How to Check Your Amazon Gift Card Balance (2026 Guide)
A verified, step-by-step walkthrough to view your Amazon gift card balance on the website and the Amazon Shopping app, redeem a claim code, and fix the “not valid for this website” error that trips up cards bought for the wrong country.
Sign in to your Amazon account
Gift card balances live on your Amazon account, not on the physical card — so the first step is signing in to the account you want to check. Pick whichever is handiest:
- Website (desktop or mobile browser): Go to amazon.com and sign in with your email and password.
- Amazon Shopping app (iOS / Android): Open the app and make sure you're signed in to the right account (tap the account icon and confirm the name shown).
Open the Gift cards page
The destination is the same on every device — the path differs slightly.
- Website: Hover over Account & Lists (top right) → select Gift cards. You can also go straight to amazon.com → Account → Gift cards.
- Amazon Shopping app: Tap the account (person) icon in the bottom navigation bar → scroll down to the Gift Card Balance section.
If you don't see a Gift cards entry, you're likely on a non-US marketplace where the wording differs (for example Your Account → Gift Card & Top up balance on Amazon.co.uk). The location is the same — under your account menu.
View your gift card balance
The Gift cards screen shows two things:
- Gift Card Balance — the headline number at the top, in your account's currency. This is the combined total of every code you've redeemed, minus anything already spent. Amazon automatically applies this balance to eligible orders at checkout before charging your card.
- Gift card activity — a running log of codes you've redeemed and purchases that drew down the balance. Use it to reconcile a balance that looks lower than expected.
There is no separate “expiry” column to worry about: Amazon.com gift cards issued after October 2005 do not expire, and the balance simply sits on your account until you spend it.
Redeem a new claim code (optional)
To add a card to your balance, use the same Gift cards page:
- Website: Account & Lists → Gift cards → Redeem a Gift Card. Type the claim code into the Enter Claim Code box and choose Apply to your balance.
- App: Account icon → Gift Card Balance → Redeem Gift Card → enter the claim code → Apply to your balance.
The claim code is the 14–15 character string on the back of a physical card (under the scratch-off panel) or in the body of a digital gift card email. Once applied, the amount is added instantly.
How to check an Amazon gift card balance without redeeming it
This is the question Amazon's own help pages answer least clearly, so here is the plain version: Amazon has no public balance checker for un-redeemed cards. The lookup was removed to stop automated bots from harvesting claim codes and draining cards before recipients opened them. Worse for the cautious user, entering a claim code anywhere on Amazon — the redeem box, the checkout field, a deep link — applies it to the signed-in account immediately. There is no preview, no confirmation dialog, and no undo. Amazon is not alone in closing this door: Starbucks publishes no public balance checker either, for the same anti-bot reason.
That leaves exactly three routes, and only the first two leave the card un-redeemed:
| Route | What you hand over | Card stays un-redeemed? | Typical wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone — Amazon customer service, 1-888-280-4331 (US) | Serial number | Yes | 5–15 minutes |
| Live chat — Customer Service → Something else → I need more help, then ask for an associate | Serial number | Yes | 5–15 minutes |
| Redeem it, then read the balance (Step 4 above) | Claim code | No — irreversible | Seconds |
Where the balance lives on each Amazon marketplace
Every Amazon store keeps a separate balance, because gift cards are locked to the marketplace that issued them. If you hold cards for more than one country, you hold more than one balance, and each has to be checked while signed in to that store. The account path is nearly identical everywhere; only the label wording shifts.
| Marketplace | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Amazon.com (US) | Direct: amazon.com/gc/balance — or Account & Lists → Gift cards |
| Amazon.co.uk (UK) | Your Account → Gift Card & Top up balance |
| Amazon.de / .fr / .it / .es (EU) | Your Account → Gift cards (label localised) |
| Amazon.ca (Canada) | Your Account → Gift cards |
| Amazon.com.au (Australia) | Your Account → Gift cards |
| Amazon.in (India) | Your Account → Amazon Pay balance / Gift cards |
Balances never pool across stores, and Amazon does not convert between them — a US balance stays in USD on Amazon.com even if you later move to the UK. This is the most common reason a balance appears to have “vanished”: it is intact, just sitting on a different marketplace than the one you are signed in to.
Where an Amazon gift card balance can (and can't) be spent
An Amazon gift card balance covers the vast majority of what people buy on Amazon, but a few categories are excluded. Here's the quick reference:
| Use | Covered by gift card balance? |
|---|---|
| Physical products sold or fulfilled by Amazon | Yes |
| Digital content (Kindle books, apps, music, video rentals) | Yes |
| Third-party Marketplace items | Yes |
| Amazon Prime membership fees | Yes |
| Subscribe & Save orders | Yes |
| Buying other gift cards | No |
| Amazon Fresh / Whole Foods tips | No |
| A different Amazon marketplace (e.g. .co.uk with a .com card) | No |
The balance is applied automatically at checkout before any card on file is charged, so you don't need to “select” it. If an order total is higher than your balance, Amazon charges the remainder to your default payment method.
