At the beginning of July 2015, I wanted to buy a Kindle book on Amazon, and so I visited the mega e-commerce site. While there I realize that I did not have funds on my PayPal account. Neither did I have any money on my debit card, but I did have more than the price of the book in my Bitcoin wallet.
I recalled reading in one blog post that it was possible to make a purchase on Amazon and pay with bitcoins. However, no step by step was given in the article. It was just a quick mention.
I added the book to the shopping cart and moved to the checkout page, where I expected to see a ‘Pay with Bitcoin’ button. However, to my disappointment, I did not see the button.
Bitcoin is not listed on Amazon
Apparently no cryptocurrency was listed among the payment methods Amazon accepts. I reasoned that maybe the e-commerce site had discontinued this option. For a moment, my shopping faced a dead end.
However, after looking around on the internet for a few minutes, I did finally find a way to pay for the book in bitcoins. And in less than 10 minutes I had it in my Kindle.
You too have probably heard of this option and maybe you are consideration using it. I am going to share with you the step by step procedure for doing this.
It is important to note, at this juncture, that Amazon has not as at July 2015 added Bitcoin to the list of their direct payment options. Nevertheless, someone else has created a way to spend your bitcoins there.
It is all possible through Gyft
Gyft.com is a digital gift card and loyalty program platform that enables businesses to offer rewards to their customers. It also provides individuals with a place to buy, share and manage gift cards.
Among the gift cards that are on sale at Gyft.com is the Amazon card. It is this card that makes shopping and paying with bitcoins a reality on the e-commerce site.
If you did not know, Gyft.com has been accepting bitcoins for all the items, yes, including the Amazon Gyft card, it sells since May 2013. It was indeed among the first major merchants to integrate the cryptocurrency.
The process is as easy as heading to Gyft.com. Of course, you will have to sign up if you do not already have an account with them. Nevertheless, it takes about a minute to have the account set.
Use Amazon gift card to buy anything
With that done, select the option of ‘purchase gift cards’. Click on the Amazon gift card from those featured. You will be prompted to set the amount you need for the gift card. This could be anywhere between $10 and $2000.
On clicking ‘Buy,’ you will be directed to a page with a list of payment options. Here Bitcoin is listed as well. Pick Bitcoin and proceed to pay with either Bitpay or Coinbase wallet.
With the payment confirmed, you will have an Amazon Gyft card that has a claim code. With this string of numbers, you can buy anything on Amazon that has a price, not more that the value of the gift card.
