However, there are some instances when fees may apply when purchasing gift cards from Amazon:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- If you purchase an Anytime Amazon gift card<\/strong><\/a>, you will have to pay for the shipping charges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If you purchase a physical Amazon gift card from a store and personally ship it to your family, shipping and handling fees may apply.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- In some rare cases, if you use a credit card to purchase an Amazon gift card, your credit card issuer may charge a cash advance fee.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If you purchase a non-Amazon gift card from Amazon (such as a Visa Gift Card<\/strong><\/a>), a purchasing fee may apply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, if you use an international credit card to purchase an Amazon gift card, you will be charged a currency exchange fee. This is especially applicable if you plan to buy a gift card for your loved one in another country<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you purchase a physical Amazon gift card from Amazon, you will get a FREE one-day shipping if you choose the \u201cone-day shipping\u201d option at checkout. However, keep in mind that you will have to pay for the shipping if you buy an Anytime gift card<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the recipient receives the gift card, it can be easily activated and the balance can be applied to the Amazon account. There are no charges for activation of the Amazon gift card. So, once the card is redeemed, the recipient receives the full value of the card in their Amazon account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another thing to note is that Amazon gift cards never expire. Furthermore, Amazon gift cards don\u2019t even have any inactivity fee; a fee that is often charged by traditional cards if your card is not used for a certain period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Doesn\u2019t An Amazon Gift Card Have Any Fees?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is a great question! Not having a fee and an expiration date makes Amazon gift cards a great gifting solution!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To understand why Amazon gift cards don\u2019t have any fees, we need to know why prepaid cards, gift cards or other credit cards charge a fee in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Generally speaking, traditional gift cards\/credit cards are designed to be used across merchants. Meaning, a VISA gift card can be swiped at any store checkout and can be used to pay any retail store irrespective of what bank they use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are often multiple third-party channels involved to enable such a transaction and there is a cost to it. As a result, there is often either a transaction fee, annual fee, activation fee, or any other fee involved as a way to recover some of the cost. Most of these cards have a chip or a magnetic strip for processing the payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, if you notice, an Amazon gift card doesn\u2019t have any chip embedded in it. Nor does it have any magnetic strip for swiping on POS machines. This is because an Amazon gift card is essentially designed to be used only on Amazon and not across retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, once you give money to Amazon for the gift card (in other words purchase an Amazon gift card), that money remains within the Amazon system and doesn\u2019t change hands right until you\u2019ve purchased a product!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can think of it this way – when you purchase an Amazon gift card, you\u2019re basically paying cash to Amazon upfront for a purchase that you will make in the future. And, when you finally purchase a product using your Amazon gift card balance, Amazon deducts this amount from your account (or its own servers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In essence, there is no third-party involvement in processing the payment other than the credit card used for purchasing the Amazon gift card. This allows Amazon to provide its gift cards without any fee!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full disclaimer<\/strong> – even though I\u2019ve tried my best to check with financial experts, fact check and provide this answer as accurately as possible, there is no official answer on this topic from Amazon. Thus, I do not guarantee the accuracy of the answer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where to Buy an Amazon Gift Card?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/curiouscustomer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Depositphotos_285217428_XL-1024x683.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThere are two ways to buy an Amazon gift card i.e. online on Amazon or physically at a store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a store, you will be able to purchase only a physical card. However, when purchasing an Amazon gift card through Amazon, you can choose to purchase either an e-gift card, or a physical gift card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n