Amazon Gift Cards are kind of common in many huge retail stores worldwide. If you think someone has a good idea for an Amazon item, it may be better to just provide a gift card rather than a specific item. Kindle gift cards are also amazing for the same purpose. Though the first thing that usually comes to mind instead is: where can you buy a Kindle gift card?
Kindle Gift Cards are available on the Amazon webshop, but also in some stores like Safeway, Asda, Staples, and Toys R’ Us. After choosing the type you want, you fill up a form that would automatically purchase that gift card and submit it to the lucky recipient.
Wait, fill up a form? How does that work online? What about buying them in stores traditionally? Are they exclusively for e-books? We’ll clarify all of that below.
Where Can You Find Kindle Gift Card Online?
You can buy Kindle Gift Cards online from Amazon itself. For physical cards, you can access the main Gift Card menu to head over to the specific Kindle category. From there you can choose the denomination, quantity, and type of packaging that you want for the physical gift card.
Greeting card-format gift cards are a slightly different version of the physical card. Though, much like the Amazon/Kindle distinction, there really is no practical difference other than the presentation, as well as the removal of the option to add customized gift boxes. (since the gift card is already inside the greeting card)
For digital Kindle eGift cards, you can instead go to the eGift Card menu. There, you will fill up a form specifying the following details:
- Amount ($25, $50, $75, $100, $150, or specific number)
- Delivery mode (via email or text)
- Address/Number (999 recipient maximum)
- Sender’s name
- Message (500 characters maximum)
- Quantity
- Delivery date (Up to a year from submission)
The third kind of “digital” gift card, the Print at Home Kindle Gift Cards, requires far less information to enter. Simply choose a template, gift amount, message, and quantity. You can even upload your own photo to make things even more personal for the recipient!
There are also several online outlets out there affiliated with Amazon that provide the option to buy Kindle Gift Cards in the same manner. We do not recommend actively finding these, however, as it is just more convenient to go directly to Amazon if you need Kindle Gift cards online and have no specific retailer to go to.
In case you intend to personally give the cards yourself, you may simply have the delivery date use Amazon’s 1-day-shipping offer. If you are in the United States, this will allow you to get the Kindle Gift Cards in advance to prepare them for distribution.
Where Can You Buy Kindle Gift Card in Stores?
They’re not as prevalent as basic Amazon Gift Cards, but you can also find Kindle Gift Cards at notable stores, especially in the United States and United Kingdom. A few examples of where you might want to look are:
- Asda (United Kingdom)
- RadioShack Corporate (United Kingdom)
- Safeway (United States)
- Sainsburys (United Kingdom)
- Staples (United States)
- Superdrug (United Kingdom)
- Toys R’ Us (United States)
- Tesco (United Kingdom)
Keep in mind to check the availability of gift cards for each branch/location. For example, while a good number of Toys R’ Us may have Kindle-themed gift cards, some are not selling them at all. Of course, defaulting to Amazon Gifts is a valid backup option, if nearby grocery and drugstores simply don’t sell Kindle-themed ones.
Are Kindle Gift Cards Limited Only to Kindle Purchases?
Actually, Kindle Gift Cards function pretty much the same as Amazon Gift Cards. Meaning you can use them for any Amazon-based purchase that you want or need. They’re not limited to Kindle devices only or e-books.
This is kind of counterintuitive, because normally you’d think based on its name and the fact that it exists that has a different purpose than an Amazon Gift Card.
So in all technical sense, the only real practical difference between the two is the packaging and visual design. If you preferably want to suggest something more oriented for books (a’la traditional 2000’s Amazon style) or anything similar, you can choose to buy Kindle Gift Cards instead of the typical Amazon one.
Conversely, if an Amazon Gift Card recipient also wants to spend the set amount on Kindle e-books, then no technical rule will stop them. The recipient is still free to spend the gift card wherever they want to, however.
Can You Use Amazon Gift Card for Kindle?
As mentioned earlier, both cards function identically. If Kindle Gift Cards can be used for anything Amazon-related, Amazon Gift Cards can also be used for anything Kindle-related. You can start from purchasing the hardware itself, to purchasing individual e-books.
Can You Use Amazon Gift Card for Kindle Books?
Yes, you can use an Amazon gift card even for purchasing e-books.
When purchasing a Kindle e-book using an Amazon Gift Card, just apply the gift, add it to your Amazon Gift Card balance (Account > Gift Card > Redeem a Gift Card), and the transaction would automatically calculate the gift card balance first. In case the balance is insufficient, your account would then move to the next authorized payment method and complete the transaction there.
As a bonus tip, you can also fill up the gift card balance using Rewards Points, though this is a bit beyond the scope of Kindle Gift Cards specifically.
Can I Use Kindle Gift Cards for Kindle Unlimited Subscriptions?
Unfortunately, subscriptions are the only things that you can’t use gift cards on. This is because the transaction is of a relatively low value that is calculated at regular timed intervals (per month). So neither Kindle Gift Cards nor Amazon Gift Cards will work for Kindle Unlimited subscriptions. Those kinds of products and services need to be paid for using more traditional electronic methods.
Another exception is when purchasing anything related to Audible services. So buying Audible books is not possible for both gift cards, and of course, membership subscriptions are not included as well. You can gift an Audible membership (for a user-specified period) at least, but the steps required are no longer associated with Kindle Gift Cards.
Can You Buy Someone Kindle Credits?
Giving e-book credits for Kindle purchases directly is not possible. Again, you may use Amazon and Kindle gift cards for such a purpose, but we can’t consider them as “buying someone credits”, because the transactions are separate from one another. And much like individual e-books, you are not allowed to transfer Kindle credits from one account to another as well.
What is possible beyond the use of gift cards, is gifting the e-book itself to someone else. When purchasing an e-book, you are given the option “Buy for Others” then “Give as Gift”. When the e-book is purchased this way and directed to another Kindle user, the recipient will receive a redemption code. Should they choose to accept the gifted e-book, all they need to do is to redeem the code.
There are some caveats to this otherwise convenient option. One, you may only gift e-books to Kindle users that can receive the item locally. In other words, you are not allowed to gift e-books to recipients outside your country.
Two, there is a 24-hour limit for redeeming gifted e-books. If the recipient is unable to respond within this time, the e-book is effectively lost, and the amount used to purchase them is wasted. Make sure that your recipient will claim the e-book as the gift notification arrives.
Once more, this is where the magic happens for digital Kindle eGift Cards, since none of these limitations apply. Then again, you’ll have the problem instead of making sure recipients will indeed spend the gifted amount on the e-book you originally intended to give them.
