intervals ($25 cash back minimum for automatic redemptions).
Recommended credit score
This credit card typically requires a FICO credit score of 670 or higher for acceptance. The higher your credit score, the more likely your application will be approved, although approval is never guaranteed.
The bottom line
Both cards are neck-and-neck in terms of potential rewards value for the average spender, but determining how much you shop with Amazon brands vs. other retailers will help you determine which card will be the better pick.
If you’re an avid Amazon shopper and already subscribe to Prime, the Prime Visa card can pack enough rewards potential to potentially make up for your annual membership cost. Plus, its above-average travel protections and unlimited rewards rates could make it more lucrative than the Bank of America Customized Cash card if the bulk of your online and grocery shopping is with an Amazon brand.
Of course, if you want a solid rewards value for online shopping and groceries beyond Amazon and Whole Foods, you may prefer the Customized Cash card. This card is an attractive option if you prefer more versatile reward categories since they include perhaps the widest variety of online and grocery retailers available. Although the Customized Cash doesn’t carry as many simultaneous reward categories as the Prime Visa, the Customized Cash can provide a slightly higher rewards rate on its more inclusive, swappable categories. The Customized Cash could also be the smarter pick hands-down if you need time to pay off an existing balance or if you can qualify for Bank of America Preferred Rewards status.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card information was last updated on November 15, 2024.
