Amazon Prime Reload rewards customers for buying with gift card balance

[Shawn Knight]

Amazon has introduced a new perk in which Prime members can earn two percent back on their purchases (so long as they’re willing to jump through a couple of hoops). Here’s how it works.

Let’s say you want to purchase something for $100. Instead of using your credit card to fund the purchase, the Amazon Prime Reload program will have you load funds from your debit card (which of course requires a checking account) onto your gift card balance. You’ll then use that gift card balance to make your $100 purchase and earn a $2 credit on your gift card balance as a reward.

Amazon’s motivation here is multifold.

By using your debit card, Amazon is avoiding costly fees associated with processing a credit card payment. In addition to saving some money on its end, Amazon is willing to pass along a portion of the savings directly to Prime users in exchange for inconveniencing them. What’s more, Amazon knows that if you’ve got money lingering in your gift card balance, you’ll probably be more inclined to spend it on something you might otherwise think twice about buying.

From the standpoint of the consumer, Prime Reload seems like a decent way to get a small kickback – especially if you’re the type that’s averse to using credit cards / amassing debt.

While it’s possible that you could earn more cash back with a credit card, you also have to remember that you won’t ever be charged interest on purchases made through Prime Reload as the funds are coming directly out of your bank account at the very moment you fund the gift card balance. For some, this mechanism could lead to less impulse spending.

Two percent isn’t a whole lot of money but over time, it’ll add up.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/69703-amazon-prime-reload-rewards-customers-buying-gift-card.html

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

It's what I'd do if I ever used Amazon. I'm allergic to using my credit card for anything except when absolutely necessary and that's very seldom.

 

[Kibaruk]

Yup, if you have some left overs you will probably spend it on whatever, it's what has happened to me at least with wherever you have a digital wallet, you are unable to spend the exact amount you add into the wallet, then you have leftovers that you think "I've already spent this money so why not actually spend it" =P

 

[wiyosaya]

Personally, I'll never give any online retailer my debit card number again. In some respects, it was a rather humorous experience for me as someone got my debit card number and then I accidentally dropped my balance to near zero so there was nothing there when they tried to use the number.

However, amazon will try to lull people into thinking that their card numbers are safe. The worst type of card to use online is a debit card since the funds come instantly out of your checking account and can be very difficult to recover in the event of fraud.

Amazon is not my favorite online retailer for a number of reasons, and I do not care how much they will give me back, I will avoid using them whenever possible. There is some great competition out there - some offering free shipping that you do not have to wait a week or more for your order to ship. I personally do not care how safe amazon tells me my info is, I simply will not leave it on their site.

I see this as yet another attempt by the biggest online retailer in the world to eek even more money into their coffers.

 

[Trillionsin]

Personally, I'll never give any online retailer my debit card number again.

So, you use cash everywhere you go? Because it's not just online retail stores that leak your info. So why even had a debit card? Just cut it up and toss it. Banks make it so easy to reverse fraudulent charges.... seems like you are overreacting IMO.

NO ONES CARD IS SAFE. You should just always assume that, as well as with your identity!

Yup, every retailer is trying to lure people in, and make more money. It's what they do.

Personally, I've have my debit card and credit card number on tons of sites, and I've been an Amazon customer for a long time (over 10 years). Had fraudulent transactions happen once, bank reversed them the next day and I got a new card. Hasnt happened since. So I guess I'm lucky. If it was Amazon who leaked my info, multiple cards would have been compromised, however they werent. This was actually a card that I primarily used at the super markets like Target and Meijer. (Target, wink wink) lol

 

[GreenNova343]

One thing that doesn't make a whole lot of sense here is how Amazon is even differentiating between a debit card & a credit card. In my case, for example, both cards look (& are processed) almost 100% identically:
-- both have a 16-digit card # on the front;
-- both repeat the first 4 digits of that 16-digit # right below it;
-- both repeat the last 4 digits of that 16-digit # on the back;
-- both have a signature block on the back, which are labeled, "NOT VALID UNLESS SIGNED";
-- both have a 3-digit CVV # on the back;
-- both have an expiration date (month/day format) on the front;
-- both have the "chip reader" chip