Troubleshooting
“This gift card is not valid for this website” (error GC-103)
This is the single most common Amazon gift card problem, and it's almost always a marketplace mismatch. Amazon gift cards are locked to the country store they were issued for: an Amazon.com (US) card only redeems on Amazon.com, an Amazon.co.uk card only on Amazon.co.uk, and so on. Entering a US code on the UK site returns error GC-103, and there is no cross-marketplace conversion.
- Confirm which store the card is for — it's printed on the card or stated in the gift email (“Amazon.com Gift Card” vs “Amazon.co.uk Gift Card”).
- Sign in on the matching marketplace and redeem there. If you don't have an account on that store, you can create one for free with the same email.
- If the card genuinely matches the store and still fails, retype the code by hand — copy-paste sometimes captures a trailing space or a look-alike character.
“I can't see the balance of a card I haven't redeemed”
This is by design — Amazon will not display the value of an un-redeemed card online. Redeem it to your account (Step 4) and read the balance there, or have customer service look it up from the serial number. The full walkthrough, including why the serial number and not the claim code, is in the section above.
“I redeemed a card but the balance isn't showing”
Work through these in order — in practice the first two explain almost every case:
- Wrong account. If more than one Amazon account shares your email or household, the code may have landed on the other one. Sign out fully, sign back in to the account you expect, and re-check Gift cards.
- Wrong marketplace. A balance redeemed on Amazon.com is invisible on Amazon.co.uk and vice versa. Check the store that matches the card (see the marketplace table).
- Already spent. Amazon applies gift card funds to eligible orders automatically, so an order placed after redemption may have consumed the balance. The Gift card activity log shows every credit and every debit.
- Stale session. Sign out and back in; the balance figure is cached on some app builds.
- Someone else redeemed it. If the code reached you by forwarded email or an un-sealed scratch panel, it may already be on a stranger's account. Contact Amazon with the order number and the serial number — they can trace where a code was applied.
“My balance is lower than the card I redeemed”
Check the Gift card activity log. Amazon applies your gift card balance automatically to eligible orders, so a recent purchase may have quietly drawn it down. The activity log lists every redemption and every order that used gift card funds, which is usually enough to account for the difference.
“The code says it's already been redeemed”
If you bought the card new and it shows as already redeemed, keep the receipt and contact Amazon customer service with the claim code — they can trace which account it landed on. For cards bought from third-party resellers, contact the reseller first; already-redeemed codes are a known risk with unofficial sellers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check my Amazon gift card balance?
Sign in to Amazon, open Account & Lists → Gift cards on the website (or the account icon → Gift Card Balance in the app). Your total balance is shown at the top of that screen.
Can I check an Amazon gift card balance without an account?
Not online — Amazon only shows a balance once a card is redeemed to an account. To check an un-redeemed card, call Amazon customer service (1-888-280-4331 in the US) with the claim code, or redeem it to an account first.
Do Amazon gift cards expire?
No. Amazon.com gift cards issued after October 2005 don't expire, and gift card balances don't expire either. The funds stay on your account until you spend them — a big reason Amazon cards are popular for employee rewards.
Can I use an Amazon.com gift card on Amazon.co.uk?
No. Amazon gift cards are locked to the marketplace they were issued for. A US (Amazon.com) card won't redeem on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, or any other store — you'll get error GC-103. Always match the card to the recipient's local Amazon store.
Can I transfer my Amazon gift card balance to someone else or to cash?
No. Once redeemed, a balance is tied to that account and can't be transferred to another account, converted to cash, or used to buy other gift cards. Redeem to the correct account the first time.
How do I view an Amazon gift card balance without redeeming it?
Contact Amazon customer service by phone (1-888-280-4331 in the US) or live chat and give the agent the card's serial number — the number visible without scratching anything. They can read the balance from Amazon's internal system while the card stays un-redeemed. Do not give the claim code: it may be applied to the account on the call. See the full walkthrough.
What is the direct link to my Amazon gift card balance?
amazon.com/gc/balance opens the balance page directly once you are signed in to Amazon.com. On other marketplaces, navigate via Your Account → Gift cards instead; the UK store labels it Gift Card & Top up balance.
How do I check my Amazon gift card balance on the app?
Open the Amazon Shopping app, tap the account (person) icon in the bottom navigation bar, then scroll to Gift Card Balance. The figure shown there is the same account balance you see on the website — the app has no separate wallet.
Can I check an Amazon gift card balance with just the card number?
Not yourself. There is no Amazon page, app screen, or API that accepts a card number and returns a balance. Only an Amazon agent can perform that lookup, from the serial number. Any third-party site offering an instant “balance check” from a claim code is collecting codes, not querying Amazon.
Why did Amazon remove its gift card balance checker?
To cut off automated fraud. A public lookup that accepts a code lets attackers test large lists of guessed or stolen codes at machine speed and drain the ones that hold value before the recipient opens the envelope. Routing every un-redeemed balance query through a human agent, keyed on the serial number rather than the spendable claim code, removes that attack surface.
About the author and reviewer
Maciej has worked in the digital gift card and rewards industry for over 5 years, with hands-on experience integrating and testing balance-check, top-up, and redemption flows for 5,000+ brands — including Amazon — across 150+ countries. He re-verified every step in this guide on amazon.com and in the Amazon Shopping app in August 2026.