Update 9/20/24: Some people see a minimum of $25 now.
Update 5/29/24: Minimum amount is now $5 on both reloads and Amazon gift card purchases. You can find and share methods for small spend requirements in this post.
Update 3/15/24: A lot of readers got back the $.50 minimum now. Others still have the $1 minimum.
Original Post 11/13/23:
Back in 2016, Amazon increased their minimum gift card amount from $.50 to $1. Today, they increased their minimum Amazon reload amount from $.50 to $1. Bummer.
Amazon Reload | Amazon e-gift card (these links contain our affiliate)
How are you all making the animal shelter $1 count as debit card purchases?
I have tried at 2 different humane society’s for $1 + covering the fees and they both coded as “preauth dda” for SouthState bank
BAD UPDATE: Amazon is now REJECTING prepaid debit cards.
I am unsure if there is a limit or what — REVIEWS MENTION THE SAME THING.
My instance – tried loading 3x cards. Less than $10 amount went through. 2nd and 3rd card were rejected (both of these were over 50)
I’ll start loading up my water bill but prepaid cards are becoming less valuable as time goes on =(
Pepper takes all kind of prepaid cards. You can buy amazon gift card in there, as well as get cashback.
It cracks me up to find a thread full of people with the same problem as me. My children grew up thinking that it was a rule that we had to buy each item from the Costco food court seperately. They thought everyone does that.
I used to do this once a month 10x to meet a bank debit transaction requirements. Then I realized since I have a business paypal I can create a personal paypal as well. Then everyday have a recurring charge of 1 penny
What’s the best way to liquidate sub-$5 GC these days anyway? Amazon had been my go to, but I messed up and let the value go down to $4.something on one after this change, and been trying to figure out a way to use it since lol.
I can use them at grocery stores. Usually just swipe and the balance comes off and you pay the difference however. Sometimes the cashier has to put in the exact amount left on the card or it’ll decline.
Or if it’s virtual you can add it to Walmart pay, make a partial payment with a card down to your GC balance and then finish with Walmart Pay.
I’ve been able to do that in the past as well at Walmart, it would automatically charge what it could to the GC and then kiosk will prompt for another payment method to cover the rest. But I thought I had tried that a couple times more recently with this particular gift card without success. Maybe it’s just something quicky with this GC. It is physical but I hadn’t thought to try adding it to Walmart Pay and checking out using that, though, I may give that a shot. Really do appreciate the suggestions.
Yes, that’s how all our grocery stores here work. It’ll recognize it’s a “debit” and you need to have the EXACT amount, or it declines. Someone said you can use the VGC at Home Depot as “credit card” (not sure how) and it’ll auto-drain. I’ve tried using it as Debit at HD and it won’t auto-drain, it’ll decline.
For me, it’s Target. In store, this is better to do at self-checkout so you don’t hold people up, but I have used like 5+ prepaid Visa gift cards in one transaction.
Recently(ish), Target enabled split payments on their website for online orders, but that is limited to 2 payment methods max.
Target in-store self-checkout will let you drain a gift card when paying for purchases (last time I tried at least)
I have been applying to medical insurance premiums. I know that won’t work for everyone, especially if you get insurance through your job.
Sucks, now I have to buy 10 cents of gas at every gas station on the street.
Just checked, still 5 for me. I infrequently reload using prepaid visas (avg 1-5 a month)
Curious if the 25 minimum are for people churning more.
note: buttons show 25 minimum. Can type in 5. Message pops up if you type in less than 5
Same for me. Others reporting the same. I think the $25 was probably just an erroneous report based on the what Amazon shows as the default options.
It’s very misleading by Amazon as it makes it looks like the minimum is $25, but you can still put in $5.
Or just buy $1 Amazon gift cards on Pepper at 10-12x boost with Amex Biz Gold for a total of 14-16x back on that dollar!? (Assuming they don’t nerf Pepper/ABG again.)
Shoot, I was intending to use this for my Bilt transactions each month. Need to find another good nominal transaction option now.
What in the hell is Amazon doing? This makes no sense from a business nor consumer point of view. What a pain in the ass.
Seriously. Are they afraid of paying a few cent transaction fees to make a guaranteed $5 minimum? I have hundreds of $ as a result of these reloads that I will no longer do. I’m not going to do $25 reloads.
Yeah doesn’t make much sense. I would rather by something at the store for $5+. I am barely using Amazon as it is since prices aren’t even that competitive and shipping takes forever if you don’t have Prime.
Agree, always check other website like ebay, etc… before purchasing. Amazon used to win or match on pricing–not today.