Amazon Barclaycard Rewards credit card review

Earn points each time you shop at Amazon and elsewhere

It’s been a couple of years since the last Amazon credit card was withdrawn, but finally there’s a new version released. Once again it’s a reward card, meaning you can potentially earn up to 2% back on your spending. Here’s everything you need to know.

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What is the Amazon Barclaycard Rewards credit card?

Very simply, the Amazon Barclaycard is a card that pays you every time you spend, with better rates from spending at Amazon. Every time you spend you’ll earn points, which can be swapped for Amazon credit.

You’ll need 500 points to get a £5 voucher, though you can choose to keep earning points and swap them latter, though in multiples of £5. When you do exchange the points, the voucher is added straight to your Amazon account.

There’s no annual fee for the card. Though it has an interest rate of 28.9% APR, it’s best to always ensure you clear what you owe in full every month to avoid this charge.

The credit card from Amazon is actually a Barclaycard, which means if you have another Barclaycard, or have had one in the last six months, you won’t be able to get this.

It’s app only, and you’ll need the Barclaycard or Barclays app to manage your account.

What can you earn on spending?

This is where it gets a little confusing, as there are two different rates. You’ll need to be logged into your account to see what you’ll get.

On the Amazon site, the main reward rate is 1% on all Amazon spending and 0.5% on spending elsewhere for the first 12 months. After a year the rate drops to 0.25% at other retailers. This is the standard offering.

But for my account I see a different version of this, with 2% on Amazon and 1% elsewhere for the first six months, dropping to 1% and 0.5% respectively after this. After 12 months it’ll drop again, and match the rates all customers get. This is because I had the old version of the card, so I’m getting an extra boost, albeit for a short time.

There’s also a bonus rate that applies during big Amazon sale days such as Prime Day and Black Friday, with an extra 2% on offer if you’re a Prime member. Again, previous customers will get more, with a rate of 4% back on those same sales for the first six months.

	First six months	Second six months	After one year
Standard new customer offer	1% at Amazon, 0.5% elsewhere, 2% on Prime Day / Black Friday	1% at Amazon, 0.5% elsewhere, 2% on Prime Day / Black Friday	1% at Amazon, 0.25% elsewhere, 2% on Prime Day / Black Friday
“Loyalty” offer for previous cardholders	2% at Amazon, 1% elsewhere, 4% on Prime Day / Black Friday	1% at Amazon, 0.5% elsewhere, 2% on Prime Day / Black Friday	1% at Amazon, 0.25% elsewhere, 2% on Prime Day / Black Friday

Amazon Barclaycard welcome offers

Assuming you’re eligible, there’s a small bonus available if you apply successfully. Again, the size of this may depend on whether you had the old card.

The standard offer is a £20 Amazon credit, and you don’t need to spend anything to trigger it.

However I’m seeing a larger £50 “loyalty bonus” when I’m signed into Amazon, and a few in our Facebook group have reported the same amount. So it looks like this is the promotion for previous cardholders. This could well be a limited time offer.

As with gift cards you earn from ongoing spending, this welcome gift is automatically added to your Amazon account.

If you’re seeing the lower offer, it might be prudent to wait and see if it’s increased on days like Prime Day or Black Friday. Though this is a brand new card, boosting the rate was a common incentive in the past.

Where you can earn extra cashback

Amazon is obviously much more than just a website, and you’ll get the higher 1% rate in year one (0.5% after this) at the following brands:

• Amazon Retail
• Amazon Marketplace
• Amazon Fresh
• Amazon Music
• Whole Foods
• Audible
• Kindle
• Twitch
• Amazon Prime Video
• Amazon Luna
• Amazon Blink
• AWS Training UK
• Amazon Bulk Liquidations
• Amazon Trade In UK

There’s also 5% off ticket prices and 10% off some presales from Barclaycard Entertainment, though any Barclaycard gets the same offers.

0% on purchases

New cardholders can also spend for six months at zero percent. But after this you’ll get charged interest. If you need an interest free purchase credit card there are longer options out there.

Using the card

Once you’re accepted the card will automatically be added to your Amazon account and set as the default card. That makes sense as it’ll be the best option, at least in the first year. Though you can of course change that in your settings or at checkout.

There’s a digital card available in the app straight away, so you can grab your details and get spending if needed.

You’ll get sent a physical card, which you can add to a Google Pay wallet on your phone or just use contactless or via Chip & PIN. Sadly you can’t add your card to Apple Pay right now.

Will the Curve/Apple Pay hack work?

You could try using Curve as a workaround, where you add your Barclaycard to Curve and add your Curve card to Apple.

However, there are problems with his. First it’ll break the Section 75 Protection you get. This is a really handy consumer protection if you buy something costing more than £100.

Plus Barclaycard have told me that they don’t recognise Curve purchases as eligible for any rewards, so you won’t earn any points at all this way. So there’s not much point really.

Summary

Is it worth it?

If you are eligible for the loyalty offer as a returning cardholder, you’ll won’t beat the initial 2% rate at Amazon and 4% boost on Black Friday style events. You also won’t beat the 1% elsewhere in the first six months on a non-Amex credit card. You can however match it on the top reward and cashback cards such as the Chase debit card and Amex Nectar card.

But if you’re only getting the standard offer for the first 12 months, it’s less appealing. And after a year the rate drops to well below what the best alternatives offer.

You do however get the increased rate on events like Prime Day and Black Friday, though don’t be tempted to spend more on those sales simply because of the higher reward rate. Plus you’ll also need to shell out £95 a year to get Prime.

I’d also look at other Barclaycard options first. We’re fans of the Barclaycard Rewards card which is fee-free overseas and pays 0.25% – a great back up, especially on holiday.