Looking for financing for your business? There are many financing options to choose from, and it can be difficult to know which is right for you. For companies that frequently shop on Amazon, the retailer offers multiple credit cards and credit lines to help you optimize your shopping and earn rewards.
We’ve rounded up the best Amazon business credit products, including their pros and cons and who each one is best for.
Amazon Business Prime American Express Card
Best for earning business rewards
The Amazon Business Prime American Express Card is one of the most popular business credit cards on the market. It comes with excellent perks such as 5% back on your first $120 000 of purchases each year, 2% back on restaurants, gas stations, and wireless telephone services, and 1% back on other purchases.
You’ll also get welcome bonuses like a $100 gift card after your first $3000 in purchases in three months.
With the Amazon business card, you also get extensive manager tools. First, you can assign an account manager who makes the payments, reviews transactions, and adds and removes employee cards. The account manager can oversee everyone’s spending, tag the purchases in QuickBooks, and set account alerts for certain spending activities.
It’s important to note that you must have an Amazon Business Prime membership to use this card. Not only that, but you can lose your accrued rewards if you cancel your Prime account or make a late payment on your credit card.
Pros:
- No annual fee
- Competitive rewards
- Robust manager controls
Cons:
- Amazon Prime membership required
- Lose your points when you cancel your Amazon Prime membership
- Lose your points when you make a late payment
Amazon Business Line of Credit
Best business line of credit
The Amazon Business Line of Credit allows businesses to make purchases and then pay for them later. Managed by Synchrony Bank, these credit lines come with generous payment terms of 55 days. Because you’re required to pay in full, there are no interest charges, nor are there any annual fees.
To start using an Amazon Business Line of Credit, you’ll apply through Synchrony Bank. Once your application is approved, you’ll get a dedicated account management team to help you set up, customize, and manage your credit line. You can create separate accounts for various departments or locations in your organization.
As you shop, you’ll receive easy-to-read monthly statements with a list of itemized transactions and product-level details. Then, you simply have to pay for your purchases in full by the due date.
Pros:
- No annual fee or interest
- 55-day payment terms
- A dedicated account management team
Cons:
- Not available for all Amazon products
- It can only be used at Amazon
- No cash back or other rewards
Amazon Business Pay by Invoice
Best for Amazon Business Prime customers
Similar to Amazon’s business line of credit, the Amazon Pay by Invoice feature allows you to make purchases and then pay for them later. This feature is available to customers with an Amazon Business Prime membership. The standard payment terms are 30 days, but they can be extended to 45 or 60 days for more premium accounts.
In addition to the flexibility of being able to pay later, Amazon Pay by Invoice also makes it easy to reconcile your purchases by sending you digital invoices with itemized purchases. You can set up multiple buyers for your company and track each one’s purchases.
Once your order ships, you’ll receive payment terms and a due date. You can pay your invoices via Automated Clearing House (ACH), wire transfer, or check.
Pros:
- Increased payment flexibility and control
- Extended payment terms of 45-60 days
- Available to small, medium, and enterprise accounts
Cons:
- Amazon Business Prime membership required
- More expensive membership required for longer payment terms
- No cash back or other rewards
Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
Best personal credit option
While business credit cards and lines of credit are great for some businesses, they aren’t right for all of them. For example, sole proprietorships without employees or business credit history will have a difficult time qualifying for a business credit card or line of credit. Instead, they can apply for a personal credit card to use strictly for business purchases.
The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card offers some serious perks, including:
- $100 Amazon gift card upon approval
- 4% back at Amazon and Whole Foods
- 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores
- 1% back on utilities, rideshare, and all other purchases
- 10% back on select Prime purchases
Rewards can be used for future Amazon purchases. You can also trade them in for cash, other gift cards, travel credit, and more. The card doesn’t have an annual fee and or foreign transaction fees. However, you must have an Amazon Prime membership to use this card, and that requires an annual payment of $119.
