8 ways to save money on Amazon orders

1 month ago 12

Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are almost upon us, and if you're anything like us, you likely already have a few items on your Amazon watch list. While the actual sales are yet to officially begin, we're already seeing a smattering of price drops across various items on Amazon and other retailers (not to mention, some great early hotel deals).

After Amazon Prime Day, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are some of the best ways to save money on everything from headphones to household staples. Whether you are gearing up to save some cash during the sales or looking for deals on any of the other days of the year, here are ways you may be able to save money on your next Amazon "add to cart" moment.

Use points

After filling your Amazon cart, you might have noticed the "Shop with Points" option at checkout. This is not always the best use of your credit card points from a monetary value perspective, as you can often get better value from your points when redeeming for travel.

Sometimes, though, promotions award money off your Amazon order even when using a small number of points.

At any given time, various targeted American Express offers give cardholders the opportunity to save. In the past, TPG staffers with eligible American Express cards have been targeted to save between 10% and 40% on Amazon orders using as few as 1 American Express Membership Rewards point. Offer terms vary, but the concept remains relatively the same. If one of these offers is available for your account, it can be a great way to save on your next Amazon order.

To be eligible, you must link your eligible Amex card(s) to your Amazon account to shop with Membership Rewards points.

We regularly check for new offers. If you haven't already, we suggest you do the same to make sure you're not already eligible for an offer. Bookmark any offers pages to check again later if you're not eligible right now.

Earn bonus points with the right credit card

If you have an American Express card, see if you've been targeted for any Amex Offers. These offers vary from account to account and can be a great way to rack up bonus Membership Rewards points or save money on purchases you would make anyway.

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Amazon periodically appears in Amex Offers.

The trick here is to check your Amex account frequently to see if you're eligible to earn bonus points or additional savings. You must manually add these offers to your Amex account and then use that card to pay for your Amazon orders.

TPG's November 2024 valuations peg Amex Membership Rewards points at 2 cents each, so getting 5 points per dollar spent at Amazon is like earning 10 cents in rewards per dollar spent. To start accessing these Amex Offers, a couple of good American Express cards to consider that don't even come with annual fees are:

Use an Amazon credit card

While we're discussing the best credit cards for Amazon purchases, let's talk about Amazon's own card: the Prime Visa.

It doesn't have an annual fee, and new cardholders will receive a $200 Amazon gift card immediately upon approval. You can use the gift card straight away for sale purchases. The card is only available to Prime members, so factor that in when deciding if it is the right match for you.

The card usually awards 5% cash back at Amazon and Whole Foods Market; 2% cash back on restaurant, gas station, and local transit and commuting purchases; and 1% cash back on everything else.

Use coupons

This tip won't come as a surprise, but if you see a coupon available on Amazon, be sure to click on it.

You'll know if there's a coupon available for your item, as there will be an icon that says "Coupon" below the price. The coupon will be activated if you check the box next to it. Coupons are sometimes only for a few cents or dollars, but saving money is saving money.

Some items will also let you save by subscribing for repeat deliveries.

Track prices and set price alerts

It's hard to know just how good a sale is if you haven't been pricing a certain item for a while. One site that can tell you the historical price of an item on Amazon — and even alert you to price drops — is CamelCamelCamel.

This website can help you gauge just how good a sale is. If it's not an urgent purchase, you can also use this site to help you decide whether or not to hold off on buying an item until you get a better price through a sale or price drop.

Get credit for no-rush shipping or pickup

If you have time to spare, you can opt for no-rush shipping on your items and save them for an "Amazon Day Delivery." This way, you'll earn a credit that you can use for future digital purchases such as select e-books, music, videos and apps. The amount of the credit varies, but, based on my tests, it often totals up to a couple of dollars.

You'll find this option during checkout when you're prompted to enter your shipping information.

If you decide to send your order to an Amazon pickup point (rather than your home), you may be rewarded with a promotion. In the past, we've seen $10 credits on future $20 Amazon orders by using a code and retrieving orders at an Amazon Hub, such as an Amazon Locker or Locker+.

Sign up for a free Amazon Prime trial

If you're not already an Amazon Prime member, you might be able to sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. It's a great, free way to try out the service if you haven't already. You'll be able to receive free, two-day shipping on eligible items and also get access to Prime Video. After that, if you don't cancel, the plan increases to $14.99 every month.

Purchase Amazon gift cards

If the credit cards in your wallet don't offer any points or cash-back bonuses for Amazon, you can also purchase Amazon gift cards at grocery stores with a credit card that gives bonus rewards at that specific retailer.

For example, if you buy a $100 Amazon gift card at the grocery store and pay for that purchase with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, you can earn 6% cash back on that purchase (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases at U.S. supermarkets, then 1%). Cash back is received as Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at amazon.com checkout.

Bottom line

From having the right credit card to using American Express Reward Dollars for purchases, there are several ways to save money while shopping at Amazon. Bookmark this page for the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and beyond.

Related reading:

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors Amex, click here.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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