Getting cash back by using your credit cards is a great thing.
In fact, all credit card rewards are an excellent incentive for using your credit cards responsibly.
Redeeming your reward cards is great for the holidays, birthdays, or a bonus for yourself. It can be a great way to get gift cards, movie tickets, and even electronics or travel.
However, if your rewards card is a cash back card like the Capital One Savor card, a Discover cash back card, or any others like them, I don’t recommend using them with Amazon’s new program.
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Amazon’s Shop with Points Program
Amazon has partnered with several credit card providers for the Shop with Points program. It allows customers to use points or rewards they’ve earned towards purchases on Amazon.com.
Depending on your plans to use the rewards you’ve earned, you may not want to use the rewards to buy on Amazon.
And if it is a cash back credit card, I definitely recommend against it.
Additionally, if you have a travel card and you like to travel, I wouldn’t use those points either.
Why Not use Credit Card Cash Back for Amazon’s Shop with Points?
When you earn cash back using a credit card, you typically have several options to redeem your reward:
- Redeem for cash
- Either receive a check or lower your account balance
- Cover a purchase
- Similar to lowering your balance
- Redeem for gift cards
- Share your rewards
- And now, Shop with Rewards on Amazon
I recommend redeeming for cash to reduce your account balance.
If you use the credit card cash back you’ve earned on Amazon’s Shop with Points program, you will be missing out on the cash back for that purchase.
It is better to make the purchase with your rewards card, earn the cash back, and use your cash back rewards to lower your credit card balance.
Additionally, using your points to pay for purchases can give you the impression that you aren’t paying for your purchase. That is because your card isn’t charged and you aren’t handing over any money.
That feeling may lead to you spending more money than you intended.
When you feel like you’ve received something for free, you may be more inclined to keep shopping since you are already there.
If it is a different type of rewards card, you’ll have to think about how you want to use those rewards to decide if you should use it with Amazon’s program.
How Should You use Your Cash Back Credit Card at Amazon?
When shopping at Amazon, as well as most other stores, I recommend using your cash back rewards credit card (or any other type of rewards card) as well as a cash back app like Rakuten to maximize your savings.
Rakuten will not only earn you cash back on your purchases. It will also check for available coupon codes for your order.
You will potentially save money at the checkout, earn cash back on Rakuten, as well as earn your credit card cash back rewards.
Related Post: Best Cash Back Shopping Apps to Save You Money
Summary
As always, I recommend using reward credit cards (responsibly) for most of your purchases.
And redeeming rewards is an excellent way to reward yourself for using your card responsibly.
But always think about how you are using those rewards, and if you are potentially missing out on additional rewards when you use them.
What are your experiences with using cash back credit card rewards for other purchases? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
