The Chase Amazon Prime Card's 5% Finally Got Interesting After We Had a Kid
My wife opened the Chase Amazon Prime card back in her student days; it sat in a drawer for years and I once complained it was wasting a Chase card slot. Then our baby was born, with just the two of us and her bedridden after delivery, and the card, with Prime's next-day delivery, suddenly earned its keep.
The Chase Amazon Prime card in our house was opened by my wife back when she was a student. She used it a few times, found it unremarkable, and it ended up sitting in a drawer for years. After we got together, I’d dig through her wallet and grumble that it was wasting a Chase card slot, and that its 5% only worked at Amazon anyway.
Then our child was born, and I realized I’d had it backwards.
Prime’s next-day delivery carried us through those first two weeks
The two weeks after our baby arrived were the most chaotic of our lives. It was just the two of us, and my wife had to stay in bed recovering, so leaving the house wasn’t an option. Formula, diapers, wipes, postpartum essentials, everything came through the phone. Place an order, and Prime’s next-day or same-day delivery put it at our door.
I used to think “I can wait a few days to hit free shipping.” In those two weeks I learned that waiting isn’t an option. Find out something’s running low at night, and it’s at the door the next morning. I honestly don’t know how we’d have gotten through that stretch without delivery speeds like that.
That’s when I took a second look at this card. Its 5% stops being a gimmick that only works at Amazon once Amazon has become the family’s everyday supply store. Five percent back on that is real money.
Cash backChase Amazon Prime
- ✓5% back at Amazon, Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh, uncapped and no rotating categories
- ✓2% at restaurants, gas stations and local transit (incl. rideshare)
- ✓1% everywhere else, redeemable right at Amazon checkout
- ✓No annual fee, but an active Prime membership is required; the rate drops to 3% if Prime lapses
- ✓Welcome gift card lands on approval with no spending requirement, and promos sometimes go higher
A card’s value depends on your stage of life
Looking back, this card never changed. Our life did.
When you live alone, nothing is urgent and 5% barely registers. Once you have a baby, everything is “right now,” and 5% becomes real money. When my wife opened this card as a student, she probably never imagined it would pay off years later, exactly when we needed it most.
So if you’re in the “Prime seems useless” phase, don’t rush to get the card. The day you need something by tomorrow morning, you’ll understand, the way I did.
This article is a record of my personal experience and personal finances; it does not constitute investment or credit card advice. Rewards structures and welcome offers are subject to the issuer’s current official terms; the 5% rate requires an active Amazon Prime membership and drops if the membership lapses.