Amazon Gift Card: How to Check Your Balance

When you come across an Amazon gift card in your desk or bag, it can feel like discovering a hidden treasure. But it's not always easy to know whether the Amazon gift card is all used up or still has some spending power.

With many specific store gift cards, you can log right into the retailer's website and enter the gift card's details to learn the remaining value. With Amazon gift cards, it's a little trickier, but it can be done with a few simple steps.

The easiest way to check the balance on an Amazon gift card is to load the card onto your account. This is the default method recommended by Amazon and the steps are basically the same on the Amazon website or Amazon app:

1. Log into your Amazon account at the top of the page.
2. Go to your account page.
3. Select "Gift Cards."
4. Click on "Redeem a Gift Card."
5. Locate the claim code on the back of the gift card under a protective, scratch-away layer.
6. Enter this code and click "Apply to your balance."

The entire dollar amount remaining on the gift card will be added the current balance on your Amazon account and be available as a payment method at the Amazon checkout. You can track purchases and balance activity on the Gift Card Activity section of your account.

Once the gift card appears as an available payment method, you can add value to it by clicking "Reload Your Balance" on your account page. Amazon sometimes offers promotions to Amazon Prime members for reloading a gift card balance.

On the Amazon mobile apps, this is nearly the same. On Apple or Android devices, go to to your account and tap "Manage gift card balance" in the payment area.

Note: Once the worth of the card is attached to your Amazon account, it's there for good. You cannot remove a card from your Amazon account, transfer the balance or cash it out. These details spelled out on the Gift Card Terms and Conditions and Restrictions and Prohibited Activities pages of Amazon.com.

If you have a gift card loaded into your account already, when you choose the payment method for your order at checkout on the Amazon website, you can click "Change" to expand the payment method area to see all available options. If your gift card has value, it will show as an available payment method, just like your credit card or debit card.

On the Amazon website or on the Amazon mobile app, there is a section within the payment options area at checkout where you can enter a gift card to view the available balance.

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Maybe you are checking the value of an Amazon gift card for a friend or have some other reason for not wanting the funds to be applied to your Amazon account. Amazon does not make that very easy.

However, it can be done. You can check an Amazon gift card balance without applying it to your account by speaking with Amazon Customer Service through the chat feature on the Amazon website or by phone. Start at the Customer Service page of the Amazon website.

Click on "Payment, charges or gift cards" to start. From there, choose to chat or click "Request a phone call." Once you contact an Amazon Customer Service representative, you will need the claim code on the back of the gift card. The Amazon representative will tell you if your card has value.

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Perhaps your Amazon gift card has seen better days and the claim code you're supposed to enter is unreadable on your physical gift card. All may not be lost. As outlined in the general terms of Amazon's Gift Card Terms and Conditions, Amazon may be able to replace your damaged card. Contact Amazon Customer Service via the chat feature or by requesting a phone call and provide at least three consecutive characters from the claim code.

If you receive a digital gift card, it's good practice to add it to your Amazon account right away or take a screenshot of the email with the card details and claim code.

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