Amazon accounts for people with no credit?

elizilla · 01-20-2011, 07:44 PM

I have a friend who is extremely hard up these days. He had to move out of his place, and he's been couch surfing, and he lost all his books when he lost his place. Which is hard on him because he is a hardcore reader. I am thinking of giving him an older Kindle that I have kicking around. If I give him this Kindle, can he get it authorized and get free books onto it, when he doesn't have a credit card or bank account? Or would Amazon not let him do it if he doesn't have a payment method configured? I don't want to leave the Kindle attached to my own Amazon account anymore after it leaves my hands.

Thanks!

Madam Broshkina · 01-20-2011, 07:54 PM

He could get a pre-paid credit card. Amazon will take them with the following restrictions:

If you are using a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express pre-paid credit or gift card, please note the following restrictions:

* Pre-paid gift cards can't be combined with credit cards on a single order.
* Pre-paid gift cards can't be used to sign up for Amazon Prime membership.
* Amex Gift Cards can't be used to purchase Amazon.com gift cards.
* Some banks may require you to register pre-paid gift cards with your name and billing address by calling the number on the back of the card.
* Amazon.com does not support entering the three-digit CVV code normally found on the back of some cards. If entering the code is required by the issuing bank, your payment may not process successfully.
* We will process a $1 authorization at the time of order to make sure the payment method is valid. This authorization is not a charge, but your bank may hold the authorized funds as unavailable until the authorization expires.

Or you could load up the Kindle with the free books from MR.

wvcherrybomb · 01-20-2011, 09:35 PM

I would call or email Amazon customer service about it. It doesn't seem like you should have to have a credit card just to register a Kindle and get free books, but I'm really not sure.

The only problem with pre-paid cards is they charge you a monthly fee. My husband uses them to play poker on online gambling sites becasue we don't trust them with our real card numbers. He got his from Walmart and I believe it was $3.50 a month to keep it active. It would be cheaper to just open a bank account with $10 or something just to get a debit card.

arcadata · 01-20-2011, 09:49 PM

@elizilla,

You don't need to have any credit card or even any gift cards attached to your account to be able to download the Amazon free Kindle books. (And I know that because I set up an account like that just for the free Kindle books)

*Except for pre-orders of free Kindle books*, then a credit card is needed. But otherwise, your friend will have access to all the free Kindle books.

sbtx99 · 01-20-2011, 09:50 PM

I've used a pre-paid debit card that I got from a rebate to purchase gift cards from Amazon, and then used the gift card balance to purchase books for my Kindle.

Other than that, I typically buy Amazon gift cards at the grocery store to use for ebook purchases. More than once, the credit card that I had set up for 1-click purchases had expired, and as long as gift card balance covered the purchase, or I was downloading free books, Amazon didn't complain that the credit card had expired. The only times I've had to update the credit card information on my account was when I was pre-ordering books.

abookreader · 01-21-2011, 11:24 AM

Will it let you pre-order books with one of those Pre-paid Visa cards?

I have a friend who always pays for her Kindle purchases with Amazon Gift cards. Up until now she has been unable to pre-order books because of no credit card.

She wants to know if she buys one of those pre-paid Visa Gift cards and then spends it down to only a couple of dollars left, and then puts than in on her Amazon account as the credit card payment, will she be able to put in book pre-orders?

wvcherrybomb · 01-21-2011, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbtx99

Other than that, I typically buy Amazon gift cards at the grocery store to use for ebook purchases.

I didn't know you could buy Amazon gift cards in stores. I have looked for them before in Walmart but never saw any. What store do you buy them at?

whitearrow · 01-21-2011, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

I didn't know you could buy Amazon gift cards in stores. I have looked for them before in Walmart but never saw any. What store do you buy them at?

Where I live, they are all over. Grocery stores, drug stores like CVS, Target.

abookreader · 01-21-2011, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

I didn't know you could buy Amazon gift cards in stores. I have looked for them before in Walmart but never saw any. What store do you buy them at?

Our Target has them back by the Kindle display case, which is usually empty.

wvcherrybomb · 01-21-2011, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitearrow

Where I live, they are all over. Grocery stores, drug stores like CVS, Target.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abookreader

Our Target has them back by the Kindle display case, which is usually empty.

Thank you both. I have looked at CVS but will try Target. I always thought they had to be ordered from Amazon and at Christmas I would have liked to have been able to purchase some on the spot.

