Amazon Cash - add $50 by 5/31, get $10 digital credit

[sufue]

I noticed this offer in my Amazon splash screen today. Apparently Amazon Cash has been around since March, but I hadn't heard about it until I saw this. Basically it's a way you can send a bar code to your phone (or print it on paper if you are truly old school) and then go in to a number of stores and add money to your Amazon account by giving the store some cash and having them scan the bar code.

And there is an offer right now that if you add $50 to your Amazon Cash account by May 31 (yeah, I know, really soon), you get a $10 digital credit to spend by June 30. I'm not positive that the offer is available to everyone, but it seems to imply that. Although I don't recognize all of the stores, so some might be Canadian, I suspect this is US only.

Here are the details, copied from the splash screen:

Promotion Details:
With Amazon Cash, you can add cash to your Amazon Balance at thousands of stores like CVS, Speedway, Sheetz, and more. For a limited time, add $50 or more to your Amazon Balance using Amazon Cash and earn a $10 digital credit towards select digital categories.
After you add $50 or more to your Amazon Balance using Amazon Cash, you will receive an email confirming that your $10 digital credit has automatically been added to your Amazon account. To use your credit, simply purchase an eligible product from one of the following digital categories: Appstore, Kindle books, Digital Video, Digital Music, Digital Software, and Digital Video Games. Your discount will automatically be applied at checkout.
This is a limited time offer, one per Amazon customer account. The promotional credit expires on June 30, 2017.

And also from the website, the list of stores includes: CVS Pharmacy, Speedway, Kum & Go, DW Fresh Market, Sheetz, Family Faire, and VG's Grocery.

And here's a link to the page: https://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.htm..._i=14583169011

I haven't tried the offer yet, but plan to do so tomorrow. I did sign up for the bar code, and found that I had to update the Amazon Shopping app on my phone for it to work.

Anyway, YMMV, but if it works, it's a nice little bonus...

[HarryT]

It doesn't appear to be something that's available at Amazon UK.

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of it, if you can only add cash to your own Amazon account. Is this aimed at people who don't have credit cards?

[sufue]

Yes, one of the articles I read when I googled it said it is aimed at folks without credit cards. I myself don't quite get the difference between using your $50 cash at the store to buy an Amazon gift card and adding the gift card to your own account, although I guess once you get the bar code added to your Amazon app, Amazon Cash would be a smidge easier, since you don't have to actually scratch off the claim code area on the card and add the claim code by hand.

In any case, I'm willing to take their $10 to do it once...

Originally Posted by HarryT

It doesn't appear to be something that's available at Amazon UK.

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of it, if you can only add cash to your own Amazon account. Is this aimed at people who don't have credit cards?

[HarryT]

I guess perhaps the range of places it's available is wider than those selling gift vouchers? I know of only one shop around me who sells Amazon vouchers (my local supermarket). If you need a Smartphone app, though, how many people are likely to have a Smartphone, but no credit card? Teenagers, maybe? Probably not too many other people.

Anyway, as you say, if they're giving you $10, I'd go for it! I spend at least $50 at Amazon every month.

[sufue]

It sounds as if it's a lot easier to buy Amazon gift cards here in the US - many supermarket /grocery chains, many pharmacy/drugstore chains, and some other stores all have them readily available. In this specific list of stores, the only one I'm really familiar with is CVS, which is a major pharmacy/drugstore chain, and they definitely sell Amazon gift cards. Several of the others appear to be grocery stores, and I bet many/all of those sell Amazon gift cards too.

I guess Amazon thinks they've spotted a niche that is underserved, but I'm skeptical too. I can easily imagine folks who don't have either a credit or debit card wanting to shop at Amazon, but I can't imagine that there are that many who don't already go the gift card route, as my son did when he was a teenager not so long ago. Still, it's their market, and they must see something they think is worth the effort to set this up.

Myself, I doubt I will ever use Amazon Cash a second time unless they offer more deals, but other folks may feel differently.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I guess perhaps the range of places it's available is wider than those selling gift vouchers? I know of only one shop around me who sells Amazon vouchers (my local supermarket). If you need a Smartphone app, though, how many people are likely to have a Smartphone, but no credit card? Teenagers, maybe? Probably not too many other people.

Anyway, as you say, if they're giving you $10, I'd go for it! I spend at least $50 at Amazon every month.

[tubemonkey]

I've only heard of 1 of the 7 stores listed - CVS Pharmacy and the CVS Pharmacies around me are excluded because they're located inside Target.

So even if I wanted to participate in this offer, I can't.

It's rather telling that there are no major chain stores participating in this program.

