There are plenty of ways to earn free in-store credit on Amazon. They’re called Amazon promotional credits or promo credits, and using them on your next purchase can save you big money.
You can shop on the Amazon app, choose No-Rush Shipping, or offer your receipts back to Amazon so you can stockpile Amazon promotional credit for future purchases. It’s super easy, though there are a few ways to lose Amazon credit if you don’t use it correctly. But don’t worry. I’ll walk you through all the ins and outs below, and share some tips on how to maximize your earnings.
Don’t forget to bookmark our Amazon Deals page to get the best deals on Amazon best-sellers, especially if you have Amazon promotional credit to use! And be sure to check out our tips on how you can get free stuff on Amazon. You can also text HACKS to 57299 for exclusive money-saving tips.
Take advantage of this timely promo now.
Any customers who use Amazon Photos app for the first time and upload a photo can get a $20 promotional credit off their first eligible order of $40 or more on Amazon.com.
The offer runs now through Feb. 29, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. PT, and the promotional credit will expire on March 15, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Note that this is a limited-time offer and it's only for customers who complete the required criteria. Amazon will tell you if you're eligible once you try to sign up.
What are Amazon promotional credits?
Amazon promo credits are basically rewards that you can get in the form of codes, gift cards, or credit. You get these rewards through a special timely offer, and the rewards get fed into your promotional balance on your Amazon account.
How else can I earn promotional credit on Amazon?
Make sure to check out the offer above so you can earn promotional credit today.
Otherwise, Amazon likes to add some extra ways to wrack up promotional credits throughout the year. Many of these deals are limited to Prime members. It’s worth noting that in a few cases, these promotional credits can only be used during Prime Day or other major shopping events. If you’re looking to save more during Prime Day specifically, be sure to check out our article on Prime Day credits.
Purchase necessities when Amazon offers special promotions.
Amazon tends to offer many opportunities to earn promotional credit when you purchase select merchandise and reach certain thresholds in these purchases. For example, in Sept. 2023, Amazon offered up a $5 Amazon credit promo when you purchased $20 or more in select merchandise.
They also offered a $5 when you purchased a canister of 540 Water Wipes wipes priced at $25.65 each. So it was more or less a 20% savings. To get an even lower out-of-pocket price, you could stack the promotion with the 15% Subscribe & Save discount. After shipment was complete, shoppers received an email from Amazon that indicated the dollar amount of the promotional credit and that the dollar amount of the credit had been added to their customer account. This offer was limited to one per customer and account. Here’s how the math worked out:
Choose “No Rush” shipping to get an Amazon digital credit.
Not in a huge hurry? (Sometimes this can take up to six days.) You can earn Amazon credits for selecting No-Rush Shipping. These credits sit in your Amazon account, waiting to be applied to your next purchase.
Keep in mind that certain promotional credit offers only apply to digital purchases like eBooks, music, videos, and apps. But I’ve also seen No-Rush credit go straight to my Amazon account to be used on any Amazon Warehouse purchase too. Double-check the type of credit you’re getting by clicking the Details button when choosing No-Rush or Amazon Day Delivery.
TIP: Amazon offers Day Delivery for promotional credit too. It just means you’ll receive all your Amazon orders on a Tuesday every week — or whatever day you choose that is best for you. It works when you’re heading out of town or trying to, ahem, collect the packages yourself all at once instead of being surprised by a new pile of boxes outside your door every day.
You can occasionally earn $5 in promo credits when you purchase an Amazon gift card.
Of course, you should send the gift cards to yourself! Clearly.
Amazon tends to run this deal around Prime Day, but we’ve seen it make a surprise reappearance at other times of the year too. (Only select accounts are eligible.) The terms are usually the same each time: buy at least $50 in Amazon gift cards and make sure you select a digital delivery method during checkout. This offer doesn’t typically apply to physical gift cards.
Reload your Amazon balance with at least $100 and get a $10 credit.
Have you ever reloaded an Amazon Balance before? If not, now’s the time.
If you’re a first-timer, reload your Amazon balance with at least $100 and they’ll give you a $10 credit. This is a one-and-done, so it only works the first time you use Amazon Reload.
Trade in your dusty old tech to get up to $30 in free Amazon credits.
Using Amazon Trade-In is a great way to get Amazon gift cards. Of course, these gift cards are digital, so they’re basically free credits that will go toward whatever you purchase next on Amazon.
