Using a Visa Gift card balance as partial payment on Amazon

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Update: This method below still works, but Amazon made it easier recently by adding a button “Add funds to Amazon balance.” Follow steps 1-3, tap “Add funds to Amazon balance” and choose the exact amount of the card. Easy!

I found a couple of almost used up Visa gift cards, while cleaning out my kitchen cupboards. I checked the balances and they were $3.62 and $6.23. These are easily used at a checkout in a store, as long as you know the exact balance. However, I prefer to add them to my Amazon account. (Update 8/7/2024 - Amazon now has a $5.00 limit.)

Amazon won’t let you use 2 different cards for payment on one order. However, here’s a step-by-step workaround that I’ve done multiple times. I will assume that in any steps requiring you save or enter, that you know how to do that.

  1. Check balance of Visa (or MC) gift card. I’m going to use $6.23 for this example throughout, but you’ll use the balance on your card.

  2. Log into your Amazon account.

  3. Add a payment method and in this example, I am adding a credit or debit card.

  4. Next, in the search bar on Amazon, type in Amazon e-gift card. You will see multiple e-gift card options. The minimum is now $5.00.

  5. In the Amount line, choose “Other” and add the exact balance of your Visa gift card. My balance was $6.23, so I put that in the box and choose how you want the e-card delivered, e-mail or text.

  6. Important! Choose payment: Select the Visa debit card that you added in Step 3. And Add to Cart or Preview, then Place Order Now.

  7. In 5-10 minutes, you will get a notification that your order was successful. Tap on the link that Amazon sends you for your e-card and Add to your Amazon account.

  8. Next time you order something, that amount will be deducted in your cart, before you order.

I tried to make the steps as clear as possible. In typing the instructions above, I am assuming you know how to navigate finding a balance on a gift card and making your way around Amazon.

While cleaning cupboards, drawers, and file cabinets so I can get my acreage on the market, I’ve recovered over $400 in partial balances on gift cards, Home Depot and Menards store credits, and even a few gift cards I bought for Christmas gifts that got misplaced! So, it’s been a fun game in the drudgery of cleaning and packing.

Thank you for visiting, friend!

Now, go add some itty bitty balances from in-date Visa gift cards to your amazon account. Pennies add up to dollars!

Your friend,

Anne Dovel Morris