Amazon US spend $XX get $YY credit - Aug 5-12

[sufue]

Amazon US is at it again with the "Spend $XX, get $YY credit" thing. This looks totally similar to the last few times they have done this. Sometimes this offer has showed up in my email and sometimes as a banner ad. This time it showed up as a banner ad. The amounts sometimes seem to vary by person - this time, for me, it's $8 credit for $30 purchase, which is more than a 25% credit. This works great for me, since I'll have no trouble making the purchases (I have a couple of expensive non-fiction books I've had my eye on), or using the credit. It does say it's by invite only, but Amazon usually seems to spread the invites pretty widely...

Here's the info from the webpage that clicking on the ad led me to:

Start shopping for eBooks

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do I get my eBook credit?
Customers receive their eBook credit after spending the specified amount on any eBooks between August 5 and August 12 (in one or multiple transactions). You must activate your offer during the offer period in order for your purchases to count.

What if I haven't activated the offer?
If you have landed on this page without clicking on the offer email or offer push notification sent by us directly to you or without clicking on the offer banner on Amazon.com, please click here - Get offer, wait for this page to reload and start shopping for Kindle Books

Which eBooks count towards the offer?
Any eBook that you purchase on Amazon.com during the offer period will count, including eBook gift orders, bulk eBook orders, and pre-orders that are fulfilled during the offer period. Activation can occur at any time during the offer period. Pre-orders that are fulfilled outside of the offer period are excluded from this offer.

When is the offer period?
The offer period is between August 5 and August 12, 2020.

When do I get my credit?
Your credit will be automatically applied to your account within 4 days after spending the specified amount on any Kindle eBooks. We will notify you via email once your credit has been applied to your account.

How do I use my eBook credit?
Your eBook credit is automatically redeemed on your next eBook purchase. Any eBook sold on Amazon.com is eligible for this credit.

When does my eBook credit expire?
Your eBook credit expires at 11.59 PM (PST) on August 12 2020.

Limited-time offer. Terms and conditions apply.

and the terms and conditions...

eBook Offer Terms & Conditions
• This offer is by invitation only. • This is a limited time offer. • Offer applies to all Kindle eBooks made available through Amazon.com and Smile.amazon.com, including eBook gift purchases and bulk eBook orders that are redeemed within the offer period. • Offer does not apply to eBook pre-orders, physical goods, digital magazines, audiobooks (including Audible companions for your Kindle eBook purchase), print books, or digital subscriptions such as Kindle Unlimited. • To receive a promotional credit, you must (1) activate the offer any time during the offer period and (2) purchase the specified amount on any Kindle eBooks between 12:00 AM PST on August 5 and 11:59 PM PST on August 12, 2020. You will then receive a promotional credit, and this credit will be automatically applied to your next Kindle eBook purchase. Any Kindle eBook sold on Amazon.com is eligible for this credit. • Offer limited to one per customer and account. • Offer is non-transferable and may not be resold. • Digital content and services may only be available to customers located in the U.S. and are subject to the terms and conditions of Amazon Digital Services LLC. • Within 4 days of activating the offer and spending the specified amount on Kindle eBooks, you will receive an e-mail from Amazon that indicates that the promotional credit has been applied to your customer account. The e-mail will also provide instructions on how to redeem the promotional credit. You can view your available eBook credit balance on any Kindle eBook detail page. • Promotional credit expires 30 days after it is applied to your account. • Taxes and add-on purchases to the qualifying purchase (like an Audible companion) do not apply when determining minimum purchase amount. • Amazon reserves the right to modify or cancel the offer at any time. • If any of the products or content related to this offer are returned, your refund will equal the amount you paid for the product or content, subject to applicable refund policies.

There's a mis-match between the FAQ, which say the promotional credit expires Aug 12, which is also the last day to earn the credit, which doesn't make much sense, and the T&Cs, which say the credit will expire 30 days after it is applied to your account, which makes a lot more sense. I'm busy right now, but will ask Customer Service about this later.

It's also nice to note that, so long as you activate the offer during the earn period, all your purchases during that period count. I like that.

[sufue]

Oh, and the link to the page I got by clicking on the banner ad is: https://www.amazon.com/b?node=17495918011

I don't know if this can be used to check to see if someone is eligible or if it's keyed to me, and will just blow up? Maybe someone can let us know...

[ZodWallop]

Spend $30, get $8. That's higher than the usual $20/$5

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Spend $30, get $8. That's higher than the usual $20/$5

It’s a marginally better deal; if you hit the amounts exactly, you’d save 21% instead of 20%. Of course it’s the exactness that’s the issue. $8 is probably easier for me to get close to than $5. The real drawback to this in comparison to $20/$5 is that the outlay is so much greater; 50% more up front, plus whatever overage on the $8.