Pros:
- Excellent cashback rewards
- No annual fee or foreign transaction fee
- Redeem for cash back, gift cards, Amazon credit, or travel
Cons:
- Amazon Prime membership required
- Lower cash back on sites other than Amazon
- Must choose between cash back or promotional APR on purchases
How did we choose these credit cards and credit options?
When choosing which Amazon credit options to include in this account, we made sure to find products that would suit a variety of types of businesses in a variety of sizes. While no product on our list will be well-suited to all businesses, most businesses should be able to find a product that works for them.
Factors we considered when choosing these products include:
- How easy it is to apply
- Interest and fees
- Rewards
- Payment terms
How can you decide which is right for you?
Wondering which Amazon credit option is right for you? With multiple options to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which is best. And the truth is, there isn’t one that’s better than the other. Each has different features, advantages, and disadvantages.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself when choosing the best credit option for your business:
- Do you run a sole proprietorship? As a sole proprietor, there’s a good chance your business doesn’t have credit. In that case, the Amazon Prime Visa card is probably best for you. Eligibility is based on your personal credit, not your business credit. And without a large team, you don’t have to worry about granting other people access to cards.
- Do you want cashback rewards? Amazon’s lines of credit don’t offer cashback or any other sort of reward. If you want to earn special perks for using your credit, then the Amazon Business Prime card is probably best for you.
- Are you an Amazon Business Prime member? The Amazon Pay by Invoice feature comes as a standard feature with the small, medium, and enterprise plans. Rather than paying for your items when you purchase them, you can pay them off on a 45-60 day schedule.
- Do you spend more than $100 000 per year at Amazon? Customers who spend more than $100 000 per year can fully maximize the benefits of the Amazon Business Line of Credit, including your own account specialist.
Are there any alternatives worth considering?
Amazon’s credit options allow businesses to purchase items and pay for them later, often earning rewards along the way. But it’s important to consider all your options. There are a few alternatives to Amazon’s credit offerings that you may want to consider:
Business credit cards
Amazon’s credit cards offer some excellent perks for businesses that want cashback on their purchases and spend a lot of money on Amazon. But there are so many business credit cards on the market; we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention some of the other options available.
Choosing a business credit card other than Amazon’s allows you to earn the same great perks and sometimes even better perks. The difference is that while Amazon only allows you to use your cashback for Amazon purchases, other business cards allow you to use your perks for many other purposes.
For example, the Capital One Spark Cash business credit card gives you 2% cashback on all of your purchases. You can use the rewards to pay down your balance or simply cash them out.
Business lines of credit
Rather than choosing Amazon’s credit lines, you could instead choose a credit line from a different financial institution. First, other lines of credit give you the option of spending your money however you’d like, while Amazon’s lines of credit only allow you to spend your money at Amazon. Another benefit of outside lines of credit is that you can often have a longer period to pay them back, while Amazon’s credit lines must be paid back on a term of anywhere from 30-60 days.
For example, BlueVine offers business lines of credit for amounts of anywhere from $5000 to $250 000. You can pay back your balance with weekly or monthly payments over a period of 6-12 months. And unlike Amazon, there are no restrictions for where you can spend the money.
Which Amazon credit option is best for businesses?
There’s not necessarily one Amazon credit option that’s best for all businesses. It depends on your financial situation and how you plan to use the credit.
While the credit line and pay by invoice have no fees or interest, the credit cards come with cashback rewards, which can be attractive.
What credit score do you need to get an Amazon business credit card?
Amazon requires at least fair credit to qualify for a credit card, but you increase your chances of being approved by having good or excellent credit, meaning a score of at least 680.
What is the easiest form of Amazon credit to get?
When it comes to qualifying for Amazon credit, it depends on your current situation. Individuals with sole proprietorships and no business credit may have the easiest time qualifying for the Amazon Prime Visa card, while businesses with existing Amazon Business Prime accounts already have access to Pay by Invoice.
