Is Going Into Debt Worth It Just To Save 20% on Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Big Deal Days are here, and you may once again be tempted by deep discounts and lightning deals. But financial advisors warn that those “savings” could end up costing far more than you bargained for—especially if you’re putting purchases on a credit card.

U.S. consumers drove $24.1 billion in online spending from July 8-11 during Prime Day earlier this year. Shoppers snapped up appliances, technology, and back-to-school items during the record-breaking four-day sale, averaging about $156 in spending per household, according to consumer research firm Numerator.

Financial advisors have long worried about clients breaking well-planned budgets when tempted by the unrelenting advertising that comes with Amazon’s big sale days and the media attention they bring.

“The thing that concerns me is the ease of making purchases, particularly when purchasing things that the shopper didn’t even intend to buy when they woke up that morning,” David Tenerelli, a certified financial planner and financial advisor at Values Added Financial, told Investopedia.

Prime Day Discounts vs. Credit Card Interest Rates

The appeal of Amazon Prime Big Deal Days is simple: save 20%, 30%, even 50% on items you need—or think you need. But when you’re carrying a credit card balance, the math works against you in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.

The average credit card APR for accounts accruing interest has hovered above 21% throughout 2025, according to Federal Reserve data—a sharp increase from the sub-15% averages seen in the decade up to 2023. The median rate was 23.99% as of August 2025, according to an Investopedia analysis.

These are near all-time highs, and they mean your Prime Day “deal” could quickly become a financial burden. For example, if you have a $2,000 balance at 20% APR and you pay $100 per month, it would take 25 months to pay off while adding $453 in interest to your costs.

Let’s apply this to typical Prime Day purchases. The math quickly reveals that most discounts can’t overcome credit card interest when you’re carrying a balance.

The calculations above assume typical minimum monthly payments. Most credit card companies structure their terms to require you to pay at least $15 or the monthly interest charge plus 1% of the balance, whichever is higher.

Consider the average Prime Day shopper who spent $156 this past July. At 24% APR, even a 10% discount results in a net loss of 1% after paying the $15.00 minimum each month for a year. You’d need at least a 20% discount to see any gain paying off your credit card balance that way—and even then, your real benefit is only 12% off the original price, not the advertised 20%.

On bigger hauls (say, $1,000 for a TV and its accessories), carrying a balance turns almost any “deal” into a losing proposition—even at 30% off—because minimum payments stretch repayment into years as the interest piles up. Most of your minimum payments will be higher than $15 since you’ll have more on your card, and the monthly interest plus 1% is higher.

All this is easy to forget with the “buy now” button and the discount on the screen in front of you.

“Using the ‘buy now’ button means the shopper has less chance to ask, ‘Do I really need or want this $50 sprocket? Is it going to add at least $50 of value to my life? Does this purchase really fit my needs and values? Or do I just want it because this website has made it seem like it’s on sale?'” Tenerelli said.

How Prime Day Spending Can Spiral Into Debt

Prime Day deals aren’t just about finding the steepest discounts. They’re engineered to make you spend more than you planned. The combination of countdown clocks, limited-time offers, and one-click purchasing greases the skids for quick impulse buys, experts explain.

Numerator found that 63% of households placed two or more separate orders during July’s Prime Day, making it easy for spending to add up quickly. Meanwhile, Adobe reports that consumers used buy now, pay later services for 8.1% of online orders during the event, amounting to $2 billion in spending—an increase of nearly a third over 2024.

The Bottom Line

A 20% Prime Day deal may not be getting you the discount you think if you’re financing it. With median interest rates in the U.S. at about 24%, carrying the purchase as a balance on your credit card can quickly cost you more than you saved. Experts advise buying only what you can pay off in full once it appears on your card. If not, it’s perhaps best to skip the click.