Prime Day shoppers: Should you pick the Chase Sapphire Preferred over the Prime Visa?

Another Prime Day is upon us, and if you’re like me, you’re working overtime to figure out every possible way to stack savings.

Comparing current discounts to historical prices with a site like CamelCamelCamel is essential, but looking at your credit cards is a low-lift way to maximize your return. It can even make sense to open a new rewards credit card to take advantage of a large welcome bonus or earn a better return on Amazon purchases.

The Prime Visa (see rates and fees) is an obvious candidate for a lot of reasons. But if you look at the bigger picture, it may not make sense to apply for such a niche card, especially when there are options to earn a welcome bonus worth at least five times as much with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees).

The Sapphire Preferred is a top travel credit card, and it can even provide tons of value if you’re not a frequent flyer. It currently features one of the best welcome bonuses available with any card. Plus, it has a generous rewards scheme and top-notch built-in insurance benefits.

All-time high welcome offer

The Sapphire Preferred and Prime Visa both currently have limited-time welcome bonuses, which is typically when it’s best to apply for any card.

The Prime Visa is offering a $200 Amazon Gift Card after approval, exclusively for Prime members. This is double the standard offer, but a little short of the best-ever bonus for this card, which has been as high as $250 in the past.

On the other hand, the Sapphire Preferred’s 100,000-point bonus (after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening) matches the all-time best intro bonus for this card. That’s important because you can only earn a Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus once per lifetime.

Even if you don’t want to travel, 100,000 Chase points are worth $1,000 in statement credits. So you could purchase five times as much stuff from Amazon with this offer.

While the Prime Visa is technically a no-annual-fee credit card, it requires an Amazon Prime membership. If you don’t already have and value a Prime membership enough to justify its cost, then you’re stuck paying $139 a year for the privilege of getting a Prime Visa. And if you ever cancel your Prime membership, your card is downgraded to the Amazon Visa.

The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, which is cheaper than paying for Prime. Plus, it has several benefits (outside of the rewards you earn) that can offset the cost, such as an annual $100 Chase Travel Hotel Credit.

Better rewards and benefits

The Prime Visa is a simple cash-back card — what you earn is what you get. And its 5% back rate on Amazon purchases (including Whole Foods and Audible) is far more rewarding than the Sapphire Preferred’s 1X points at Amazon.

However, the Sapphire Preferred is better for most other transactions, which is where a lot of its long-term value comes from. You’re sacrificing cash back on all of your Amazon spending but earning more on gas, EV charging, dining, streaming services, Lyft rides (through Sept. 30, 2027), vacation rentals, travel and online groceries (except for Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh, which earn a higher return with the Prime Visa).

On top of that, the Chase Ultimate Rewards® points you earn with the Sapphire Preferred are more useful than the Amazon Prime Visa’s cash-back rewards. You can easily redeem them for cash back, and you can increase the value you receive per point by taking advantage of Points Boost bookings via Chase Travel or transferring points to partners like Air Canada Aeroplan or Virgin Atlantic.

The biggest advantage the Prime Visa has over the Sapphire Preferred and similar cards is its speed and simplicity. You can use it for Amazon purchases immediately after approval.

While you can use the Sapphire Preferred instantly by linking it to a digital wallet, digital wallet payments aren’t available for Amazon purchases, so you’ll have to wait for your physical card to come in the mail before using it at Amazon. Even if you call and ask for expedited shipping of your Sapphire Preferred, you’ll still be waiting a few days before you can use it at Amazon.

If the free shipping, Prime Video, Amazon Music, Grubhub+ and other Prime membership perks make it worth it for you, then the Prime Visa is more enticing. I personally don’t believe the card is valuable enough to justify enrolling in Prime only to qualify for the card. But for anyone who is already committed to the Amazon ecosystem, this card is more appealing.

Easy intro bonus and rewards

The Prime Visa has perhaps the easiest-to-earn welcome bonus of any card because there’s no minimum spending requirement. Once you’re approved for the card, your gift card is available for immediate use. Although this bonus is smaller, there’s value in being able to redeem it right away.

The cash back you earn with the Prime Visa also has a fast turnaround time. You don’t need to wait a month for the rewards to show up in your account. You can typically redeem your cash back the day after earning it.

Best way to earn cash back at Amazon

There is no credit card (that I’m aware of) that offers a higher uncapped return on Amazon purchases. If you want a card to use exclusively for Amazon shopping, the Prime Visa is a great option.

But in my opinion, the Prime Visa is at its best when paired with other credit cards to cover purchases where it’s not as rewarding. If you’re willing to have more than one rewards credit card, it’s not hard to justify adding a Prime Visa to the mix.

Catch up on CNBC Select’s in-depth coverage ofcredit cards,bankingandmoney, and follow us onTikTok,Facebook,InstagramandXto stay up to date.