Amazon 0.5% Visa Surcharge

colaman on 01/09/2021 - 11:04
Last edited 01/09/2021 - 15:15 by 1 other user

Comments from Amazon are that this Starts 1 November 2021 on Visa credit. To avoid, use debit, ZIP or non-Visa credit.

What does everyone think about this. I use Visa as my main credit card. Is this because of deals done with other credit companies that Amazon benefit from?

The reason I use Visa is to benefit on reward points and I current buy a lot from Amazon. Do I now look at switching to another provide like Mastercard?

Edit : This is an email I just received to confirm it

We’re writing to notify you of a change to Visa credit card payments on Amazon.com.au.

Due to the costs associated with Visa transactions, beginning 1 November 2021, Amazon will apply a 0.5% surcharge to purchases made using Visa credit cards on Amazon.com.au. You can avoid the surcharge by using any debit card, Zip, or any non-Visa credit card like a Mastercard, Amex, or UnionPay card. Additionally, we are working to add more, faster and cheaper payment options for customers.

We know this may be an inconvenience, and our customer service team is standing by to help. Thank you for your understanding, and for being an Amazon customer.

Financial Amazon VISA

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Comments

  • Amaris on 01/09/2021 - 18:44

    28 Degrees or Amex

  • kl2999 on 01/09/2021 - 20:29

    One word for amazon - (profanity).

    • ProlapsedHeinous on 02/09/2021 - 17:43
      -2

      many words for amazon - (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity) (profanity)

  • simong on 01/09/2021 - 21:12
    +3

    “Australian customers with a Visa credit card as their default payment method will receive a $20 gift card when they add a different payment method.”

    https://ausdroid.net/2021/09/01/amazon-com-au-adds-0-5-visa-…

    A very good PR move by Amazon in this battle :)

    • FLICKIT on 01/09/2021 - 21:41

      Nice ty… Can anyone confirm receiving the $20 gift card?

  • johnwickspuppy on 01/09/2021 - 21:19
    +1

    I just looked up the Mastercard AU website and it linked me to a List of Mastercards in Australia

    No annual fee cards are 28 Degrees Platinum Mastercard and ME Bank Frank Mastercard.

    No annual fee on the first year of the Westpac Low Fee card. After the first year, the annual fee is $30 unless you spend over $5000 per year. Here are the details

    • Nom on 01/09/2021 - 21:36
      +1

      None of those cards earn you anything - if you want a none Visa card, then the basic American Express Qantas Card is also completely free and will earn you Qantas points on your spend.

    • PissLUR on 01/09/2021 - 21:43
      +2

      There is also Coles. You can earn flybuys points.

    • johnwickspuppy on 01/09/2021 - 21:58

      Good work Nom and PissLUR!

      I hadn't considered Amex and Coles yet. There are so many cards out there! It's a bit overwhelming to read the fine print and compare all of them. So I focused on no annual fee cards for my purposes but the link through Mastercard's website shows all cards and not just no annual fee ones.

      Amex cards on their website can be found here. There's a menu where you can narrow down the list to what you want, like no annual fee, shopping rewards, Qantas points, Velocity points etc.

      All 3 Coles cards can be found here

      • Nom on 02/09/2021 - 13:20

        The list of cards that earn you rewards, with no annual fee, is very very small - so choosing is actually very easy 👍
        Unless someone knows of another, the Amex and the Coles cards are the entire list.

        • megadeth on 05/09/2021 - 21:19

          Legacy Amex cards issued under their alliance with professional organisations, and nab visa Qantas plus (also legacy product) still earn some points. But for some serious rewards points you need to look at cards with annual fee.

  • Punda on 01/09/2021 - 22:29

    If we pay with visa debit not credit are we still covered if there’s an issue?

    • Tony-Abbott on 01/09/2021 - 22:35

      Yes, because it's going through the VISA network. Eftpos is the rubbish one.

  • ozisaver on 01/09/2021 - 23:23
    +1

    Yes this really sucks but I did just see they’re offering you $20 if you add a new payment method. Just saw this in the app:

    Save your debit card, Amex, Mastercard, or Union Pay card as default, and get a $20 Amazon.com.au Gift Card within 30 days. Terms and Conditions apply.

    • capslock janitor on 02/09/2021 - 14:43

      Wonder if I can somehow get that - I only had MC in there already…

  • start3r on 02/09/2021 - 06:43
    +3

    For those who may be uncertain regarding VISA DEBIT cards, I just got off Live Chat with Amazon and they've confirmed fee ONLY applies to VISA CREDIT Cards, if you use a VISA DEBIT card you will not incur the fee.

    Hope this is of help to anyone that was unsure..

    • Thrifty Dan on 31/10/2021 - 18:18

      Hope that this is correct.

  • joolz50 on 02/09/2021 - 09:17
    +1

    I already use my visa credit card to buy discount Amazon vouchers, so when I saw the email, my response was literally “meh”

  • Caped Baldy on 02/09/2021 - 10:07
    +2

    Don't people use discounted giftcards?
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/discounted_egift_cards

  • reactor-au on 02/09/2021 - 10:18
    +1

    Amazon strong arm move for sure.
    In the future I imagine Amazon own payment system of sorts.

  • djmm on 02/09/2021 - 11:37

    For those who have ZIP and VISA, do you get rewards points from VISA for paying ZIP balance?

    • idonotknowwhy on 02/09/2021 - 17:24
      +2

      Yeah. I used ZIP to pay the ATO, then paid ZIP with NAB VISA and looks like I got points for it.

