18 Secret Amazon Hacks to Save You Money In 2022
Save even more money when you shop online this year. These Amazon hacks are surprising and so easy to use – use them all!
When it comes to online shopping, few places do it as well as Amazon. They really are the kings of it all. Did you know there are lots of secret hacks that are pretty well hidden? These are ways that you can save money while shopping on Amazon.
I’m sharing 18 super secret Amazon Hacks that will help you save lots of cash. Number 10 is an easy way to earn serious Amazon gift cards (and who doesn’t love free Amazon money?).
Secret Amazon Hacks That Will Save You Money
Browse this list and pick out your favorite hacks. From shopping through the Amazon Warehouse to saving cash by trading in your electronic devices, this list is packed with money-saving ideas!
1. Snag Free Prime Membership Extension
Did you know that Amazon Prime has a delivery window guarantee? If you order through Amazon Prime and it takes longer than 2 days to arrive, you can call Amazon customer service. They will credit your account $10 or extend your Amazon Prime account by a month.
Amazon wants to keep you as a customer, so pay attention to how long it takes for those Prime packages to arrive. It can pay off if they are late.
You can also sign up for a FREE 30-Day Amazon Prime Trial.
2. Shop Amazon Outlet
Amazon has an outlet store and if you shop through it, you’ll save lots of money. When you shop through Amazon Outlet, you can browse overstocked and clearance items in a variety of different categories.
Browse electronics, art supplies, toys, and even baby and beauty products. These deals will save you anywhere from 30% up to 80%! This is one of the lesser-known Amazon hacks out there.
3. Get 3-5% Cashback Through Ibotta
I love using Ibotta– it is such an easy app and really does reward you generously when you use it.
To use it, all you have to do is scan your receipt or shop through the app. Then you’ll begin earning cash back that you can redeem for more Amazon gift cards.
Sometimes they have exclusive offers if you shop on Amazon through their link. These offers can help you earn even more cash back then normal.
Some examples of past offers include:
- Free trial offers of Kindle Unlimited or Audible
- 3-5% Cashback on Amazon electronic devices (like Ring doorbells)
- Free Amazon Music Unlimited subscription
4. Use Amazon Coupons
Amazon offers coupons for customers. They list these coupons right on the product page. You just click the box that says “save an extra $3 with this coupon.” It’s that easy! I make sure to always look for these coupons when I’m shopping online!
They also have a page set up where you can browse all the current coupons! The coupons section is really easy to use – you can browse by the most popular ones or search by category. The best part? No scissors or newspapers are required to clip coupons for this Amazon hack.
5. Earn Credit For No-Rush Shipping
If you aren’t in a rush to receive what you ordered, you can earn free credits for digital products on Amazon Prime.
When you are checking out with your cart, select the FREE no-rush shipping instead of the free 2-day shipping. Then, they will send you credits/discounts towards digital Amazon products (like movies!).
Our family saves up our digital product credits for movie nights! We rent a great movie using these credits that isn’t on Netflix or Hulu. It’s a fun family night that we all look forward to (and totally free when we use the credits)!
6. Use Honey Extension
Another way to save money on Amazon is to use the Chrome extension Honey. This browse extension searches the web for you and automatically shows you the biggest discounts and coupons for what you are shopping for!
It’s automatic and incredibly easy to use. No more scouring the internet for the best coupon codes. Honey does it for you!
7. Earn FREE Amazon Gift Cards
If you enjoy shopping at Amazon, then you’ll want to sign up for Fetch Rewards. With Fetch, you’ll simply scan your receipts and immediately earn points. These points can be redeemed for gift cards, and Amazon is one of the options you have!
I personally scan every grocery store receipt I come across. You’ll be surprised how fast these points add up!
8. Buy Lighting Deals
Shopping for lightning deals is so much fun, you never know what amazing deal you are going to find.
These lightning deals are sales that are offered for a limited time and they only sell a specific quantity of these products at this price. Depending on the season, this will be called something different on their website. During the Christmas season, you can browse Holiday Dash Deals.
You might see a countdown timer that shows you how much time is left on this low price.
If you find a deal and it’s all sold out, you can still join the waiting list and be notified if more items become available at this price.
9. Type In Custom Search Parameters
This is a really fun hack to try – all you need to do is add a few characters at the end of the Amazon URL.
You can view everything that is on sale in a particular category by adding this text to the end of the URL: &pct-off=50-80
Here’s how to do it.
- Go to Amazon.com
- Click the category you want to search.
- Copy this string of characters &pct-off=50-80
- Paste it directly to the end of the Amazon category page you are browsing.
- Hit “enter” and the page will refresh, listing the items that are currently 50-80% off.
Here’s how it looks on Amazon’s Website:
If you want to browse things that are 25% off, replace 50-80 with 25. It’s that easy!
10. Amazon Trade-Ins
Another really easy way to save money on Amazon is to trade in your old devices for Amazon gift cards.
This page explains all the details about the Amazon trade-in program. There are thousands of items that are eligible for trade-in. If you have an eligible product, you can send it to Amazon and receive a gift card back in exchange.
