The change is happening much earlier than expected.
In April, Amazon announced that its Platinum and Classic credit cards would be closed down in January 2023. But we now know that this will happen in November – two months earlier than expected.
Here’s what you need to know about switching your card to its replacement, and what it means for earning and redeeming points at Amazon before then.
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When will Amazon cards stop working?
NewDay, the company that issues the cards on behalf of Amazon has started emailing and writing to customers about the forthcoming changes. If you’ve not heard from them yet, they’ve told me this process will be complete by 6 September 2022.
The letter reveals that the Amazon Platinum credit cards will stop working on 11 November this year. Classic cards end sooner on 14 October. You can use it up until the relevant date, and earn points for Amazon with the Platinum card.
What is NewDay Pulse?
Pulse is the replacement card from NewDay that you’ll be able to swap over to. There won’t be any credit check if you want this card, and things like the account number, direct debit and credit limit will stay the same.
It looks like won’t need to say you want the new card, and it’ll be sent in the post at some point. At the moment it’s not available for brand new customers.
You will need to activate it within 90 days of receiving it. If you do this prior to 11 November your Amazon card will stop on that date – so it might be worth holding back if you are still going to be shopping on Amazon.
If you use the Amazon NewDay app to manage your account you’ll need to change over to the Pulse apps. I’ve tried this and my current log-in details don’t work, so I assume registration will be part of moving to the new card.
* Update 7 September 2022: It now looks like not all customers will be offered the Pulse replacement, and this includes me! MSE reports some accounts are to be closed. So if you’ve not heard about a new card yet it’s likely you won’t get one *
Is the Pulse card any good?
The Pulse card offers 0.25% cashback anywhere that accepts Mastercard. That’s the same the Amazon Platinum card offered at non-Amazon retailers, but obviously less than what you’d get at Amazon itself. The cashback is capped at £150 a year. That might seem tight, but you’d need to spend £60,000 a year to earn this.
When this change was first announced in the spring, there was a mention of 1% cashback for the first three months. Sadly it now appears this was an offer running in April, and it won’t be something you’ll get when you switch the card over.
Either way, there are much better cards available. All the different American Express cards pay a higher rate of cashback, while the Barclaycard Avios is worth 0.8% – as long as you’re happy to convert those points into Nectar points. And of course, new Chase Bank customers can get 1% back for a year via its debit card.
Should you close your Amazon/Pulse card?
Andy’s Analysis
A rate of 0.25% back isn’t anything to get excited about, so you might be thinking you’ll close your account before you even get the Pulse card.
Before you do, it’s worth considering the impact on your credit report. First up, if you want to open a card up at a different bank to replace this one you will be credit checked. That hopefully won’t be a problem, but it’s worth checking your report first or avoiding any application if there’s a mortgage on the horizon.
Second, closing down an existing credit card could hurt your credit score. But there’s also the chance it could help it! It’s all a little confusing.
Essentially, getting rid of this card will reduce your overall credit limit. Sometimes lenders don’t like this as a consequence is your average credit use increases. On the other hand, they might like that you’ve less access to credit. You can read more about credit utilisation here.
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What happens to Amazon points?
Whether you switch to Pulse or not any points you’ve accumulated via the Amazon cards will be converted into an Amazon gift card and added to your Amazon account by the end of December 2022.
The usual 1,000 points multiple (or £10) won’t apply, so that’s good news. For example I’ve got 324 points (that have been sitting there since I last used my card at Amazon in 2020). I’ll get £3.24 as a result.
Will Amazon launch a new credit card?
Unsurprisingly Amazon will be launching a replacement credit card. There aren’t any details available yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised that moving the changeover from January 2023 to this November is so they can launch the card for Black Friday.
As soon as details are released I’ll update you here on the blog and on YouTube.
Finally got around to finding out why my card has not been working.
Found that I’ve got a charge for £130 made on the date that the balances were transferred over from one provider to the other.
Anybody else experience this?
I had email saying I didn’t have to do anything about the change, tried contacting the company and was told my account had been closed as I hadn’t responded to the letter, told them I hadn’t received a letter, was then told they would pass it on to the complaints dept, it took a long time to get a response, when I did it was the same response I got from call centre, couldn’t have a card because of not replying to letter, obviously they don’t want customers, very shoddy company
Pretty much impossible to get through on their chatbot. This is disgraceful. Amazon should be ashamed that they are associated with this. Very bad for the brand.
do i need to pay balance off on amazon credit card or will it swap to pulse card
Hello
I did not get my new pulse card and I missed to opt in by 06/11 ? I have downloaded the pulse app and I could see all my details and outstanding are like before . But my worry is that my old card has stopped functioning and I don’t have the new pulse one . Kindly advise how to get the new card for further usage
Thanks
I have credit on my Amaz on Mastercard, what will happen to any credit I have left on my amazon card? And can I still use my card because I haven’t been sent Pulse + card yet.