I’m thinking, I’m thinking. As always, I have Big Five nonfiction books that will never get cheaper and this would let me save something on them. But do I want to spend over $30 in one fell swoop? it’s a question of how badly I want to read some of the books in the near future, instead of waiting on developments down the line.

The kicker is that I’ve still got some credit at Kobo that was purchased at a 20% discount and I’m in the VIP program. But the credit will run out soon, and jumping on this offer will stretch it out.

I can resist Daily Deal-type deals, but when it’s a case of the books I pick for myself, I tend to be weak. I suspect I’ll cave, but it’s not a dead cert.

[Fbone]

My offer says buy $10, get $3 credit.

[Dr. Drib]

Another GREAT bargain and HUGE savings!

The savings of 25% [+] savings (through the necessary purchase) is a remarkable value.

[dandelioncottage]

Does anyone know if Kindle books paid for with an Amazon gift card count toward the $30?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by issybird

But do I want to spend over $30 in one fell swoop?

Why one fell swoop? You have a week to make purchases.

it’s a question of how badly I want to read some of the books in the near future, instead of waiting on developments down the line...

I can resist Daily Deal-type deals, but when it’s a case of the books I pick for myself, I tend to be weak. I suspect I’ll cave, but it’s not a dead cert.

I'm a less responsible buyer than you

I used it as an excuse to pick up some books that have been on my list for a long time and just haven't seemed to ever drop.

[ilovejedd]

Aww, I'm not eligible.

[badgoodDeb]

I got two emails similar to this. The SHOP NOW button on this one sent me to exactly one book, which I'm not overly interested in right now. The other email went to a group of books by a certain author -- none of which appealed to me, beside the one I already bought, that spurred the offer. Sigh.

Enjoy this $5 credit we applied to your account to use on a select title on your Wish List.

Your credit will expire 7 days from when it was applied to your account.

See the $5 credit automatically applied when you visit the Kindle book detail page.

[bookmarked]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I got two emails similar to this. The SHOP NOW button on this one sent me to exactly one book, which I'm not overly interested in right now. The other email went to a group of books by a certain author -- none of which appealed to me, beside the one I already bought, that spurred the offer. Sigh.

I've also recently gotten two offers like this and had a similar reaction. These offers are the latest incarnation of the Penguin-Random House offers that used to be good for $5 off many PRH ebooks $9.99 or more. Now they're only good for a specific title or a very small number of titles by a single author.

OTOH, I'm not eligible for the "spend $XX get $YY credit" offer that prompted this thread. Presumably it's either because I got the PRH offers or because I'm also doing the "Kindle August Reading Challenge" (Read 10 days in August, get $5 in eBook credit), yet another offer. BTW, the reading challenge is definitely targeted to specific accounts with a unique URL, otherwise I'd have shared.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by bookmarked

I've also recently gotten two offers like this and had a similar reaction. These offers are the latest incarnation of the Penguin-Random House offers that used to be good for $5 off many PRH ebooks $9.99 or more. Now they're only good for a specific title or a very small number of titles by a single author.

OTOH, I'm not eligible for the "spend $XX get $YY credit" offer that prompted this thread. Presumably it's either because I got the PRH offers or because I'm also doing the "Kindle August Reading Challenge" (Read 10 days in August, get $5 in eBook credit), yet another offer. BTW, the reading challenge is definitely targeted to specific accounts with a unique URL, otherwise I'd have shared.

I’ve got the PRH $5 offer on two books recently also. The first was a wishlist book and I took it. The second was one of those “based on your reading” type things; no, thanks. But I also got the spend $30 offer. The ways of Amazon are opaque.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Why one fell swoop? You have a week to make purchases.

$30 in a week counts as a swoop to me.

I used it as an excuse to pick up some books that have been on my list for a long time and just haven't seemed to ever drop.

Yep. I’m close to cracking; I’ve got three books picked out, I just have to decide if I want to swap out one of them. I still hope I can resist, though; see swoop.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by bookmarked

I'm not eligible for the "spend $XX get $YY credit" offer that prompted this thread. Presumably it's either because I got the PRH offers...

It's not that. I am eligible for the $30/$8 offer and a few day ago I got an email offering me $5 discounts on a couple of James Baldwin books based on my purchase of If Beale Street Could Talk.

[disconnected]

Originally Posted by issybird

The kicker is that I’ve still got some credit at Kobo that was purchased at a 20% discount and I’m in the VIP program.

That sounds really useful. I never get offers like that. How did you find it?

All I ever get from Kobo are random 20% codes that never seem to work on anything. Possibly they can tell from the size of my library that I don't require any incentives beyond the VIP program.