Amazon Trade-In accepts all sorts of electronics too. Some examples of things they accept are:
- Phones
- Tablets
- Gaming Consoles
- Old Books
- Video Games
They even pay for shipping. They will accept items that are don’t work, but you won’t earn as high of a gift card amount for those kinds of things.
Feel free to use the gift cards toward Christmas shopping or even as your own personal spending money.
Amazon Custom Search
11. Buy Discounted Amazon Gift Cards
This little hack saves you money because you can buy gift cards at a discount and then spend them on Amazon. When you stack discounted gift cards with other discounts on Amazon, you can really save lots of money!
You can buy discounted Amazon gift cards at Raise. Sometimes they sell gift cards 30% off, so keep checking.
Gift Card Granny also allows you to buy gift cards and receive cash back rewards. This means you can buy a gift card for a friend (or even yourself) and then earn money back right away.
12. Subscribe & Save
Amazon offers another way to save on products that you buy regularly each month (like laundry detergent). It’s called the Subscribe and Save program. This subscription service comes with free shipping. Not only are the items that you subscribe to sold at a discount, but if you subscribe to at least 5 or more things and choose a single auto-delivery to one address, you’ll save 15% off your total order.
Our family personally uses the Subscribe & Save program to purchase air filters for our home. This way, we never forget to change our filters. Subscribe & Save easily saves you time and energy spent at the store trying to buy those things you need each month.
13. Buy Used From Resellers
If you are an Amazon Prime member, it might be habit to just click the button and view only items that are eligible for free Prime Shipping. If you take a little time to browse “other ways to buy,” you might discover some like-new items for really cheap!
Look beyond the free Prime shipping option. Sometimes there are things for sale that offer free shipping and at a lower price than the Prime-eligible ones.
For example, I found an automatic litter box listed on sale with Prime shipping for $99.95. When I clicked “more ways to buy” I found one that has a damaged box (but unused item) for just $74.96. Original list price for this item was $149.99! Look around, it’s worth your time.
14. Choose Less Popular Colors/Options
Another way to save money is to buy the colors or options that aren’t as popular. If it’s not as popular they will price is lower to help the inventory move faster.
Our family has personally purchased a hammock that was significantly cheaper because it was a different pattern than the other hammocks offered. It was still the same great quality which we loved!
15. Gold Box Deals
Another limited-time deal section that they offer once in a while is the Gold Box Deal section. These are also limited-time deals. They span all the categories on the site. This is the best place to check first before you shop for gifts and home items.
16. Amazon Gift Card Exchange
If you have extra gift cards laying around, turn them into Amazon money. With CardCash you just type in the gift card you have, where it goes to, and how much is on it. They give you an offer and will trade you Amazon cash for your old cards.
Don’t throw away those gift cards with a few dollars on them. Save them and turn them into Amazon cash.
17. Get a $5 Amazon Credit With Amazon Cash
Amazon is offering a FREE $5 credit when you load $25 on your Amazon balance. Once you load your money, your $5 credit will appear at checkout. You’re basically taking cash you have on hand and adding it to your Amazon balance.
Here’s how to claim your free money:
- Head to amazon.com/cash and log in to your account. You’ll be given a unique barcode.
- Go to a participating store and ask the cashier to scan your barcode or give the cashier your mobile phone number. Then pay the amount you want to add to your Amazon Balance in cash.
- Shop on Amazon. When you’re ready to checkout, the free $5 will appear.
Adding to your Amazon balance is great when you’re already headed to stores that participate such as CVS and Walgreens.
18. Amazon Prime Student Discounts
Finally, Amazon offers a program with lots of fantastic discounts just for students. It’s called Amazon Prime Student and to qualify, they just have to be a college student.
Some of the perks include:
- A 6-month free trial of Prime
- 50% off Prime membership after the trial
- Amazon Music Unlimited for just $0.99 a month
Our family signed up for Amazon Prime Student while my husband was working on his masters. We loved the perks they offered us during this time! This is one of my favorite Amazon hacks.
BONUS Amazon Hack: Sign Up For A Registry
If you’re getting married or having a baby soon, then you’ll want to sign up for an Amazon Wedding Registry or Amazon Baby Registry.
When you sign up for an Amazon Baby Registry they will send you a surprise box of gifts and you’ll receive a discount on any baby items that were not purchased. Plus, you’re making it easy for your loved ones to spoil your bundle of joy on the way. This Amazon hack is one that all new parents need to try!
Amazon Hacks: Final Thoughts
Don’t pay full price when shopping online again! These Amazon hacks are so easy and you can stack and use lots of them together, saving you even more money. When you are buying a lot online, every dime counts.
Want more ways to save money?
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Allison Baggerly is a blogger, author, influencer, speaker, podcaster, and founder of Inspired Budget, which is proudly a Latinx and women-owned business. A former teacher, Allison blends her talents for teaching with her passion for personal finances to help others learn how to start budgeting and build a life they love.
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