What Credit Score Does Amazon Use for Credit Cards?
Explore how Amazon and its partners utilize credit scores for financial products and internal assessments, clarifying key evaluation factors.
When considering credit options from large online retailers like Amazon, it’s important to understand how credit scores impact the process. Amazon itself does not directly issue credit. Instead, it partners with financial institutions that utilize established credit assessment practices.
Amazon Branded Credit Cards and Credit Scores
Amazon offers various branded credit cards, including the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card and the Amazon Store Card. These cards are products of partnerships with major financial institutions, not issued directly by Amazon. For instance, Chase Bank issues the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, while Synchrony Bank issues the Amazon Store Card. These partner banks are responsible for evaluating creditworthiness and approving applications.
When applying for an Amazon-branded credit card, the issuing bank performs a credit inquiry and uses your credit score as a primary factor. For the Amazon Store Card, applicants typically need a fair credit score, often around 580 or higher. The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card generally requires a good to excellent credit score, usually starting from 670 or 700. Approval also depends on other financial factors like income and existing debt.
Credit Scoring Models and Credit Bureaus
The credit scores used by Amazon’s partner lenders are primarily derived from widely recognized credit scoring models, such as FICO Score and VantageScore. Both models generate a three-digit score, typically ranging from 300 to 850, to represent an individual’s credit risk. Lenders use these scores to predict the likelihood of an applicant repaying borrowed funds.
The data used by these scoring models is collected and maintained by the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. When a credit application is submitted, a lender may pull a report from one or more of these bureaus. For example, Synchrony Bank often pulls data from TransUnion, while Chase commonly accesses reports from Equifax or Experian. Credit scores can vary slightly among the bureaus due to differences in data reporting or scoring model versions.
Key Components of a Credit Score
A credit score is a numerical summary derived from several categories of financial information within your credit report. Payment history holds significant weight, reflecting whether past bills and credit obligations have been paid on time. The amount of debt owed, particularly in relation to available credit, known as credit utilization, is another important factor. Maintaining a low credit utilization ratio, ideally below 30%, is beneficial for a healthy score.
The length of credit history also plays a role, with longer histories indicating more established financial behavior. New credit, including recent applications and newly opened accounts, can temporarily impact a score. The credit mix, or the variety of credit accounts such as installment loans and revolving credit, can demonstrate a consumer’s ability to manage different types of debt responsibly.
Amazon’s Internal Customer Assessment
Beyond the traditional credit checks performed by its banking partners for credit cards, Amazon also conducts internal assessments of customer behavior for certain services. For instance, Amazon offers its own “Monthly Payments” plans for select products, which do not typically involve a formal credit check with external bureaus. Eligibility for these installment plans is determined by internal data points, including a customer’s purchase history, the longevity of their Amazon account, and their track record with past payment plans.
Amazon relies on customers having a valid payment method linked to their account and a history of good payment performance for these internal financing options. Amazon also evaluates a customer’s “good standing” through adherence to its terms of service and policies, which can influence eligibility for various features or even selling privileges on the platform. Some third-party “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) services, like Affirm or Klarna, can be used on Amazon through virtual cards, and these services conduct their own eligibility reviews, which might include credit checks.