I'm not sure if this counts as a deal per se, or how widely this loophole is known, but here goes...
On Amazon Prime Now, if you add a physical Amazon gift card to your basket it counts towards the £20 minimum spend threshold. This is in contrast to the regular Amazon.co.uk site where Amazon gift card purchases don't count towards the £20 spend needed for free delivery (on non-Prime accounts).
I only discovered this because I had a £5 no-rush credit to spend on Prime Now and the one item I needed cost £5, so I added a £15 Amazon gift card (which I will inevitably spend on the main site sooner or later) and, hey presto, the £5 promo got deducted from my total without me having to buy £15 of Prime Now items for the sake of it.
Like I said, I don't know if this is already common knowledge, but hopefully it helps someone else out if you've got a £5 no-rush credit burning a hole in your digital wallet, or are hoping to take advantage of the NOWFIVE promo code (first-time users only).
28 comments
TangiblePear
31 Aug 17#26
Is it just for me or has Amazon stealthily changed their delivery policy on prime now?
For me the minimum order is now £15, but any orders less than £35 incur a £3.99 delivery fee. For me this makes Prime Now utterly useless for me now, very very dissapointed.
1616french to TangiblePear
1 Sep 17#27
And they still have a tip service too...lol
TangiblePear to 1616french
1 Sep 17#28
Yeah. Why the hell would anyone tip when your forced to pay £3.99 delivery now? Are they mad? I rarely tip when its free.
slliw
30 Aug 17#17
Can you now use Amazon gift cards for Prime Now though? Amazon used to block gift cards from being used and required Prime Now users to checkout with a payment card. Not sure if this has changed
kestrelcampbell to slliw
30 Aug 17#22
No, you still can't use Amazon gift cards as a Prime Now payment method, only credit cards. Very frustrating!
mikeypr
30 Aug 17#15
There is always the Alexa method to get add on items delivered next day, without having to order anything else. Just ask Alexa to order the item you want. Providing it can find the item, you need order nothing else.
kestrelcampbell
30 Aug 17#6
Just to clarify, although you can add giftcards to your Prime Now basket to help get you to the £20 threshold, any promo credits or codes you use (such as the £5 off ones) will only be applied to reduce the price of non-gift card items in your basket.
veedubjai
30 Aug 17#4
Good to know. :thumbsup:
OneGloveOnTheFence
30 Aug 17#3
:astonished:
gulz
29 Aug 17#1
There's an even better loophole which costs you no money upfront... order a pre-order game/dvd/blu-ray as part of the order so it takes you over the £20 threshold (just make sure your pre-order item is not going to be released in the next couple of days or so). Once your item gets shipped, cancel the pre-order!
kestrelcampbell to gulz
29 Aug 17#2
That loophole only applies to the regular Amazon.co.uk site - there are no pre-order items on Prime Now because it's all live goods ready for delivery that day.
Pateo to gulz
30 Aug 17#5
I tried that last year and got email saying no items will not be delivered until pre order date!
MR1123 to gulz
30 Aug 17#7
I'm pretty sure that does not work anymore. I think it said basket still doesn't meet min spend.
fattyuk to gulz
30 Aug 17#8
how is this the most liked comment when the thread is about prime now lol
Newbold to gulz
30 Aug 17#9
Has little relevance to this thread - and also an excellent way to get your Amazon account closed.
jun19 to gulz
30 Aug 17#10
I did this recently and unlike before you cannot cancel the oos of order your self, although it's doesn't take long to contact support n they did it quickly, my point is they are aware of this now so don't repeat this again n again.
robot1000 to jun19
30 Aug 17#11
Strange they can block you as it's a breach of one's statutory rights
Newbold to robot1000
30 Aug 17#12
Which statutory right might that be?
mouzzampk to Newbold
30 Aug 17#13
Section 2.1 Fraud :smile:
mrb30 to mouzzampk
30 Aug 17#14
There's no way of proving it though. Who's to say there was no intention of buying the pre order and that there wasn't a legitimate reason to cancel
Newbold to mrb30
30 Aug 17#16
True. And it'll be fine for a time or two. Then they'll just close the account.
mouzzampk to mrb30
30 Aug 17#18
Hmm. I don't know why you or we all talking about something, which is wrong :smile: I think we should stick to the OP post , instead of spreading how to rip off Amazon. Amazon providing amazing service at reasonable price :smile:
give customers specified 'prior information' before a sale is made
usually, give customers a right to cancel their order
confirm prior and certain other information in a durable form (eg in writing or email)
normally, fulfil your contractual obligations within 30 days unless otherwise agreed
usually, give customers a full refund up to 14 days after receiving their goods, if they change their mind
Newbold to robot1000
30 Aug 17#23
Yes, all that's perfectly true.
But Amazon are still perfectly entitled to close your account if they feel you're abusing their systems by deliberately ordering and cancelling items just to comply with the add-on requirements. There's nothing you can do legally to stop them, and they can and do close accounts frequently for what they term misuse.
And if they do that they'll block an entire address to make it very difficult to open another account. Best avoided, unless you feel you can do without Amazon in your life.
robot1000 to Newbold
30 Aug 17#24
That's probably correct, but my point was in response to Amazon stopping the cancellation of any preorders
Rastafari to Newbold
30 Aug 17#25
FYP.
xcloose to gulz
30 Aug 17#19
Tried this before and it would not let me cancel the pre-order! Spoke on live-chat and they said it couldn't be done either I got LUCKY that my pre-order was delayed by 2days and I said that was too late and so got my money back
kramer2088 to gulz
30 Aug 17#21
Tried this and it didn't work. Had to email to. Cancel.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
On Amazon Prime Now, if you add a physical Amazon gift card to your basket it counts towards the £20 minimum spend threshold. This is in contrast to the regular Amazon.co.uk site where Amazon gift card purchases don't count towards the £20 spend needed for free delivery (on non-Prime accounts).
I only discovered this because I had a £5 no-rush credit to spend on Prime Now and the one item I needed cost £5, so I added a £15 Amazon gift card (which I will inevitably spend on the main site sooner or later) and, hey presto, the £5 promo got deducted from my total without me having to buy £15 of Prime Now items for the sake of it.
Like I said, I don't know if this is already common knowledge, but hopefully it helps someone else out if you've got a £5 no-rush credit burning a hole in your digital wallet, or are hoping to take advantage of the NOWFIVE promo code (first-time users only).
28 comments
For me the minimum order is now £15, but any orders less than £35 incur a £3.99 delivery fee. For me this makes Prime Now utterly useless for me now, very very dissapointed.
Under the regulations, you must:
But Amazon are still perfectly entitled to close your account if they feel you're abusing their systems by deliberately ordering and cancelling items just to comply with the add-on requirements. There's nothing you can do legally to stop them, and they can and do close accounts frequently for what they term misuse.
And if they do that they'll block an entire address to make it very difficult to open another account. Best avoided, unless you feel you can do without Amazon in your life.
I got LUCKY that my pre-order was delayed by 2days and I said that was too late and so got my money back