At BluePromoCode, many of us will admit to a bit of an Amazon.com addiction. It's too convenient, and there are too many great deals to be had. But what if you didn't actually have to use your hard-earned money in order to buy things on Amazon.com?
Earn Amazon.com Gift Certificates With Apps
There are a number of different apps for your smartphone there that are vying for your attention. Best of all, they're free. In exchange for using them, they'll reward you with points that you can use towards Amazon.com gift certificates, whether it's $1, $25, or more. Here's just a small sampling of apps that will pay you back - the way they all work is pretty simple - do x thing on the app, earn points, and trade the points in for the gift certificates or rewards of your choice.
Browse The Web, Answer Surveys, & Earn Gift Certificates
Earn points for the things you do online anyway, including browsing the web, shopping, watching videos, and playing games. In addition, you can answer surveys about your consumption habits to earn more points that you can trade in for rewards.
Trade In Unused Gift Cards For Amazon.com Gift Certificates
Everyone has at least a few unused gift cards lying around in their drawers. According to a 2011 NPR story, $41 billion in gift cards have gone unredeemed since 2005. That's a lot of unused cash!
Every state has their own laws about whether a gift card can be allowed to expire. If you're lucky enough to live in California, most gift cards cannot expire. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the laws in your own state. Check the terms and fine print on your gift cards.
Then, once you've looked them over, take them to a gift card trading site, and trade them in for Amazon.com gift certificates, which will usually yield a higher value than straight cash or other gift cards. Here are a few sites that will help you trade in your unused gift cards
You should note that many of these sites will require you to mail in the actual gift card in order to earn the cash or Amazon.com gift certificate. If you're uncomfortable mailing in your gift cards, there are a few sites that will allow you to sell your gift cards in person, at a grocery store, or in the mall. Check the site for terms and conditions.
Use Your Credit Card To Earn Amazon.com Gift Certificates
This method is by far the easiest way to earn Amazon.com gift certificates, because you need to use your credit card to pay bills, buy groceries, and run the household anyway. The most obvious method is to sign up for the Amazon.com Visa card, which will come with a $30 Amazon.com gift card upon approval. The Amazon.com Visa card gives you three points for every dollar spent at Amazon.com, two points for every dollar spent at gas stations, restaurants, and drug stores, and one point for all other purchases. You need to earn 100 points for every Amazon.com dollar.
Simple, right? However, it might be the best way to maximize the returns on Amazon.com gift certificates. LifeHacker discovered that you can actually earn more with the Citi Forward Visa, and the American Express Blue Cash Preferred credit cards. However, they come with a few tricky caveats.
Citi Forward uses its own rewards program, called the Thank You Rewards program, instead of the straight cash-to-points equivalent, which might be a little confusing for new users. It's great for people who like entertainment; you'll be rewarded for dining out and shopping. Amazon.com customers will earn 5 points for every dollar spent at Amazon.com, because Citi Forward classifies those purchases as bookstore purchases.
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred card may end up paying out the highest in returns, as it rewards grocery shoppers with 6% in returns on supermarket purchases. You can maximize savings by purchasing Amazon.com gift certificates in grocery stores, but you may have to do some math to figure out whether the returns are worth it.
Check the terms of your current credit cards; you may be able to earn more in Amazon.com rewards by using them instead of signing up for a new one. As CreditCardGuru discovered, one of his credit cards gives 5% cashback on purchases in certain categories, one of which was office supply stores. That meant that if he purchased an Amazon.com gift card at a place like Office Depot, he earned five points back on his credit card, instead of the three that Amazon offers on their rewards card.
You should also note that credit cards that provide rewards often carry high APR interest rates, so it's best for people who generally do not carry a balance from month to month.
Cash In Your Coins At Coinstar
Ok, so technically, this isn't really free. But if you have a few piggy banks filled up with years and years of coins, isn't it about time you hauled it in and traded it for something of value? Find a Coinstar machine, and trade your coins in for an Amazon.com gift certificate, and you'll get the exact value back, with no fees deducted. Coinstar occasionally has offers where you can put in a minimum value of coins, and earn a free $10 gift certificate. Usually this special offer appears around the winter holidays, so keep an eye out for it in November.
Become An Amazon.com Affiliate
If you have a blog or website, you might want to consider becoming an Amazon.com affiliate, especially if you have a bit of traffic. You'll earn money, not just on the items you link to, but on the total amount that people buy once they've clicked over to Amazon.com from your site. As you sell more products, you'll be able to earn more. You can cash out Amazon.com certificates at $10; otherwise you'll have to wait until you earn $100 for a cash return. It's definitely not a get-rich-quick kind of program (unless you are a total pro), but for linking to products you like, it's not a bad return on investment.