[Catlady]

I'm reading the FAQ, and I still have no idea what the heck they're talking about. I may be especially dense this morning, as I'm still only on my first cup of coffee, but what is the Amazon Balance they're talking about, to which the cash gets added? And then where can I use this Amazon Balance? At Amazon, or only at the listed stores (of which CVS is my only option)?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm reading the FAQ, and I still have no idea what the heck they're talking about. I may be especially dense this morning, as I'm still only on my first cup of coffee, but what is the Amazon Balance they're talking about, to which the cash gets added? And then where can I use this Amazon Balance? At Amazon, or only at the listed stores (of which CVS is my only option)?

The gift card balance on your Amazon account. Anything you buy from Amazon will be paid for from this balance, if it's non-zero.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm reading the FAQ, and I still have no idea what the heck they're talking about. I may be especially dense this morning, as I'm still only on my first cup of coffee, but what is the Amazon Balance they're talking about, to which the cash gets added? And then where can I use this Amazon Balance? At Amazon, or only at the listed stores (of which CVS is my only option)?

The way I read it, the $50 is a credit balance good for any purchase at Amazon. The $10 is a typical digital credit with exceptions and an expiration date.

[sufue]

That's the way I'm reading it too. I'll know more after I stop by my local CVS on my way home from work tomorrow. I'm half-expecting the staff there to have not been briefed on this and to have no clue about it. (If this were Kobo, I'd be sure they'd have no clue, but maybe since it's Amazon... )

Originally Posted by issybird

The way I read it, the $50 is a credit balance good for any purchase at Amazon. The $10 is a typical digital credit with exceptions and an expiration date.

[sufue]

Down here in sunny SoCal, there are tons of CVS stores around, mostly stand-alone and only a few inside Target. And I've seen stand-alone stores in other areas (Houston, upstate NY, Atlanta, Wash DC) while traveling for business - they are one of my go-tos for when my toothpaste runs out or I forgot my brush . So I would have thought they were a nationwide chain - I'm really surprised (and sad for you) that they are only in Target stores near you. I agree though that I've never heard of the rest of the stores...

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I've only heard of 1 of the 7 stores listed - CVS Pharmacy and the CVS Pharmacies around me are excluded because they're located inside Target.

So even if I wanted to participate in this offer, I can't.

It's rather telling that there are no major chain stores participating in this program.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by sufue

Down here in sunny SoCal, there are tons of CVS stores around, mostly stand-alone and only a few inside Target. And I've seen stand-alone stores in other areas (Houston, upstate NY, Atlanta, Wash DC) while traveling for business. So I would have thought they were a nationwide chain - I'm really surprised (and sad for you) that they are only in Target stores near you. I agree though that I've never heard of the rest of the stores...

There are some stand-alones in the Seattle area, but nothing really close to me. I'd have to go out of my way to get to one. Besides, I'd be forced to spend the $10 credit on something I don't need.

All-in-all, it's just not worth the hassle to me.

[Catlady]

OK, thanks for getting through to my foggy brain.

I don't have an Amazon shopping app on my phone and no room to add it or anything else, so I opted to print out the barcode, though I'm not sure if I'll make it over to CVS before the end date.

[sufue]

I actually ended up doing this last night - I had to run an errand to another store in the same shopping center as our local CVS.

I was right that the staff had not heard of this, however it was really simple. Literally they just scan the code, you hand them the cash, and they complete the transaction. By the time I got home I had an email confirming the $50 "deposit" and another email confirming the $10 bonus.

Once the staff figured it out, and assuming you have an eligible store nearby, I have to admit it was easier than buying a gift card with cash, scratching the card to get the claim code, logging in, and entering the claim code by hand. However, was it THAT much easier, to bring Amazon that many more customers (or more spend from existing customers), to make it worth their investment to set this up? I'm sort of not convinced, but I guess time will tell. Amazon is not shy about pulling the plug on things that don't work, like Amazon Underground...

[sufue]

And amazingly enough, I just logged onto Amazon this morning, and the $10 ebook credit shows up under the "Buy" button. When I hover over it, it shows the amount, the expiration date and this little blurb:

How it works
Credit(s) will be automatically applied to your next qualifying eBook purchase. Credit does not apply to Audible narration.

Confirmation of usage will appear on the Order Summary page. Any remaining credit will carry over to the next qualifying eBook purchase.

This is a big improvement over having to go to another part of the site to check on your various credits, which is how it was the last time I had a credit! I don't know if Prime no-rush shipping credits will show up here, since it's been a while (boo!) since I was offered an ebook credit for no-rush, rather than a Pantry credit, but it's nice to have this way to track the amount. (Not that I was worried about spending $10 in ebook credit in one month )