Personal Finance
Amazon Credit Cards Add Rewards for Whole Foods Purchases
When Amazon acquired the popular specialty grocery Whole Foods last year, there was a lot of buzz about how the online giant would change the shopping experience. Despite one of their first moves being the lowering of some of the chain’s famously high prices, their ownership has proven to be a bit more lowkey than some were expecting (at least up to this point). However this week Amazon did debut another change that could save frequent Whole Foods shoppers a considerable about of cash.
As Recode reports, starting today, Amazon Prime Rewards Visa customers will receive 5% on their Whole Food purchases. Additionally those with the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card who aren’t Prime members will get 3% back. This is equal to the cash back levels these cards currently offer on regular Amazon purchases. In a statement about the added perk, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey said, “We are excited to launch the Amazon Rewards Visa Card in our stores, offering benefits to our customers on all of their purchases at Whole Foods Market.”
This move comes just a few weeks after Amazon increased prices for its monthly Prime membership plans. While those fees climbed to $12.99 from the previous $10.99 per month, the annual fee of $99 remains the same. It should also be noted that the Prime service has been a cornerstone for the company, with estimates suggesting there are more than 90 million Prime users in the United States (Amazon does not release such figures).
Adding Whole Foods to its current credit card perks — which also includes 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores as well as 1% back on everything else — makes perfect sense for Amazon and is a big win for consumers. Still, much bigger changes are still expected in the future. For one Amazon recently opened its checkout-free Amazon Go store concept to the Seattle public. Although it’s unclear whether this technology might be implemented at Whole Foods locations if it proves viable, that’s clearly where the minds of many observers are. In any case it appears that Amazon’s purchasing of Whole Foods has been a positive development for health conscious but frugal shoppers — even if it hasn’t exactly changed the world just yet.
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