Amazon gift cards are a popular and convenient way to shop on the world’s largest online marketplace. Whether received as a birthday gift, promotion, or survey reward, they provide an easy way to purchase millions of items. But a common question among users is: Can you transfer your Amazon gift card balance to another account? In this article, we explore the nuances of Amazon’s policies and your options if you’re looking to share or move a balance.
TL;DR: No, you cannot directly transfer Amazon gift card balances between accounts once they are redeemed. Amazon’s terms of service strictly prohibit balance transfers to prevent fraud and misuse. However, there are limited workarounds you can consider, such as buying an item and sending it as a gift or returning items purchased with a gift card balance. Still, these methods come with some caveats and risks.
Understanding Amazon Gift Cards and Their Restrictions
Amazon gift cards are essentially digital or physical credits that can be redeemed to your Amazon account. Once added, the balance becomes part of your account and is available for future purchases. However, it’s critical to understand that once a gift card is redeemed, it is non-transferable.
- Non-transferable: A balance cannot be moved from one Amazon account to another.
- Non-refundable: Amazon does not offer to reverse gift card redemptions under normal circumstances.
- No cash-outs: Gift card balances can’t be withdrawn as cash or sent to a bank account.
This rigid policy is part of Amazon’s methods to minimize fraudulent activity and maintain the integrity of its gift card system.
Why Doesn’t Amazon Allow Balance Transfers?
There’s a solid rationale behind Amazon’s tough stance on gift card balance transfers. The company’s restrictions aim to guard against various types of fraud. Here are a few key reasons:
- Preventing fraud: Many scammers attempt to steal gift card balances through phishing or social engineering. Making balances non-transferable deters such activity.
- Protecting users: If accounts were allowed to freely transfer balances, legitimate users could be tricked into sending their funds to scammers impersonating friends or support agents.
- Regulatory compliance: Gift cards are considered prepaid stored value instruments in many jurisdictions, and their use is often regulated as such.
These policies are built into Amazon’s Gift Card Terms and Conditions.
Workarounds and Alternative Solutions
Although you can’t directly transfer a redeemed balance to another account, there are a few indirect methods that people commonly use. None are officially recommended or endorsed by Amazon, but they can be practical depending on your situation.
1. Purchase a Gift and Send It
This is one of the easiest and safest ways to share your gift card balance. You can simply order something on Amazon using your balance and have it shipped to the intended recipient’s address.
Steps:
- Add the item to your cart and proceed to checkout.
- Enter the recipient’s address as the shipping destination.
- Choose “This is a gift” if you want to include a personalized message or gift-wrapping.
Pros: Simple, safe, and Amazon-friendly.
Cons: Limited to physical products, and recipient can’t choose the item.
2. Return an Item Bought with Gift Card Balance
If you’ve used your gift card to purchase something recently, and it’s still eligible for return, you might receive a refund in the form of a new gift card or promotional balance. In that case, it may be possible to use that redemption code on another account.
Important: This loophole depends heavily on timing and Amazon’s refund policy for the specific item. Also, this method isn’t guaranteed to work and could potentially flag your account for suspicious activity if misused.
Pros: Potentially allows shifting balances in specific cases.
Cons: Unreliable and not recommended for regular use.
3. Buy Another Gift Card
Some users try to use their balance to buy another Amazon gift card and then send that to the recipient. However, Amazon explicitly prohibits using an existing gift card balance to purchase new gift cards.
Result: This method simply won’t work — Amazon won’t let you complete checkout with this payment combo.
4. Sell or Trade Responsibly (Use Caution)
In rare cases, people try to sell their full Amazon account to someone else or exchange goods/services in exchange for the recipient making use of the balance. This is highly discouraged as:
- It violates Amazon’s terms of service.
- Your account could be permanently suspended.
- You may be scammed.
We recommend extreme caution against attempting such indirect transfers.
What Happens to Gift Cards Sent to the Wrong Account?
If you sent a gift card to the wrong email address or account before it has been redeemed, you’re in luck. You can contact Amazon Support and request cancellation of the gift card. If it hasn’t been used, Amazon can usually help you recover it.
Helpful tip: Make sure any digital gift card is only emailed to a verified address.
Gift Card Balance on Amazon Business Accounts
Another area of confusion surrounds Amazon Business accounts. Users sometimes assume that business accounts have different rules, especially when it comes to transferring balances among corporate teams. However, the same rules apply.
Even in a business setup:
- Each Amazon account has its own, isolated gift card balance.
- Transferred employees or users cannot take their balances with them to a new business account.
Tip: Consider setting up shared purchasing workflows within Amazon Business to avoid these issues from arising.
Is Amazon Ever Going to Change Its Policy?
While no one can predict with certainty how Amazon may evolve, it’s unlikely that they will ever allow gift card balance transfers between accounts. The risks of abuse outweigh the convenience it would provide a subset of users.
That said, Amazon is known to adapt its policies in response to changing consumer behaviors. If enough users request features such as “gifting an unused balance”, the company might explore alternative models in the future.
Final Thoughts
In summary, you cannot transfer Amazon gift card balances to another account once they are redeemed. Amazon is very strict about this policy for valid reasons, including security and fraud prevention. While there are a few workarounds like using the balance to send gifts directly or potentially returning items for a refund, these are not official solutions and come with their own caveats.
If you ever find yourself unsure about what to do with an Amazon gift card balance, the best course of action is to use it yourself or buy a thoughtful gift for someone else. When gifting directly next time, consider sending a digital gift card to the correct email address with a personalized message—that way, you won’t need to worry about transferring balances at all.