Amazon gave me free Amazon Coins.

[GA Russell]

I bought some popcorn for my nephew for Christmas, and Amazon surprised me with 300 free Amazon Coins because of it.

The email says that they are to be spent at the Amazon Appstore.

Does this mean that I need to have a smartphone? Can I buy apps at the appstore which will work on my desktop computer?

[wawasteele]

Most of the apps from Amazon's app store run on the Android OS, so a phone or a tablet is needed. I think a few of them might only work on a Kindle tablet. As far as I know, none will run on a Windows or Mac computer.

[pdurrant]

I might be mistaken, but I beleive they're only for the Amazon Fire.

[wawasteele]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I might be mistaken, but I beleive they're only for the Amazon Fire.

I use them on my Android phone and tablet. A Fire isn't needed, except for possibly a few.

[GA Russell]

Thanks, guys!

I have a Kindle, so I'll ask them if the coins are good for that.

I suppose I should have asked them instead of posting this thread!

[GA Russell]

I've just spent the past few minutes at the Amazon site, and it looks to me like I can purchase apps relevant to the Fire Stick I bought.

Of course, my TV is too old to work with that, but it's good to know!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Thanks, guys!

I have a Kindle, so I'll ask them if the coins are good for that.

I suppose I should have asked them instead of posting this thread!

Won't work on the Kindle. The coins are used to buy Android apps from Amazon's appstore. Your 300 coins have a value of $3.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I've just spent the past few minutes at the Amazon site, and it looks to me like I can purchase apps relevant to the Fire Stick I bought.

Of course, my TV is too old to work with that, but it's good to know!

Yep, a very small portion of the apps from the appstore will work with the Fire TV and TV Stick. Also beware that some of those apps require the use of a game controller (another expense).

Your 300 coins will expire in a year - 31 Dec 2015. Be sure to use them or you'll lose them.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I bought some popcorn for my nephew for Christmas, and Amazon surprised me with 300 free Amazon Coins because of it.

The email says that they are to be spent at the Amazon Appstore.

Does this mean that I need to have a smartphone? Can I buy apps at the appstore which will work on my desktop computer?

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Won't work on the Kindle. The coins are used to buy Android apps from Amazon's appstore. Your 300 coins have a value of $3.

Coins . . . I thought that Amazon must have done away with them b/c I haven't seen anything about them lately on their website.

So 300 coins = just $3? 300 sounds like a lot. Reminds me of the "points" that I get on one of my credit cards. I accumulate, say, 10,000 of them and I think, "wow, I've got a lot of points! I can really do something with these!" Only to check the catalog of what I can buy with points and find out that I can buy only a pair of (wooden) chopsticks or something.

It's obvious why Amazon and MasterCard and other companies use such high numbers. If Amazon said that you had 3 coins, you wouldn't think that they would be as valuable as 300.

I'm not complaining (well, maybe about the stupid credit card points), just making an observation and sharing the humor that I see in it.

[Jessica Lares]

Not really that strange. It's just pennies.

300 = $3.00

500 = $5.00

2,000 = $20.00

Same thing with the Amazon Rewards. And remember, you get three points (pennies) per every dollar when buying from Amazon.

Doesn't seem like a lot to begin with, but put it towards something, and it is great. $0.99 can go a longways.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Not really that strange. It's just pennies.

300 = $3.00

500 = $5.00

2,000 = $20.00

Same thing with the Amazon Rewards. And remember, you get three points (pennies) per every dollar when buying from Amazon.

Doesn't seem like a lot to begin with, but put it towards something, and it is great. $0.99 can go a longways.

You're exactly right. I didn't think the whole thing through before responding, and I showed my unfamiliarity with the coins program. Thanks for enlightening me.

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Yep, a very small portion of the apps from the appstore will work with the Fire TV and TV Stick. Also beware that some of those apps require the use of a game controller (another expense).

Your 300 coins will expire in a year - 31 Dec 2015. Be sure to use them or you'll lose them.

Thanks, monkey. I did not know about the expiration date.

I don't expect to ever want to use them, but they were a surprise, so I don't care!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Thanks, monkey. I did not know about the expiration date.

I don't expect to ever want to use them, but they were a surprise, so I don't care!

YW - I have a hard time spending the coins I have. I'm still trying to figure out why Amazon gave me 500 coins last month. They just appeared in my account with no explanation.

Anyway, I just ran across an article that explains more about the coins you received.

Free Amazon Coins for Buying Snacks — 300 coins per item purchased

Amazon has just started a new promotion where you earn Free Amazon Coins with select Grocery items. There are over 300 different items eligible which will earn you 300 coins for each item ordered. There are even some qualifying items that costs less than $3.00, making them essentially free when you factor in the value of the coins earned. Like with all free coin promotions, these free coins will expire 1 year after they’re earned, so you’ll have plenty of time to spend them. What you don’t have much time for is getting in on this promotion since it ends December 31st. So go load up on some munchies and get a bunch of free coins in the process!

Free Amazon Coins with select Grocery items -- Earn Coins on Snacks

Browse hundreds of grocery items eligible for free Amazon Coins now through December 31, 2014. Earn 300 Coins ($3.00 value) for each eligible item you purchase.

.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

So 300 coins = just $3? 300 sounds like a lot. Reminds me of the "points" that I get on one of my credit cards. I accumulate, say, 10,000 of them and I think, "wow, I've got a lot of points! I can really do something with these!" Only to check the catalog of what I can buy with points and find out that I can buy only a pair of (wooden) chopsticks or something.

It's obvious why Amazon and MasterCard and other companies use such high numbers. If Amazon said that you had 3 coins, you wouldn't think that they would be as valuable as 300.

While Amazon's coins program is pretty straightforward, being 1 coin = 1 penny, you're absolutely correct as to why companies use these programs and why many use the high values. It's all about confusing the hell out of the consumer to make it hard to mentally calculate what you're really spending on stuff. People are more likely to overspend that way, and they know it. It's, overall, quite greedy and mercenary.

Even Amazon's, if you buy the coins yourself at a discount, works the same way. If you got them at the normal 10% discount or 20% discount on sale, how much are you really spending when you buy an app for 500 coins? ($4.50 or $4, respectively, but I had to take the time to calculate it. And it gets harder with odd amounts.)

Still, I like Amazon's coin program and even bought some last year since I was planning to buy a bunch of apps. It saved me some money, and I also like that I can share the apps across mine and my mother's devices instead of having to rebuy them for both of us from Google.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Manabi

Still, I like Amazon's coin program and even bought some last year since I was planning to buy a bunch of apps. It saved me some money, and I also like that I can share the apps across mine and my mother's devices instead of having to rebuy them for both of us from Google.

Wish we could spend them on other digital content, because I'm sitting on a ton of coins.