Guide to Amazon credit cards
Amazon Credit Cards
Applying for an Amazon credit card is as quick and easy as using the website to shop. You will need to click on the application on the website at Amazon.co.uk and fill in the required details. This will trigger an automatic credit search which, if passed, will also determine the level of borrowing you are offered on the card.
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The perks of an Amazon credit card
The Amazon credit card also serves as a loyalty card for dedicated users of the website. For example, just by signing up for an Amazon credit card, you will automatically receive a certificate which will secure you £5 off your next Amazon.co.uk purchase.
The Amazon credit card will then provide you with two Loyalty Points for every £1 spent at Amazon.co.uk and one Loyalty Point for every £1 spent elsewhere.
When you have accumulated 1,000 Loyalty Points, you will be automatically emailed a £10 Amazon.co.uk gift certificate which, again, can be redeemed against any purchase made on the site.
For the first 13 months of opening your Amazon credit card account, you will benefit from 0% interest on purchases of individual items costing £300 or more, so long as they are made within the first 30 days of opening your account.
But, while you can use your Amazon credit card to shop anywhere (it is actually part of credit card provider giant, MBNA), purchases that are not made at Amazon.co.uk will be charged at a representative annual percentage rate of 16.9% (variable).
Shopping around for the right credit card deal
This means that, while frequent users of Amazon.co.uk who pay off their balance every month, may benefit from the perks of the Amazon credit card, other shoppers may be better suited to a deal that offers broader appeal.
For example, a little shopping around on a comparison website like MoneySupermarket will reveal that some credit cards offer long interest-free periods on balances transferred from another credit card. They also offer 0% on purchases made at any retailer (not just Amazon) for a given time.
Regulation
Like all other MBNA credit cards, the Amazon credit card falls under Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation. This also means that cardholders will be offered protection under the 1974 Consumer Credit Act, so if goods or services you buy with the card become lost, stolen or damaged, you have an equal claim for a refund against the card provider as you do the retailer. This is so long as the goods or services cost between £100 and £30,000.
The more recently-introduced Consumer Credit Directive will top up this protection to £60,260. In both cases you will be protected even if just the deposit is paid for using the card.