I just don’t want to spend the money, if I don’t use the remaining balance, what will happen to any credit that I may have left.?
JP McCann
My Amazon Platinum account closed on 11/11/22. When I went to login to the account on 12/11/22 I found I was redirected to the Pulse site. All previous details appeared to display correctly. I paid the minimum amount requested and went to add the Pulse card to my iPhone wallet. No problem, or so I thought, Shortly afterwards I found that the iPhone wallet was asking me to remove the card. On 15/11/22 I contacted Pulse to ask where my new card was. After being put on hold for more than one hour I finally spoke with an associate. A surly beggar if ever there was one told me my Pulse account had been closed on 14/11/22. When I queried this he told me I should have read the letter I was sent in August 2022. I don’t recall receiving this letter but from what I was reading on the web I believed that I didn’t need to do anything and my Amazon account would be transferred to Pulse without any problem. The associate just repeated that I should have read my letter. The customer service came across as quite poor and it seems I have this balance which I cannot transfer to another provider.
Hi,
I’m a carer and have been stuck in the hospital.. caring. I opened my emails on the 9th Nov to find that pulse needed to be opted in to by the 6th. I’ve called customer service and raised complaints to no avail. It seems years of being a loyal customer means not a thing anymore. I’m unable to opt in for a pulse card so am stuck paying an unseeable debt for an unusable card. I have no idea what to do. The person i care for is also in the same boat. Personal problems aren’t their problem as they put it.
Should i do a balance transfer? Any help would be brilliant.
Thanks
I have stolen the credit card please send me the helpline number for card blocking it’s urgent
lots of confusing:
1. when can I receive the new card from the pulse? its 4th Nov and I haven’t got the replace card, did I miss anything?
2. how can I log into my new online account from 11th Nov? are all the login details same as amazon newday?
You might not have been offered the new card. Check the messages sent by Newday to see what they say.
Hi there, I have a question; my card account has been closed by Pulse. I want to know, as I didn’t sign anything with Pulse, but with Amazon, I don’t have an obligation to pay my outstanding balance to Pulse, do I? Also, they didn’t notify me that my account was closed; I discovered it accidentally, which I found rude. Is there any legal advice available? As my account was passed to Pulse, I have not received any contracts and no correspondence with their terms and conditions, so as common sense, I have not signed anything with them, so I will have no obligation to pay the remaining balance. Does this make sense?
Both the Amazon card and the Pulse card are actually via the same company, called Newday. So your agreement was with Newday rather than Amazon
I have no idea what is going to happen to my amazon account and do I recive a pluses card instead
What’s not clear is whether Platinum/Prime customers still get any additional benefit – it’s currently something like 1 penny for every pound spent at Amazon plus 0.5% rather than 0.25% for using the card elsewhere. Without that there’s no point in switching to Pulse as compared to using any other card one might already have (0.25% cashback is quite common). I’ve got 4 other cards that give 0.25% (4 because if it’s linked to a specific retailer then purchases at that shop get a bigger cashback).
Help – I can’t get in to my Amazon App or Pulse App. Can someone tell me does it switch automatically or do I need to do something. I currently can’t make a payment a payment
I’m in the same position as you, all my messages from them are on the app, but I cannot read them as can’t access app! I tried to download Pulse, but as I already have another pulse account, it just automatically takes me to that card! So frustrating
Just got a text about this from amazon. Anything to do with Suisse?
I have tried in vain to use the link supplied by an Amazon text, (and also the phone number given in my Amazon online account message), several times to register acceptance of the changeover to a Pulse card.
This is done via an automated voice recognition system telephone call. The system recognised my mobile, asked for confirmation of the type of existing card and confirm my DOB.
All seemed fine and you are then thanked for being willing to accept the change. Then, finally, the auto “bot” voice asks “Do you accept the change? Please answer yes or no”. Every time the system failed to recognise the word “YES”. It then transfers you to a customer help line and warns the wait could be 40 minutes!!!!
If a new card doesn’t arrive, then I will ditch my Newday/Pulse account!
I’m SO confused by this! Will my card completely stop working altogether, do I have to get the pulse thing ?!
Like will I have to throw the card away or can I still use it and just not get the amazon points??