Amazon wants what! to use their gift card to buy something

[bigpup]

Amazon.
Can not use only it's gift card to order something.

I never use my personal charge card to order stuff on Amazon.
I use a Amazon gift card or a credit card, gift card.

Well, check out this big company, you got to do what?

In my Amazon account. I usually have one or two charge card, gift cards listed, and a balance for Amazon gift card.
Some of these credit card, gift cards, are at zero balance.
Some have a few dollars on them.

I decided to clear out all the credit card, gift cards, and only have the Amazon, gift card, listed as payment method.
Guess what!
I could not make an order, even if there was enough money in the Amazon gift card balance.

After back and forth with Amazon help. I was suppose to actually be sending messages to a real person, not the robot help.

Your account has to always have a credit card listed, to be able to use the Amazon gift card, to make a purchase.
What!
Some kind of security check, that proves you are sending the order, to the same location, the credit card is registered for.

So, I have one of the credit card, gift cards, with a little money on it, as my listed credit card.
If you go to the credit card, gift card, web site, and assign a zip code to it. The same zip code for your mailing address.
That security check is happy and the Amazon gift card will buy what you are trying to order.

[Packetteer]

Hi bigpup
Yesterday was the first time I have ordered anything off of Amazon.
I received an Amazon gift card for my birthday. I have no credit cards listed with
Amazon. In fact up until yesterday I did not have an account with Amazon.

What I am leading up to is that I have had a different experience. No credit card
listed able to make my first purchase. Maybe if I add a credit card then I will
have the same thing happen to me that you experienced.

Best Regards
John

[Makoto]

Has something changed? I've been using only gift cards (no credit cards) with my Amazon account since I set it up in 2016.

The only change requiring a credit card I'm aware of is a recent policy change that requires you to be using a credit card if you want to leave reviews (which I guess is an attempt to cut down on fake/spam reviews, but it's still annoying), but nothing about requiring a credit card to make purchases.

[bigpup]

I think my Amazon order was not actually being filled by Amazon.
I think my problem was really about the 3rd party, that my Amazon order was being sent to.
I think they were the actual ones wanting to do this security check.

I had this same issue at a web site I tried to order something with just a Credit card gift card.
After I assigned a zip code to the card.
The site would now take and finish my order.

Yes, I asked their help about it.
No clue what the problem was

All I can say is what Amazon help told me (a real human person).
At first, they had no clue why my order was being rejected.
They put me on hold, and about 10 minutes later, said I needed to also have a credit card, in my account.
You know, when you are talking to a companies help, and you can tell, they really have no clue as to how to solve the problem!
You get that, try this response, that you know was a group, hands in the air, response.

Oh, I think I have done that, in the forum, trying to help people.

[Makoto]

I know Sony likes to be strict on the payment methods being specifically for/valid in the region you have listed in your place of residence (in this case, it'd probably be your shipping address), and not allowing anything else as they don't want to deal with money conversion between areas/regions (or even military bases). I'm guessing that's why you needed to supply a zip code for the card.

Customer Support's not paid to know everything, just to deal with the public so that the more knowledgeable staff don't have to.

[O.F.I.N.S.I.S.]

I'm generally don't buy/order from internet stores and don't use prepaid credit cards or gift cards. The one and only prepaid card I'm using is the card of my USB modem. I charge this via code I get when buying new high speed volume locally.

Also I don't use online banking or similar services. Never sent my bank account number to anyone via the internet or phone. I'm save!

I like to have real persons eye to eye if something is wrong on the product I bought. So, I support my local shops only. If they don't have available what I want, they will order it for me - probably also by internet which I don't care then.

Yes, it's often a little more expensive, but I don't like the idea at one day entering the city to find all stores closed, caused by all those people who ordering products by internet only - after checking the products/prices in local stores.

Edit: I recall once ordering a DVD (Senri Kawaguchi) some years ago from a german internet music store. This needed to be imported from Japan. But that's all. Paid it via transfer from my bank account after receiving the DVD.