Amazon Rewards Program

In practice, Amazon's rewards program is centered on its co-branded cards rather than a universal loyalty balance for every shopper. The main current options are Prime Visa for Prime members and Amazon Visa for non-Prime shoppers, with points redeemable at Amazon checkout and through Shop with Points on participating Amazon Pay merchants.

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What the program is today

Chase's official Amazon card pages describe rewards as percentage-back earnings tracked as points. Chase also says those points can be redeemed for Amazon purchases, cash, travel, gift cards, and other reward options, so the current program is best understood as a card-linked rewards system rather than a separate Amazon.com points club.

Prime Visa vs Amazon Visa

Card	Current Amazon-family earn rate	Everyday earn rate
Prime Visa	5% back at Amazon.com, Audible, Whole Foods Market, and Chase Travel with an eligible Prime membership	2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and local transit and commuting, plus 1% back elsewhere
Amazon Visa	3% back at Amazon.com, Audible, Whole Foods Market, and Chase Travel	2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and local transit and commuting, plus 1% back elsewhere

How points are earned

Chase says the higher Amazon-family rate is determined at the time of purchase and that percentage-back rewards are tracked as points. Its Amazon card offer details also say that purchases made through Amazon Pay merchants do not earn the Amazon.com 5% or 3% rate, which is an important distinction if you shop both on Amazon itself and on outside sites that use Amazon Pay.

How redemptions work on Amazon.com

On the current Prime Visa page, Chase says you can redeem points as soon as the next day at Amazon checkout, use them for part or all of a purchase, and redeem with no minimum rewards balance. That makes the program simple for regular Amazon buyers who want to use rewards without transferring points somewhere else first.

How Shop with Points works beyond Amazon.com

Amazon Pay says Amazon Visa and Prime Visa cardmembers are automatically enrolled once the card is added to the Amazon account. At participating merchants, you can apply as many or as few points as you want and pay the rest with the linked Amazon Visa or Prime Visa card.

Do points expire?

Chase says points do not expire as long as the card account remains open. It also says points can be lost if the account status changes or the account is closed under the rewards agreement, so keeping the account active matters as much as earning the points in the first place.

Why rewards may not show up the way you expect

If you are not using Prime Visa or Amazon Visa, you are outside this rewards program.
If your Prime membership is not attached, the Amazon-family earn rate is lower than the Prime version.
If you are shopping through an Amazon Pay merchant instead of Amazon.com, the special Amazon.com earn rate does not apply even though you may still be able to redeem points there.
If your card is not linked to your Amazon account, Shop with Points will not appear the way Amazon Pay documents it.

Bottom line

Amazon's rewards program is straightforward once you strip away the old catch-all language. Today it mainly means Prime Visa or Amazon Visa earnings through Chase, plus Amazon and Amazon Pay redemption options. If you want rewards without paying for Prime, Amazon Visa is the baseline; if you already keep Prime, Prime Visa is the higher-rate version.