Amazon Looking to Replace Chase as Credit Card Partner

Amazon and Chase currently issue a credit card that comes with a $150 signup bonus and lucrative rewards. Cardholders who are also Prime members can earn 5% cash back on purchases made on its site and at its subsidiary Whole Foods Market. That’s helped it become the fastest-growing portfolio among the top 10 co-brand card programs. But Amazon is now shopping around for a new credit card partner, with American Express and Synchrony Financial as possible successors.

Bloomberg reports that both companies have already placed bids for Amazon’s credit card portfolio. Amazon already has a partnership with with American Express and Synchrony Financial. The retailer offers an Amex card for small-business owners and has long partnered with Synchrony on its private-label card. If Amazon chooses American Express as its partner, cardholders can access Amex Offers.

Chase is also willing to part with the Amazon portfolio, Bloomberg says, citing people familiar with the matter. It’s hard for lenders to turn a profit with benefit-rich co-brand cards, as revenue is usually shared with the merchant partner. Amazon and JPMorgan Chase first issued a card together in 2002 and their offerings have long operated on the Visa network.

The Chase Amazon portfolio contains more than $15 billion in loans and cardholders spend more than $50 billion a year on the card.