Best Credit Card for Amazon & Online Shopping
Amazon spending is unusual among card categories because there's a purpose-built co-branded card for it — which means the real question isn't "which general card earns the most at online retailers," it's "does the Amazon card beat everything else for Amazon specifically, and what do I use for the rest of my online shopping?"
Best for Amazon specifically: Prime Visa
Best for online shopping beyond Amazon
Prime Visa's bonus is Amazon-specific — it doesn't extend to other online retailers like Target.com, Best Buy, or general e-commerce. For that, you want a rotating or flat-rate card instead.
| Card | Rate on general online shopping | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Citi Custom Cash | 5% on your top eligible category, up to $500/cycle | Auto-selects your highest-spend category each billing cycle — online shopping and select streaming are both eligible categories |
| Discover it Cash Back | 5% when online shopping is the active rotating category | Only during the quarters it's active; activation required |
| Wells Fargo Active Cash | 2% flat, no exclusions | The reliable fallback for retailers not covered by a bonus category |
Prime Visa for Amazon and Whole Foods, plus a flat 2% card like Wells Fargo Active Cash or Citi Double Cash for every other online retailer, covers almost all e-commerce spending at a strong rate without needing to track a single rotating category.
Does Amazon count differently depending on what you buy?
Generally no — Amazon.com purchases are coded as a single merchant for card purposes regardless of what's in your cart, so Prime Visa's 5% applies broadly across the marketplace. The exceptions are third-party services sold through Amazon that get billed separately (some subscriptions, Amazon-affiliated services), which can occasionally be coded under a different merchant. If a specific charge doesn't earn the rate you expect, check the merchant name on your statement — it may not say "Amazon" even though you bought it there.