Amazon Prime vs. Target Circle 360: Comparing membership benefits, cost and more

Amazon Prime and Target Circle 360 are two hyper-popular memberships that can save you money on everyday purchases. Depending on how often you shop with Amazon and Target, either (or both) could be a no-brainer investment.

Amazon and Target are each hosting big sale events at the same time this year: Target Circle Deal Days and Amazon Prime Day are both running June 23–26. Each of these memberships is helpful — or, in some cases, mandatory — to take advantage of these upcoming deals. Here's what you need to know about Amazon Prime vs. Target Circle 360.

Both Amazon Prime and Target Circle 360 come with a long list of worthwhile benefits. Here's what you can expect from each.

To take advantage of Prime Day, you must have an Amazon Prime membership. You'll also get perks like:

Target Circle 360 comes with all the benefits of a free Target Circle membership, including access to automatic deals, a 5% off birthday gift and access to Target Circle Deal Days. You'll also get:

Amazon Prime and Target Circle 360 aren't free. But if you use them with regularity, they can effectively pay for themselves.

Amazon Prime costs $139 per year ($14.99 per month) for most customers. You can take advantage of a variety of discounts, including:

Target Circle 360, on the other hand, normally costs $99 annually ($10.99 monthly). But you can get:

The best membership for you depends entirely on your shopping habits. If you're not a frequent online shopper, you may not be interested in either; if the lion's share of your shopping is done online, you may consider both.

You don't have to be an Amazon power user to get a lot of value from Amazon Prime. Those who make even a couple Amazon-fulfilled purchases each month can save big on shipping (though purchases over $35 receive free shipping, anyway). And if Whole Foods is your go-to grocery store, you can potentially save money with exclusive Whole Foods discounts.

As outlined above, Amazon Prime membership comes with much more than just free, speedy shipping. You'll get access to Prime Video streaming, discounts at eligible gas stations and free or cheap subscriptions to services like Amazon Music, Amazon Photos and Grubhub+.

Again, Target Circle 360 includes all the benefits of the free Target Circle membership. The differentiator is in its shipping perks — like unlimited same-day delivery, free two-day shipping and extended returns. Those who shop primarily in-store will find little reason to upgrade from a Target Circle membership. However, you can get most of these benefits for free with one of the best credit cards for shopping at Target (we'll cover that shortly).

Still, if you prefer to do your shopping online, Target Circle 360 can make perfect sense. The program's crown jewel is its unlimited same-day delivery on orders of $35 or more. These deliveries otherwise each come with a $9.99 fee. Orders arrive in as little as an hour, which is a huge perk for those who do their grocery shopping online — or anyone who simply needs an item in a hurry.

Similar to Amazon's policy, Target offers free two-day shipping on orders of $35 or more. Target Circle 360 eliminates the minimum spend requirement to receive free two-day shipping, which can also come in handy now and then.

Both Amazon and Target come with credit cards that can work with these memberships to save you even more.

The no-annual-fee Prime Visa (see rates and fees) is the single best way to supercharge your Amazon shopping game. Although it's a no-annual-fee cash-back credit card, it's only available to those who have an Amazon Prime membership — which costs $139 per year.

You can snag a $200 Amazon gift card ahead of Prime Day 2026 immediately when your card application is approved. The card also offers absurdly high (uncapped) returns for many common expenses. Here's what you'll get:

Plus, the card earns 10% back (or more) on a rotating selection of items and categories on Amazon.com.

See rates and fees. Terms apply. Member FDIC. We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through Amazon links.

The Prime Visa is only available to Amazon Prime members ($139 for an annual membership and $14.99 for a monthly membership) but is very rewarding for Amazon purchases.

Either $5 or 4% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater

For those without a Prime membership, Chase also issues the no-annual-fee Amazon Visa. Its benefits are similar to the Prime Visa, but with a little less octane (for example, 3% back on Amazon, Whole Foods and Chase Travel℠purchases instead of the 5% back offered by the Prime Visa). Which Amazon credit card is right for you depends on whether you think Amazon Prime is a worthwhile investment for your spending habits.

Terms apply. We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through Amazon links.

The Amazon Visa is a good option if you want to maximize your return on Amazon purchases without committing to an expensive Prime membership.

The Target Circle™ Card comes with a less-modest welcome bonus of $100 after you're approved, and it offers far fewer bonus categories compared to the Prime Visa. You'll get:

When you apply, you'll also be considered for a Target Mastercard (based on your creditworthiness), which earns the 5% discount and 2% back on dining and gas purchases (plus 1% back everywhere else). The 5% discount is automatically applied to your total purchase cost at checkout, but the 1% and 2% rewards earned with the Target Mastercard can only be redeemed for Target gift cards.

The Target Circle Card also comes with other goodies, like 50% off your Target Circle 360 membership, an extra 30 days to return your items and free two-day shipping.

You'll notice that the card confers a couple of the key benefits of Target Circle 360 — with the exception of unlimited free same-day delivery.

5% discount at checkout on most purchases in-store and at Target.com

Save $50 on a future qualifying purchase of $50 or more when approved for a Target Circle™ Credit or Debit Card.

If you're not keen on applying for a co-branded credit card, a flat-rate cash-back card or a rewards card may be more helpful.

You won't get any Amazon Prime or Target Circle 360 perks, but the Citi Double Cash® Card earns up to 2% cash back on every purchase: 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay off your purchase. Or, if you're partial to Wells Fargo, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card earns 2% cash rewards no matter where you spend.

Receive a 0% intro APR for 18 months on balance transfers and earn at least 2% cash back on every purchase.

Read our Citi Double Cash® Card review.

What makes the Citi Double Cash® Card special is that it sits near the top of its class in several categories. It is an excellent option if you want flat-rate rewards, a balance transfer intro-APR or no annual fee.

Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.

There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. A balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies if completed after 4 months of account opening.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is great if you want simplicity thanks to its flat-rate 2% unlimited cash rewards on purchases and $0 annual fee.

3% intro for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5%, min: $5

If you do most of your shopping online, a card like the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express earns 3% cash back on your U.S. online retail purchases (on up to $6,000 in spending per year, then 1%) — including Amazon and online Target purchases. Even better, the Reward Dollars this card earns can be used at checkout at Amazon.com.

Access above average rewards for groceries and gas, plus receive a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then 19.49% to 28.49% Variable.

You may be eligible for as high as $200 cash back

See rates and fees, terms apply. Read our Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express review.

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express has no annual fee and bonus rewards on a wide range of common expenditures. On top of that, you also have access to an intro-APR offer for purchases and balance transfers. So this card can help you save in a variety of ways.

Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars

Target Circle 360 is worth it if you receive more value than the $99 annual membership fee. The primary benefit of Target Circle 360 is same-day delivery from Target and other local stores, as well as fast and inexpensive shipping. If you'd otherwise pay extra for those services, it could be a solid deal.

You can get Target Circle 360 for free by signing up for a 14-day free trial. In addition, Target has previously held promotions that give a year of Target Circle 360 to existing Target Circle members — so keep your eyes peeled.

A one-year subscription to Amazon Prime costs $139 for most customers. However, qualifying students and 18-to-24-year-olds can get a subscription for as little as $7.49 per month through Prime for Young Adults, and eligible government assistance recipients and income-verified customers pay just $6.99 per month through Prime Access.

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