Amazon’s New Credit Card Will Be American Express
Anya Kartashova June 29, 2018
Retail giant Amazon has chosen American Express to issue its co-branded small-business card.
The announcement came as a surprise, considering the online retailer already partners with competitor JPMorgan Chase that issues a consumer version of the Amazon credit card. With the exception of American Airlines, which partners with Barclays and Citi, and Marriott International, which will work with both Chase and American Express because of the Starwood acquisition, companies typically rely on just one card issuer to handle all of their co-branded cards.
Besides the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card, which can be used at all merchants that accept Visa, the company also offers a basic Amazon Store Card, which is issued by Synchrony Bank and can be used exclusively at Amazon.com.
The retailer’s first small-business credit card will target small and medium-sized businesses that make frequent Amazon purchases. Businesses typically spend more money on credit cards than a single consumer can, and the new agreement could be a profitable one for American Express, especially because no business cards on the market right now offer a decent return on Amazon purchases specifically.
Amex reported a 14-percent increase in small-business credit-card balances, or a total of $11.4 billion in the first quarter, according to the Wall Street Journal.
As a reminder, in the last couple of years, American Express lost its co-branded partnerships with Costco to Citibank and JetBlue to Barclays. However, Amex also has become the sole issuer of Hilton credit cards, and this new partnership with Amazon will help American Express bounce back.
Neither card details nor release date have been announced yet.
As a small-business owner, what do you think of the prospect of a new co-branded Amazon credit card?
