★★★★★ 1
New Online Access Security Features Actually Compromise Security
Style: Prime Visa
While I started out very satisfied with my Amazon Prime Visa, I have since become discouraged and frustrated. When I first started using my card, I was accumulating my reward points on a regular basis and they were representative of the purchases I made, both on Amazon and through other vendors. But over the last couple years, I noticed I wasn't earning as many points as I had before and especially for Amazon purchases. There were discrepancies in the points I expected to earn and what were actually awarded. The few times I called to inquire about this it was a hassle to get through to a live customer service representative. I seldom used the card anywhere but on Amazon and truth be told, I expected to earn more using the card on Amazon than I actually did.
But the most important reason my opinion of this card has changed for the negative is because of recently implemented security procedures for accessing my account online. I have had my card for well over 10 years and never had an issue signing into my account. Like most online accounts, an extra security layer was added where after logging in, a security code was emailed or sent to my phone to let me complete the log in process. But starting last year, logging into my account became not only a hassle but ironically more of a security concern than what the process was designed to protect. I would use my password, enter the security code that was emailed or texted to me, but then see a screen telling me that "more information was needed" and to call an 800 number to speak with a customer representative. I would call the 800 number only to have a voice prompt ask me to then enter my card number, my zip code, my date of birth and MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER! Only then was I connected to a live person who would then give me yet another security number to be entered online and then I could finally access my account.
The first time it happened, I called customer service and asked what this was about. I was told it was just a "random" check that is done to verify my identity. I was assured it didn't happen regularly and that gone through the process once, it shouldn't happen again. But the next time I logged in it did. I called customer service again but this time I was told it was because I had selected there to be this secondary security check myself. I explained that I had done no such thing. The customer service rep claimed to check my account on their end and said yes, it appeared my account indeed had a secondary security check option selected. I asked if it could be removed explaining that I was very uncomfortable providing all that additional information through a voice prompt system. The customer service presentative told me that she was able to remove the secondary security check and that the next time I logged in there shouldn't be any issue.
But the 3rd time I attempted to log in I had to yet again go through this secondary security check. Once again I called customer service. This time I was told that there must be some type of glitch in my online account and I was transferred to the technical support department. The support tech claimed that there was this "secondary security" layer enabled on my account but assured me he was able to remove it on his end. He also assured me that the issue was finally corrected and I should be able to log in going forward without this extra security hassle.
Yet again the next time I logged in I was still being asked to call the 800 number and provide all that information through the voice prompt system, including my social security number. At that point I asked to be transferred to a technical support securitiy manager. After giving me all the same previously provided explanations and claiming to have fixed the issue (he didn't) and almost an hour of my time, he finally explained that the problem was on MY end. This extra security layer was NOT implemented by Amazon or Visa. Instead, it was implemented by their 3rd-party vendor that actually administers online accounts and processes online payments. It turns out that while it was intended to be a one-time verification, any deletion of cookies and cache from my computer would reset my account as needing this secondary verification. My response was that I regularly delete cookies and my cache as a security measure. The tech said that if I want to avoid this secondary verification, I should stop deleting cookies and cache, PLUS disable auto-deletion in my browser. I explained that while disabling auto-deletion on my browser could solve the issue, it would disable auto-deletion for all my browsing history and that's a security issue. Moreover, if I chose not to disable auto-deletion then every single time I wanted to access my online account I would be required to enter personally identifiable information (my social security number) which is also a security risk. The tech reluctantly agreed but said that their customer service had no control over this because it was added by that 3rd party account/payment processing vendor.
All this being said, I stopped using my Amazon Visa card. I opened a new credit card through my bank that was offering a $300 cash-back bonus for spending $600 over the first 3 months. I'm able to log into that online account using my login, password and the verification number that was simply sent to me via email or text. I don't need to provide all the personal information for a secondary security verification through a voice-prompt system and I'm still able to clear my cookies and cache on a regular basis.
This experience was frustrating for several reasons. First and foremost, I was never told about this secondary security layer that had been added for online access despite being a cardholder for over 10 years. Second, when I attempted to inquire why there was a secondary security layer, I spoke with 3 different customer reps who each gave me a different and erroneous explanation for why the secondary security layer was there in the first place. Third, each of those customer service reps assured me the issue was corrected only for that to not be true. And finally, the secondary security layer provided no real extra security without potentially compromising the health and security of the device that I was using to access my account.
In the end, there's more than enough security issues to watch for when using online devices and accessing sensitive account information. Safety is important but so is ease-of-use. The Amazon Prime Visa card has become more of a liability to use for both safety and convenience than the purported benefits that the card offers. Moreover, it is completely unacceptable that 3 customer service reps gave me 3 different and erroneous explanations for what I was experiencing and it is egregious that none of those explanations were even correct. In the end, it's my opinion that there are better cards with better rewards that employ more informed customer service reps with online access security features.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2026