The amount of your gift card depends on your item. You’ll also get access to a promo code (20% off) on whatever type of device you sent in. So, I sent in an Echo and got a code for 20% off a new Echo. Here are some examples of common trade-in values:
Echo Show: 1st Generation Black, $30 Amazon gift card
Ring Video Doorbell 2 with HD Video, $15 Amazon gift card
All Amazon Fire TV devices & Fire TV Sticks, $0.99 Amazon gift card (even in bad condition with no accessories)
Echo (3rd Gen), $25 Amazon gift card
Learn more about how Amazon Trade-In works.
Watch for free $3-5 Kindle credits when you buy a qualifying Kindle book.
This isn’t a sure thing, because it’s by invitation only and you never really know when it’s coming. But every now and then, you might stumble upon free Amazon credits when you buy certain Kindle books. I bought a Kindle book and six weeks later, I received an email informing me I had a $5 Kindle credit to spend.
These credits only apply to another Kindle purchase (minimum price: $10) and are usually purchased by the same author. So, since I bought a William Faulkner book, I was able to choose from six Faulkner titles when I tapped “Shop Now.”
RELATED: Here’s How You Can Get Free eBooks on Stuff Your Kindle Day
Can I get free Amazon credit by using the Shopkick app?
Shopkick is a rebate app that offers “kicks” (or points) when you take certain actions either at a store or from home. Actions include walking into stores, scanning items, or making select purchases.
Once you earn enough kicks, you can redeem them for Amazon gift cards.
Get more details about how Shopkick works.
I heard you can get $10 Amazon credit once a month. How does that work?
The Amazon Shopper Panel is a voluntary program where you submit 10 non-Amazon receipts per month in exchange for a maximum of $10 in Amazon credit. You can earn even more by completing surveys. (So far, the surveys have been one question long, and each is worth $0.50.)
It’s invite-only, but you can join the waitlist (and I only had to wait a day to be approved). Download the Amazon Shopper Panel app (iOS / Android) to get started.
RELATED: Here's How to Earn an Extra $12 A Month With Amazon Shopper Panel
Where do I find my Amazon credits? How do I redeem my promotional credit on Amazon?
Check your promotional credit balance in the Amazon app.
You can find your promotional credit balance in the Amazon app under the Payments section. There is a specific No-Rush Reward Balance section you’ll want to check out too.
Look for promotional credit in your account after your order ships.
It’s tempting to look for the promotional credit to appear in your account after you complete an order to earn the credit.
But Amazon’s promotional credit won’t show up in your account until after your order ships.
Once you get that email saying your order has shipped, you’ll also get an email stating the amount of promotional credit that has been added to your account. The email will have instructions on how to use the credit, including an expiration date.
Use your credit or debit card on file to cover whatever the Amazon promotional credit won’t.
If you have $10 in promotional credit but want to purchase something for $20, you can easily pay for half with the credit and half with whatever payment method you have on file.
Promotional credit often works on taxes too, depending on the type you earned.
Does Amazon promotional credit expire?
Yes, Amazon promotional credit does expire.
The expiration date depends on a few things, but typically you’ll have 30 days to use the credit. Find your credit’s expiration date in the credit confirmation email or your account balance on your Amazon app.
Amazon Promotional Credits Restrictions
Only buy items you plan to keep with promotional credit.
Oftentimes, you won’t get promotional credit back if you return whatever you purchased with it.
So use your promotional credit to purchase items you know you’ll want to keep like household staples. Skip clothing, shoes, or anything else that might not work!
TIP: I have chatted with Amazon customer service reps to retrieve my promotional credit back after I had to return an item I purchased using credit. I’m not saying this will work every time, but they were kind enough to put it back on my account when I contacted Amazon and asked nicely!
Gifting Amazon promotional credit isn’t allowed.
Promotional credit doesn’t work like a gift card. It applies to your account, and your account only. You can’t transfer it.
You also can’t use promotional credit to purchase gift cards, so don’t expect any loopholes on this one.
TIP: The only way to gift your credit would be to purchase an item on Amazon using credit and have Amazon ship it straight to their address.
Promotional credit can’t be used on software orders.
Some third-party sellers won’t accept Amazon’s promotional credit, but you’ll see that indicated on the product page of whatever you’re trying to buy. That said, promotional credit can’t be used on software.