How Do Amazon’s Monthly Payment Plans Work?
If you’re an avid Amazon shopper, you might have noticed occasional payment plan offers on product pages or during checkout. Or perhaps you’re eager to make some Amazon purchases and want to know if and how you can get a payment plan to finance them. Read on to learn which options may be available to you — including Amazon’s Monthly Payments plans and special financing offers.
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Is There an Option To Pay Monthly on Amazon?
Yes, there are several options that might appear on the Amazon checkout page that allow you to split a purchase into monthly payments. These include:
- Amazon Monthly Payments
- Affirm
- Equal monthly payments with an Amazon credit card
- Amazon special financing offers
These options are only available to eligible shoppers on qualifying purchases, so you can’t always count on an applicable monthly payment offer. Here is an overview of each payment option.
Amazon Monthly Payments
An Amazon Monthly Payments plan allows you to make interest-free monthly installment payments on select Amazon products. This offer is exclusively available to specific Amazon customers and only for certain products. You can’t simply apply for a Monthly Payments plan on any purchase on the Amazon website.
Amazon will designate eligible products as such on the product detail page or during checkout.
Amazon considers a few criteria to determine your eligibility for its payment plans, such as your Amazon purchase history and product price. It doesn’t check your credit to determine your eligibility.
How Do Amazon’s Monthly Payment Plans Work?
If you choose Monthly Payments at checkout, you must make an initial payment when the item ships. This payment will include any tax and applicable shipping and handling fees. Amazon then divides the remaining balance over the number of interest-free monthly payments. Plans are typically split into an initial payment and four installments, although plans may have different repayment terms.
Amazon will automatically charge each month’s payment to your selected payment method. While on a payment plan, you must keep a valid credit card on file with Amazon. However, you can prepay any payment or pay off your plan balance at any time.
How Do I Find My Payment Plan on Amazon?
You can manage your Amazon Monthly Payments plan by visiting the page for managing your payment plans on the Amazon website. Keep in mind that if the payment plan is new and Amazon has not yet charged you for the initial payment, it might not appear on the page.
Do Amazon Monthly Payments Improve Your Credit Score?
Amazon Monthly Payments plan payments will not improve your credit score. Amazon doesn’t check your credit to determine your eligibility for a Monthly Payments plan.
If you charge your plan payments to a credit card that you pay on time and in full each month, an Amazon Monthly Payments plan may indirectly help improve your credit score.
Amazon Purchases With Affirm
If you are making an eligible purchase of $50 or more, Amazon may offer the Affirm payment plan option during checkout. However, Affirm payment plans aren’t always interest-free, and Affirm runs a soft credit check to determine plan eligibility and you will need to provide some information for approval.
An Affirm payment plan has an annual percentage rate of 0% to 30%. Repayment terms may be as short as three months on purchases of $50 or more or up to 48 months on purchases of $1,500 or more. There are no hidden fees. When selecting Affirm at checkout, Amazon typically provides a choice of payment terms.
You can manage your Affirm payment plan and make payments on either the Affirm app or website. Affirm may report your payment history and amount of used and available credit to credit bureaus, which can impact your credit score.
Equal Monthly Payments With an Amazon Credit Card
If you have an Amazon store card, Amazon Visa card or Prime Visa card, you may be eligible to split your purchase into equal monthly payments at a 0% APR during the promotional period. After that, a 19.49%-27.49% APR applies for both cards.
With the Amazon Visa or Prime Visa card, you can opt for six equal monthly payments on purchases of $50 or more or 12 equal monthly payments on purchases of $250 or more.
Repayment terms are as follows for equal monthly payment offers for an Amazon store card:
| Purchase | Repayment Term |
|---|---|
| $50 to $599.99 | 6 equal monthly payments |
| $600.00 or more | 12 equal monthly payments |
| Select purchases | 24 equal monthly payments |
Amazon Special Financing
Amazon store cardholders may receive a special financing offer on purchases of $150 or more. These special financing offers have 0% APR for terms up to 24 months. Rather than making equal monthly payments, you only have to make your minimum payment each month and pay off the purchase before the end of the repayment term to avoid paying accrued interest.
Amazon’s special financing repayment terms for purchases made with the Amazon store card are as follows:
| Purchase | Repayment Term |
|---|---|
| $150 to $599.99 | 6 months |
| $600 or more | 12 months |
| Select purchases | 24 months |
Does Amazon Offer Pay in 4?
Amazon doesn’t accept any “buy now, pay later” apps with pay-in-four plans at checkout, such as PayPal, Klarna or Zip. You may see Affirm, a BNPL service, as a payment method on Amazon for some purchases, but the Affirm page of the Amazon website does not list Affirm’s Pay in 4 plan as a repayment option.
Some Amazon customers may receive an offer for a four-installment Amazon Monthly Payments plan on select products.
With some pay-in-four payment apps, you can shop with select retail partners through the app. Zip’s retailer directory lists Amazon as a retail partner. However, it doesn’t appear on PayPal’s or Klarna’s lists of retail partners.
Takeaway
There are several ways to get a payment plan on an Amazon purchase. Still, you might not be eligible for all or any of them, and not all Amazon products and purchases qualify for payment plans or special financing offers. If you elect to use one, ensure you understand all offer terms and conditions. Failure to repay an Amazon Monthly Payments plan can result in the suspension or termination of your Amazon account. If you miss an equal monthly payment or don’t repay a special financing purchase before the end of the repayment term, you’ll then have to pay some or all accrued interest on your purchase.
Information is accurate as of Aug. 17, 2023.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
The information related to the Amazon Visa and Prime Visa credit cards was collected by GOBankingRates and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of these cards. Product details may vary. Please see the issuer’s website for current information. GOBankingRates does not receive commission for these products.
