Prime Pantry and other lesser-known Amazon incentives

by Mary Harrsch © 2017

Last night on ABC World News the reporter made a big deal out of Walmart offering free shipping if you order items totaling at least $35 or more. Of course, Amazon has had that policy for some time. The reporter showed a large container of detergent claiming Walmart's price was something like half of the price at Amazon. I'm afraid I was immediately skeptical about that.

Amazon has started a new policy of offering incentives if you are willing to wait longer than two days for shipping. I took advantage of this the other day on one of my orders and received a $5 Prime Pantry credit. I didn't know what Prime Pantry was so I checked it out. Prime Pantry, which I assume is for Prime members, is a program where you can fill a generously-sized box with pantry items like laundry soap and additives, non-perishables like peanut butter and mayonnaise, cleaning supplies like Swiffer refills, bathroom cleaning supplies, etc. and if you choose at least five items from the specially selected categories you can get free shipping. (These types of pantry items are usually not available for Prime free shipping). I wanted to be sure I was not overspending on the items I selected, though, so I opened the Walmart website and compared Amazon's prices on each item with the identical product and size on Walmart. All of the items I priced were either as cheap as Walmart or a few pennies less. So you can see why I was dubious about the ABC report. I managed to put together a box of items I would have purchased during my regular grocery shopping (including the brands I usually buy), got free shipping and used my $5 Prime Pantry credit then further reduced my order with reward points from my Amazon Rewards Card.

Would I order with Prime Pantry on a regular basis? In my case, probably not just because I live in the country and must drive to the grocery store each week anyway

(a Walmart superstore is less than 10 miles away) to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, bread, etc. But if I was housebound or a person living in the city and dependent upon public transportation, I would probably order as much as I could from Prime Pantry so I could minimize how much I would need to carry on the bus or subway while getting (most of the time) the lowest prices available. Besides, Walmarts are usually located in the suburbs not in the center of large cities so you would probably save a lot more than grocery shopping in your local urban neighborhood too!

Tricky rewards programs mislead shoppers!!

Last week I read an article about the best credit card rewards programs to use for maximum benefits. One card that the article listed as one of the best programs was the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card because it pays 6% cash back on groceries.  It charges a $75 annual fee but with the rewards for groceries so high I thought I would still come out way ahead by using that card.  So I applied and was approved for the card and received it last night in the mail.  This morning when I called to activate the card I asked the account representative if Walmart, where I buy most of my groceries, was considered a grocery store?  "Oh, no," she replied, "Walmart is considered a superstore like Costco or Sam's Club so rewards would be 1% cash back. By grocery stores we mean Kroeger's or a chain like that."  I told her that those chain grocery stores charge as much as 50% more for groceries than Walmart so I would lose money by shopping there as opposed to saving money that was my original goal for acquiring the card.

For example, my husband and I like Grandma Sycamore's bread made by Sara Lee (sorry, no grandmother involved!).  I can purchase a loaf of that bread at Walmart for $2.50 or less.  At the local Albertson's (that would qualify for the 6% cash back) I would have to pay $3.79 for the identical loaf of bread.  That's 51.6% more for the same bread.  I'm afraid the 6% cash back wouldn't begin to cover the extra cost of shopping there.

I asked the American Express customer service representative to cancel the card and she was very gracious and did so without any high pressure tactics to keep the card.  After I hung up I thought about the annual fee and wondered if I would be charged the fee even though I cancelled the card on my activation call.  So, I called back and got a nice young man who assured me the card was cancelled and I would not be billed for the annual fee.  I wish all customer service representatives were as nice as those that work for American Express.  It's just too bad that the card will not save any more money for anyone who shops for groceries at Walmart.than a typical cash back card without an annual fee.

So, I guess the moral of this story is you have to be particularly vigilant if you are trying to save money using a rewards program that specifies different cash back amounts for different categories of purchases.  Although the author of the article did mention the card would not pay 6% at Costco or Sam's Club they did not mention Walmart that is considered by many people a "regular" grocery store since no membership fees are charged.  At least the Citicard Double Cash Rewards card pays 2% cash back for any purchase regardless of the source.