While Amazon doesn’t directly accept Visa gift cards as a payment method during checkout, there’s a clever workaround that allows you to use your Visa gift card balance for your Amazon purchases. This guide will walk you through the process of successfully using your Visa gift card on Amazon, ensuring you can utilize those prepaid funds for your online shopping needs.
Understanding the Limitation: Visa Gift Cards and Amazon
It’s important to understand upfront that Amazon’s system isn’t designed to directly process split payments between different payment types at the point of purchase. This means you can’t simply select a Visa gift card and another payment method to cover your total order cost in one go. Amazon’s checkout is streamlined for single payment sources for each order. Therefore, using a Visa gift card requires a slight detour.
The Workaround: Adding Your Visa Gift Card as a Credit Card
The key to using your Visa gift card on Amazon is to register it as you would a regular credit or debit card. By doing this, you’re essentially telling Amazon to treat your gift card as a standard payment card linked to your account. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Activate Your Visa Gift Card and Check Balance
Before you start, ensure your Visa gift card is activated. Activation usually happens at the time of purchase, but if you’re unsure, check the packaging or call the customer service number on the back of the card.
Next, and crucially, check your gift card balance. Visa gift cards, like other prepaid cards, may have activation fees that reduce the initial load value. You need to know the exact remaining balance to avoid payment issues. You can typically check your balance online via a website printed on the card or by calling a balance inquiry number.
Step 2: Add the Gift Card to Your Amazon Account
Now, let’s add your Visa gift card to your Amazon account as a payment method.
-
Go to the Amazon website and sign in to your account.
-
Hover over Account & Lists in the top right corner and click Your Account from the dropdown menu.
Click "Accounts and Lists" -
On your Account page, find the Ordering and shopping preferences section and click on Your Payments.
Click "Your payments." -
Under the Payment methods section, click Add a payment method, and then select Add a credit or debit card.
Click "Your payments." -
Enter the Visa gift card details as if it were a credit or debit card. This includes:
- Card Number: Enter the long number on the front of your Visa gift card.
- Expiration Date: Enter the expiration date printed on the front of the card.
- Name on Card: This field is important. Since Visa gift cards often don’t have a specific name, you can enter “A Gift for You” or simply “Gift Cardholder”. Some cards might suggest using “Valued Customer”. Use what is indicated on your card or something generic like “Gift Card User”.
- CVV/CVC: Enter the 3-digit security code from the back of the card.
Click "Your payments." -
You’ll be prompted to enter a billing address. Since the gift card isn’t tied to a specific address, use your own current billing address. This is a required field by Amazon but doesn’t affect the gift card usage.
Step 3: Select Your Visa Gift Card at Checkout
Now that your Visa gift card is added as a payment method, you can use it for purchases.
- Shop on Amazon and add items to your cart as usual.
- Proceed to checkout.
- On the payment selection screen, you will see your Visa gift card listed as a payment option, usually identified by the last four digits of the card number. Crucially, ensure you select this Visa gift card as your payment method.
- Complete your order. If your order total exceeds the balance on your Visa gift card, the transaction will likely fail as Amazon doesn’t allow splitting payments in this direct manner. Make sure your order total is less than or equal to the available balance on your Visa gift card.
Alternative Methods and Tips
Buying an Amazon Gift Card with Your Visa Gift Card
If you want to make a purchase that exceeds your Visa gift card balance, or if you want more flexibility, consider this workaround:
- Use your Visa gift card to buy an Amazon gift card from Amazon itself. You can purchase an Amazon gift card for any amount up to the balance on your Visa gift card.
- Redeem the Amazon gift card to your Amazon account balance. Amazon gift card balances can be combined with other payment methods at checkout.
This method effectively transfers the value from your Visa gift card into your Amazon account as an Amazon gift card balance, which is natively supported by Amazon’s payment system and can be used in conjunction with other payment methods if needed.
Reloading Your Amazon Gift Card Balance
Another related feature is the ability to reload your Amazon gift card balance. While this doesn’t directly use your Visa gift card, it’s a useful feature for managing Amazon gift card funds. You can access this option in the Gift Cards section of your Account & Lists menu, and then click Reload your Balance. However, keep in mind this feature typically uses your default payment methods already set up on Amazon, not directly a Visa gift card unless it’s already added as described above.
Click "Your payments."
Click "Your payments."
Conclusion
Using a Visa gift card on Amazon requires a simple yet effective workaround: treating it as a regular credit or debit card when adding it to your payment methods. By following these steps, you can easily utilize your Visa gift card balance for shopping on Amazon. Remember to always check your gift card balance and consider purchasing an Amazon gift card with your Visa gift card for greater payment flexibility. Enjoy shopping on Amazon with your Visa gift card!
