Amazon Navigation – Accessing Promotional Balances and Courtesy Credits

Sometimes when Amazon effs up, (or for other reasons) they will provide you a courtesy, promo or other type of credit. These credits are different from having money applied to your Amazon digital gift card balance and the details of these types of credits are stored in a different location in your account. Many people have trouble finding out how to access the balance info after receiving one and most reps do not know how to properly navigate to this section directly from the account, as Amazon has changed things multiple times. What they will often do is provide you with a link via email or text that can take you directly to the desired page, but no instructions on how to navigate to it yourself. Many forum users who provide their experiences and work-arounds online will often do the same. It is wise these days to avoid any external links from the internet that lead to private logged in account pages, no matter how legit it seems. We don’t want anyone having to partake in any of the aforementioned approaches anymore. So for all who need it, let’s clear this up right now. The answer for app users has already been provided, but this method should be universal; in the app, from a portable browser or from your desktop on any operating system. Let’s do it.

1: Log in to your Amazon account.

2: Locate the “Accounts and Lists” icon in the upper right corner, along with the greeting and your name. You can click directly on the box or click the arrow on the right side to reveal the drop-down menu and select “Account”. Either way you will be taken to the “My Accounts page”.

On the Account page, you will see categories organized in boxes, like “Your Orders” “Your Addresses” “Your Login and Security” etc.

3: Scroll down below the grouped iconed categories to find sections with specific individualized links. You will see “Ordering and Shopping Preferences” “Digital Content and Devices” Memberships and Subscriptions” etc.

4: Locate the section titled “Shopping Programs and Rentals”.

5: Look for a link named “Your Credit & Benefit Balances” and select it.

6: Here you will find your courtesy credit balance and other credit balances. Observe the different types and the info provided as an overview.

7: Click on either one to see details of how many, how much, when, etc..

**THAT’S IT! YOU’RE GOOD TO GO!

KEEP READING TO GET THE SCOOP ON MORE OF AMAZON’S VALUABLE CREDITS AND REWARDS!

There is this extra mysterious link that leads to yet ANOTHER page of benefits balances. Well it’s mysterious to me because I have never used it or seen any numbers there besides 0, and I refuse to go down the rabbit hole for the 400th time with Amazon reps trying to find out what it is exactly for. If and when I find out, I will update this, or if you know or find out, leave it in the comments! Much appreciation in advance! I’m still covering it here because it may be of use to someone else. It’s not a bad idea to sneak a peak in this summary page if you are looking for estranged funds provided to you by Amazon. Never know what you’ll find. 🙂 To access it, follow the guide above from step 1 to step 5. Then select the link highlighted in the image below.

Amazon also offers bonuses and rewards for customers who participate in programs like “No Rush” and “Amazon Day”. These programs help to make it less demanding and stressful on Amazon and the environment. These options will be available to you during checkout, if any of your items qualify. All you have to do is wait a bit longer to receive your items by selecting the No Rush option and/or choosing a unified Amazon shipping day for your items. In turn Amazon will give you credits, discounts, etc. that will add up as “Digital Rewards” to be used for digital purchases like music, films, e-books, apps and other things. To view the rewards you’ve earned through these programs, you can follow steps 1-5 from the guide above, then simply choose the link highlighted in the image below.

**THAT’S IT! YOU’R GOOD TO GO! KEEP READING FOR SOME EXTRA USEFUL TIPS AND INFO.

*Most (if not all) courtesy credits and promo credits are added to orders automatically. The customer does not have a choice to use or save the balance for later or to use it at their own discretion, as they would with an Amazon Digital Gift Card Balance. Remember, the gift card is basically like a virtual version of a physical Visa/Mastercard gift card. Its balance serves as actual money that can be spent universally on any item, with any retailer in the Amazon ecosystem. On the other hand, courtesy/promo credits are just that. Credits. They function more like a gift card that is only spendable at a specifically branded store and/or only for specified items and cannot be redeemed for cash. Like if Home Depot gives you in-store credit for whatever reason, on a Home Depot branded card, valued at, say 50 dollars. That value is only spendable at Home Depot. You can’t use it at Walgreens, Lowes, Burger King, Whole Foods or any other store, nor can you hit the ATM or trade it in to get the cash. It is a specific credit for a specific store to make purchases on their items only. Amazon does the same thing in their own way.

**So now that you are clear on the differences mentioned above, you can see how and why courtesy and promo credits have criteria and cannot always be used on EVERY purchase. They are usually meant exclusively for items that are sold and shipped directly by and from Amazon, unless otherwise specified. Third party sellers or shippers do not have to honor these credits and usually don’t. I don’t even think they are allowed to or even have a choice in the matter. The description page for each item will let you know who the item is sold by and who it ships from. This info is located under the “Add To Cart” and “Buy Now” buttons on the right side of the page. So if you are wondering how to know which items are sold and shipped by what vendor, there you go. You can see this in the three images below.

So if you have received such credits but do not see your courtesy credit being applied in the checkout area, it is likely because none of the items you have in your cart meet the above stated criteria. If only some items in your cart meet the criteria, the credits will be applied to those specific items, but not the others.

***These types of credits can also come with expiration dates (just like any physical gift/credit/debit card) and can even be merged under certain cases. So you may have received a credit and find that it is not available anymore or that it is not showing up when placing orders. Use this guide to check the details of your courtesy/promo credits to find out if anything like this has happened and/or to confirm the expiration dates for any credits.

Well I hoped that helped whomever needs it just to curb a bit of irritation and give more insight into the situation with all these balances, credits and courtesies!

Shop intelligently and joyously, without irrational impulse, gluttony and mindless wastefulness!

HTP OUT….. FOR NOW!