      • djmm on 02/09/2021 - 18:59
        +1

        Didn't know you can pay ATO with zip lol

        • idonotknowwhy on 03/09/2021 - 08:17
          +2

          Neither did I but I figured I'd give it a try because I don't want to pay the surcharge.
          It's via BPay, and there's a $2.50 transaction fee.
          So if you pay $1000 (that seems to be my maximum, don't know if it can be increased), that costs $2.50, which is cheaper than my Visa surcharge.

  • AnophthalmiaCervidae on 02/09/2021 - 15:39
    +2

    Purchase Amazon gift cards on Cashrewards or Shopback with Visa (for credit card points) and get 1% cash back and no Amazon fee

    • BargainBuddy on 07/09/2021 - 13:14

      Purchase protection. Price drop insurance and other benefits are no longer applicable.

  • jaylee88 on 02/09/2021 - 18:11

    A friend of mine received a very similar legit same email with an “update account details” button. The friend has Amex as default payment and mentioned the email header looks really suss so deleted it. Had no previous idea about Amazon visa issues so thought it was just another scam.

    Good practise to not use any links in emails!

  • bdl on 02/09/2021 - 18:42

    Visa's probably increasing merchant fees to make up for lost revenue from Tokyo Olympics 2020/2021

    https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/sponsorships-promotions/olym…

  • Butt Scratcher on 02/09/2021 - 21:37

    This seemed so ridiculous that I thought it was some sort of phishing scam when I saw it in my email. It even gives you a link to update your account/payment option

  • itsme56 on 02/09/2021 - 21:57

    Just buy Amazon Gift Cards with your Visa if it worries you this much.

  • pogichinoy on 03/09/2021 - 01:01

    Doesn’t affect me. I switch to my Amex card for Amazon purchases.

    Keep the costs low Amazon!!

  • [Deactivated] on 03/09/2021 - 11:06

    I went to my local pub and they had a sheet on the bar with all fees to be charged on top.

    Every card aka Visa, MasterCard, amex had fees passed onto the customer now.

    So, will everyone go back to cash?

  • Koipanda on 03/09/2021 - 12:01

    Who honestly pays directly whether its VISA, MC or AMEX on Amazon…
    A true ozbarginer uses GC, and saves 3% on every transaction.

    • spaceflight on 03/09/2021 - 16:31
      +3

      That isn't ideal for all purchases.

      If your credit card offers extended warranty on purchases and you use the credit card to buy gift cards and then use those gift cards to buy a product you will not receive the insurances your credit card offers.

  • MrThing on 03/09/2021 - 23:07
    -1

    visa charging more than amex

    amazon can go and get themselves royally fuked.

    • Tony-Abbott on 04/09/2021 - 10:42
      +2

      You realise this is a Visa issue, not an Amazon issue right?
      Visa have increased their merchant fees. This is the same issue with Qantas, Visa fees are more expensive than AMEX now.

  • Romper Stomper on 04/09/2021 - 08:35
    -1

    Can't banks issue their own credit card, without Visa or MasterCard?

    • Tony-Abbott on 04/09/2021 - 10:43

      No, then no one will accept the cards. eftpos is the only thing close to banks using their own cards.

    • spaceflight on 04/09/2021 - 11:00
      -1

      No.
      The whole reason credit cards work is because there is a universally accepted processor/middle man that facilitates the transactions on the processing network

  • Tardvark on 05/09/2021 - 16:23

    So this was why I randomly got a $35 credit? I had no idea what this email was about at the time, but free money is free money so whatever. Must have been a random coming together of events for me adding a new card (MasterCard) to my Amazon account.

    We’re writing to let you know that we have added a $25 Amazon.com.au Gift Card to your account. We have added this Gift Card in connection with promotions we ran from 18 May to 31 July 2021, regarding payment methods used on Amazon.com.au.

    We took longer to deliver gift cards than we said we would. To apologise for the inconvenience, we'd like to offer you an additional $10 Amazon.com.au Gift Card, which has also been applied to your account.

    • johnwickspuppy on 05/09/2021 - 16:58

      You are the luckiest Ozbargainer today :)

  • techlead on 07/09/2021 - 13:55

    Open a Macquarie account and purchase giftcards at a 2% discount whenever you need to buy anything from Amazon.

    You will of course need to have the cash upfront for this method. This is how I buy on Amazon all the time.

  • Thrifty Dan on 31/10/2021 - 18:15

    So what about my visa debit card then? If I use this, do I get charged or not?

    • colaman on 01/11/2021 - 10:21
      +1

      Debit is fine. Credit is not.

  • palmplex on 04/12/2021 - 15:45
    +1

    I added my Mastercard to my amazon account and tried to use it for the first time during the Black Friday weekend sales.
    There must have been a bug in the Amazon coding for the new Mastercard for billing as it wasn't adding on the GST .
    I didn't realise it was the GST missing , just that the price dropped when i chose the mastercard but then increased to the advertised price if i toggled back to the VISA card.
    When i toggled back to select the mastercard the price dropped again. I assumed it was a sale discount for Mastercard use.

    When i got the credit card bill the GST had been added on again. but when I contacted Amazon they agreed to honour the original price I agreed to so brilliant customer service

  • johnwickspuppy on 17/02/2022 - 19:23

    Well, that was short-lived. Did Amazon get a win over Visa?

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/683658

    We’ve recently reached a global agreement with Visa that allows all customers to continue using their Visa credit cards in our stores. As of 17 February 2022, Visa credit card purchases on Amazon.com.au will no longer incur a surcharge.

    • fuzor on 17/02/2022 - 19:43

      Glad Amazon won! You really need these large companies to do these sort of thing to stop other equally large companies like Visa from price gouging customer. Hopefully Visa has learnt a lesson here.

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