Both cards are from the same source (as my credit card account is through the same bank as my checking account). The only differences (aside from cosmetic differences like color) are:
-- the account # on the credit card is the actual account number in the bank's system (which is why the only difference between my credit card & my wife's credit card is the name on the card)
-- it is a lot easier to fight fraudulent credit card transactions than it is to fight fraudulent debit card transactions. And no, the "I have to put my PIN in for a debit card transaction" doesn't apply. Most casual or fancier restaurants don't use your PIN (when was the last time your waiter brought you a WiFi-connected card machine to type in your PIN?), & even most fast-food places that use conventional card readers don't use PINs either (McDonald's, Wendy's, & KFC, for example) -- & there's no guarantee that it's because they're processing it as a credit card transaction.
-- my credit card has a fixed limit on it, so anything over the limit (transactional or account) is going to be automatically rejected; for my debit card, though, only a transactional limit (I.e. the $50 or $75 limit you see at some gas station pumps) prevents a transaction from being run that would overdraw my bank account.

That last one is tricky, though, because you can process a debit card as a credit card -- remember, it has 16 digits on it, just like a credit card.

So how is Amazon going to know beforehand that your debit card is actually a debit card, as opposed to a credit card? Unless they're really meaning that you would pay for the transaction via ACH Debit (I.e. provide your bank routing number & checking account number).

 

[GreenNova343]

Personally, I'll never give any online retailer my debit card number again.

So, you use cash everywhere you go? Because it's not just online retail stores that leak your info. So why even had a debit card? Just cut it up and toss it. Banks make it so easy to reverse fraudulent charges.... seems like you are overreacting IMO.

NO ONES CARD IS SAFE. You should just always assume that, as well as with your identity!

Yup, every retailer is trying to lure people in, and make more money. It's what they do.

Personally, I've have my debit card and credit card number on tons of sites, and I've been an Amazon customer for a long time (over 10 years). Had fraudulent transactions happen once, bank reversed them the next day and I got a new card. Hasnt happened since. So I guess I'm lucky. If it was Amazon who leaked my info, multiple cards would have been compromised, however they werent. This was actually a card that I primarily used at the super markets like Target and Meijer. (Target, wink wink) lol

Agreed. It may not even be your credit/debit card information that gets leaked, but it could be your personal information (name, DOB, etc.), which is even worse. And it may not even be a retailer that's affected by a breach.

 

[mailpup]

So how is Amazon going to know beforehand that your debit card is actually a debit card, as opposed to a credit card? Unless they're really meaning that you would pay for the transaction via ACH Debit (I.e. provide your bank routing number & checking account number).

I don't actually know the answer but it would seem to me that when Amazon first submits (electronically) your 16 digit debit card number, info will come back confirming it as a debit card (because it is). Yes, they might not know in advance but if you tried to use a credit card, they would know right after submitting the number in the same manner.

 

[Halcyon]

Yeaahhhh I'm not linking my debit card to anything. It's much safer to use a credit card.

 

[Kibaruk]

Back in Chile, we were able to create "safe cards", we set the amount in Chilean Pesos or US Dollars and it created a virtual card for 1 use with it's own number, verification code and up to the amount specified.

I got truly amazed that in a first world country as is Canada this is not standard.

 

[wiyosaya]

So, you use cash everywhere you go? Because it's not just online retail stores that leak your info. So why even had a debit card? Just cut it up and toss it. Banks make it so easy to reverse fraudulent charges.... seems like you are overreacting IMO.

Depends on the bank. If you have a bank that will reverse fraudulent debit card charges, then consider yourself privileged. Fraudulent credit card charges, sure. AFAIK, they are universally reversed within a reasonable time frame.