Author: Adam Jusko (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)
The Amazon Rewards Visa is a popular rewards credit card, thanks to its 5 points per dollar on Amazon.com and Whole Foods purchases for Amazon Prime credit card customers (3 points for cardholders without Amazon Prime), plus 2 points at restaurants, gas stations, and drug stores, and 1 point per dollar everywhere else.
But is your credit score good enough to qualify? What credit score do you need to get the Amazon Visa?
There is no guaranteed answer to this question. But, using a combination of our knowledge of Amazon and Chase practices (Chase issues the Amazon Visa), plus a bunch of data points we’ve hunted down from around the Web, we can make an educated declaration:
- In general, customers with a 650 or better credit score will be approved for the Amazon Visa. However, we have seen reports of approvals as low as 600, and some denials at scores between 650 and 725.
Obviously your odds increase with a higher score. However, remember that your credit score is not the only factor in approving or denying your application. Many credit card companies will pay special attention to the length of your credit history, your current debt, your current income, and how many other credit cards or loans you’ve recently opened. That’s why there is no guarantee when it comes to a minimum credit score for approval.
What about the starting credit line?
Being approved for the Amazon Visa is one thing, but getting a credit line big enough to actually make it useful is another. In general, the lower your credit score, the lower your starting credit line is going to be. Someone with a lower score could start out with a credit line of only $500 while a well-established cardholder with a high credit score and lengthy history of handling credit well could easily get a $5000 credit line or even more.
Should I apply?
If you are interested in the Amazon Rewards Visa and have a score of 650 or above, you will probably be approved. But your odds will also depend on your income, debt, and other recent card applications. If you have low credit utilization (using less than 20% of your available credit) and you have not applied for other cards recently, your odds of approval are much better than if you have a higher utilization and you’ve applied for 10 cards in the last six months (for example).
Be honest with yourself in terms of how a lender is likely to view you before you go ahead and apply for the Amazon Visa or any credit card. Being denied for credit cards can harm your credit score, especially if you continue to apply for card after card despite repeated denials. However, if your score is high enough and your recent card usage has been highly responsible, there’s no reason to hold back if the Amazon Rewards Visa is on your “must have” list!
Got approved with a 597 multiple charge off and 37% credit utilization. Was very surprised chase approved me for $3700