KindleLinks · 01-21-2011, 11:45 PM

No credit card required. I gave a Kindle to my brother, and set it up on Amazon for him. I DL'd a few free games for him for it. Never entered any credit card information. Good thing. He doesn't have any...

01-20-2011, 07:44 PM	#1
elizilla Addict Posts: 271 Karma: 610286 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Michigan, USA Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Sage, others	Amazon accounts for people with no credit? I have a friend who is extremely hard up these days. He had to move out of his place, and he's been couch surfing, and he lost all his books when he lost his place. Which is hard on him because he is a hardcore reader. I am thinking of giving him an older Kindle that I have kicking around. If I give him this Kindle, can he get it authorized and get free books onto it, when he doesn't have a credit card or bank account? Or would Amazon not let him do it if he doesn't have a payment method configured? I don't want to leave the Kindle attached to my own Amazon account anymore after it leaves my hands. Thanks!

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01-20-2011, 07:54 PM	#2
Madam Broshkina Manic Do Fuse Posts: 2,312 Karma: 3325462 Join Date: Oct 2006 Device: Sony 500, 505, 350, Kindle 3, DXG, nook, Irex DR800SG, iPad	He could get a pre-paid credit card. Amazon will take them with the following restrictions: If you are using a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express pre-paid credit or gift card, please note the following restrictions: * Pre-paid gift cards can't be combined with credit cards on a single order. * Pre-paid gift cards can't be used to sign up for Amazon Prime membership. * Amex Gift Cards can't be used to purchase Amazon.com gift cards. * Some banks may require you to register pre-paid gift cards with your name and billing address by calling the number on the back of the card. * Amazon.com does not support entering the three-digit CVV code normally found on the back of some cards. If entering the code is required by the issuing bank, your payment may not process successfully. * We will process a $1 authorization at the time of order to make sure the payment method is valid. This authorization is not a charge, but your bank may hold the authorized funds as unavailable until the authorization expires. Or you could load up the Kindle with the free books from MR.

01-20-2011, 09:35 PM	#3
wvcherrybomb Sharp Shootin' Grandma Posts: 847 Karma: 1123940 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sunny Florida Device: Kindle 3, Kindle Fire, Literati (has been adopted by my daughter)	I would call or email Amazon customer service about it. It doesn't seem like you should have to have a credit card just to register a Kindle and get free books, but I'm really not sure. The only problem with pre-paid cards is they charge you a monthly fee. My husband uses them to play poker on online gambling sites becasue we don't trust them with our real card numbers. He got his from Walmart and I believe it was $3.50 a month to keep it active. It would be cheaper to just open a bank account with $10 or something just to get a debit card.

01-20-2011, 09:49 PM	#4
arcadata Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,230 Karma: 4651787 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle, Kindle Fire, iPad, iPod Touch, Sony PRS-350	@elizilla, You don't need to have any credit card or even any gift cards attached to your account to be able to download the Amazon free Kindle books. (And I know that because I set up an account like that just for the free Kindle books) Except for pre-orders of free Kindle books, then a credit card is needed. But otherwise, your friend will have access to all the free Kindle books.

01-20-2011, 09:50 PM	#5
sbtx99 Zealot Posts: 137 Karma: 1826 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3 Wifi; Red PRS-650; iPod Touch; Android phone	I've used a pre-paid debit card that I got from a rebate to purchase gift cards from Amazon, and then used the gift card balance to purchase books for my Kindle. Other than that, I typically buy Amazon gift cards at the grocery store to use for ebook purchases. More than once, the credit card that I had set up for 1-click purchases had expired, and as long as gift card balance covered the purchase, or I was downloading free books, Amazon didn't complain that the credit card had expired. The only times I've had to update the credit card information on my account was when I was pre-ordering books.

01-21-2011, 11:24 AM	#6
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	Will it let you pre-order books with one of those Pre-paid Visa cards? I have a friend who always pays for her Kindle purchases with Amazon Gift cards. Up until now she has been unable to pre-order books because of no credit card. She wants to know if she buys one of those pre-paid Visa Gift cards and then spends it down to only a couple of dollars left, and then puts than in on her Amazon account as the credit card payment, will she be able to put in book pre-orders?

01-21-2011, 11:45 PM	#11
KindleLinks Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle	No credit card required. I gave a Kindle to my brother, and set it up on Amazon for him. I DL'd a few free games for him for it. Never entered any credit card information. Good thing. He doesn't have any...

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