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Amazon decided to renew its contract with JPMorgan Chase, which means it will continue to issue the e-commerce company’s rewards credit card. The decision officially ended the months-long negotiations between the companies.
CNBC reported that Amazon’s Prime Rewards credit card is one of the most preferred co-brand deals in the industry because its loyalty program offers unmatched perks and benefits. In fact, the program was estimated to have 150 million members in the United States.
In the financial industry, credit card deals with popular major brands are the most sought-after contracts. Thus, securing a credit card linked to big firms such as Costco, Amazon, and even American Airlines is always hotly pursued by banks.
For financial institutions, they want this contract because this gives them an instant audience from millions of the companies’ loyal customers who often spend dollars every year for their purchases or availed services. With all that they can gain from the tie-ups, it is now clear why credit card deals are really valuable to all banks.
Now, while JPMorgan Chase has been issuing Amazon’s Prime credit cards for more than two decades already, this lengthy team-up did not stop Amazon from looking for a new bank to replace its current partner. In June last year, Bloomberg reported Jeff Bezos’ company is exploring the idea of not renewing its contract with JPMorgan Chase.
At that time, Amazon and Visa got involved in a conflict over interchange fees, and Mastercard saw this as an opportunity to tap Amazon. The latter immediately solicited interest from banks, including American Express, which it sees could replace JPMorgan Chase and Visa.
But later, the firms were able to fix their issues, and this allowed Visa cardholders to keep using their cards on Amazon transactions. The talks with American Express did not prosper as well, so, in the end, the retail giant Amazon decided to stay with Visa and JPMorgan Chase.
The renewed agreement between Amazon and JPMorgan means that nothing will change with how the customers use their Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature card. They will continue to earn five percent cash-back for purchases at Whole Foods and Amazon.com, and rewards like a two percent discount at restaurants will also remain.
