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Unload Low Gift Card Balances to Amazon for Credits That Don’t Expire

Julia Menez
·3 min read

Advertiser Disclosure: Most, but not all, products in our articles are from partners who may provide us with compensation. However, opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain.

Do you ever hang onto an old gift card because it has $5.48 left on it, but you’re not sure where to use it, and it takes up space in your sock drawer?

If you have old Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express brand gift cards, you can unload the remaining balance into your Amazon account to use on Amazon purchases, and the Amazon credit will not expire!

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Before you load the gift card into Amazon, make sure to activate the gift card through the website listed on the back of the card. Through the website, you can also check your balance and access your account.

Transfer Balances on Credit Card Gift Cards to Amazon for Shopping Credit

Once you know how much is left on the gift card, you can load it into your Amazon account by going to the “Reload Your Balance” page. When it asks for the amount you want to add to your account balance, enter the exact amount left on the non-Amazon gift card. Select the payment method as a credit card and enter the gift card number. Select “Reload,” and the funds are transferred from the gift card to your Amazon account.

This trick is also beneficial if you have a large purchase to make on Amazon. Amazon does not let you split transactions between two different credit cards but will allow you to apply an Amazon gift card to the total purchase amount. So, if you have a, for example, Visa gift card worth $100, you can apply it to a $500 Amazon purchase with this trick.

Purchase New Gift Cards to Earn Points and Miles

All of these gift cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express gift cards) can be a great way to earn points and miles through your credit cards as well, depending on where you purchase the gift cards. This quarter, the Chase Freedom FlexSM earns 5% cashback at gas stations, as well as on other purchases, such as car rentals and live entertainment.

gift card stand
iStock

If your local gas station sells Visa or Mastercard gift cards, you can purchase these from the gas station with your Chase Freedom Flex card to earn 5% cashback. Additionally, your cashback has a points value, which you can choose to transfer into a Chase Sapphire account if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Chase Sapphire Reserve® card; you can then effectively earn 5X points per dollar by using your Chase Freedom Flex at a gas station to purchase the gift cards and then using the points towards travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. 

More Ways to Grow Your Savings

However, be aware that many of these gift cards require an activation fee of around $4 to $8, which can erode the points you earn from purchasing them.

Staples often has fee-free Visa gift card sales, where it waives the activation fee on $200 Visa gift cards. If you have a Chase Ink Business Cash® card, you can purchase the fee-free Visa gift cards from Staples and get 5% cashback since the Chase Ink Business Cash card earns 5% cashback on internet, cable, phone, and office supply store purchases. The current deal ends August 13, 2022, but check the Staples site to see when the fee-free offer returns.

You can also ask Chase to combine your business and personal accounts so that you can transfer the points value of cashback from a Chase Ink Business Cash account to a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Chase Ink Business Preferred® account. Once transferred to one of these accounts with access to Chase Ultimate Rewards, all of the combined points can be used for travel, which can be more lucrative than redeeming points for cashback.

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