Amazon Minimum Reloads
Over the weekend the Amazon minimum reloads were raised to $5, up from $1. This is the second time in recent history that the minimum load has been increased. For many years the minimum requirement was 50 cents for each Amazon reload and then it went to $1 last year. It appears that Amazon didn't think that is drastic enough, and has now jumped minimum reloads tenfold from the original 50 cents.
Why This Matters
On the surface this doesn't seem like a big deal. If you use Amazon anyway, then why would having a minimum of $1 or $5 mean that much? The Amazon minimum balance load increase matters to us because of what this option was used for in the miles and points world.
Here Are Some Examples Where This Was Used:
- Monthly transaction requirements for credit card earning
- Loading Amazon in 50 cents or $1 transactions was a great way to hit transaction minimums for certain card offers, like the Amex Everyday Preferred. That is because hitting 30 transactions in a month increases your points earning by 50% with the card. Sometimes, if you were just a few purchases short, you could add a few Amazon loads to hit that number.
- Bank account requirements for APY or new account bonus earning
- The same could be said for bank accounts that require debit card usage for higher interest earning rates, or a requirement to hit a new account bank bonus.
- Draining what was left on a gift card.
- You may have a card with only a few dollars left. This was a good option to extract the full value from it instead of just throwing it in the trash or eventually losing it.
Now, at $5 per Amazon balance load, it isn't as enticing for these options. If you need to do 5x or 10x transactions with the cards you are now looking at $25 or $50 for each round of these transactions. Which means you are likely giving up a better earning rate (or all of your earning with a debit card) on that Amazon spend to do it. At a few dollars it wasn't a big deal, but if you have to do it often that missed earning can add up. So much so, that it could offset what you were getting by doing it in the first place.
What Other Options Are There?
While this was an easy option, the Amazon reloads minimum increase may make it not worthwhile any longer. What else could you do in its place? Here are some ideas:
- Self checkout at the store, buying one item at a time etc.
- Only do this when it isn't busy
- Same idea, but for filling up at the gas station
- Once again, only when not busy
- Paying online utilities, phone, cable, insurance and other bills over several payments
- Donations to foundations, or religious organizations, broken up in multiple payments
- Finding stores that auto drain cards (when it charges whatever amount remains on a gift card) like Costco or Walmart.
- Reload digital wallets at small amounts
- Metro card loads
- Vending machines (without a surcharge)
If you have any other useful ideas let me know over in the ToP Facebook Group.
Amazon Minimum Reloads: ToP Thoughts
If you were using Amazon minimum reloads in your miles and points journey, then this is a little bit of a gut punch. While it was easy to manage, even allowing you to set it and forget it, there are still some other options available to you. Hopefully something from the list above will work for you in place of Amazon reloads.
