What is an Amazon Courtesy Credit and How to Get It

Did you notice any of your Amazon statement’s containing the term ‘Amazon courtesy credit’? Do you wonder what it is? 

As you all know, I am a massive fan of the Amazon platform.

In the past few years, I have spent a lot of time analyzing and studying it to understand better how it works and what kind of features and benefits they offer. 

I also worked hard to figure out how to show you better these benefits and how you can use them. 

That’s why I have been working on a series of posts regarding Amazon. So far, I have covered quite a bit of different topics.

The ones that caught the most attention are guides related to finding an Amazon wish list and editing Amazon reviews

If you haven’t checked out those, make sure you do. 

The topic of today’s post is Amazon courtesy credit. 

Amazon doesn’t go out of its way to explain and make this service accessible, but they frequently use it.

You have probably got an email about it at one point, but you may have ignored it. 

It’s not strange for massive eCommerce platforms to offer courtesy credits, and Amazon made an effort to have its own. 

What Is An Amazon Courtesy Credit? 

Amazon courtesy credit is an Amazon special issued by the platform to mitigate damages or reward specific actions. You can even get it after you file particular complaints. 

It’s often confused with a gift card balance or promo codes. 

It’s a different thing, as Amazon courtesy credit is being given for delivery delays that happen or to rectify Amazon’s mistakes (like Amazon delivering packages to the wrong address). 

How Amazon decides to give courtesy credit is totally up to their internal policy and discretion, and it’s tough (and not recommended) to abuse it.  

What To Use Amazon Courtesy Credit For? 

You can use Amazon courtesy credit for purchasing any Amazon product. There have been certain complaints that those credits went missing after they haven’t been used for a longer period. 

Those concerns were low in number, so they didn’t present a significant issue, but if you want to be on the safe side, you could  spend those credits as fast as possible.

How to Get an Amazon Courtesy Credit? 

There are a couple of different ways to obtain an Amazon courtesy credit that I have used, so let’s cover them. 

Slow Shipping Method

If you are an Amazon Prime user, there’s a way to get amazon courtesy credit by choosing a slow shipping method.

Being an Amazon Prime user, you get an option of free one day or two day shipping, however, when checking out, you also get an option of choosing a several-day long shipping. 

It is called Free No-Rush Shipping

By choosing this option, you can sometimes be credited with an Amazon courtesy credit.

Be aware that this option is not guaranteed, and you can often only get about $1.50 in a digital reward that you can use to purchase digital products like books, music, videos, etc. 

These offers have expiration dates, so you must use them in a timeframe provided by Amazon. 

Filing a Dispute

Another and more common way to get Amazon courtesy credit is by filing a dispute. 

Of course, this shouldn’t be abused, and disputes should be only filed when there’s something wrong with your order. 

If your order is late on time or you have never even received the package, you can open a dispute. 

In these cases, Amazon will often offer a courtesy credit to “repair the relationship” because of the mistake on their end.

These credits can be anywhere from $1 to $20+, and you will get an email notifying you of it. 

How to Use Amazon Courtesy Credit? 

Be aware that you will be able to use Amazon courtesy credit to make purchases for products that are fulfilled and sold by Amazon. This does not include third-party sellers on Amazon

On each product listing, you can find information about who is selling and fulfilling the products, and each of these needs to say Amazon. 

Amazon courtesy credit is being applied automatically at your check out, as part of your purchase.

You can see those credits being applied at every purchase breakdown and shipping and all the other fees. 

If you choose to not use a courtesy credit in any instance, you can deselect it manually when choosing a payment option. 

How to Check Your Amazon Courtesy Credit? 

If you are looking to check out your courtesy credit balance, you will be able to find that information when you go to Digital Credit Balance page.

If a category for Amazon courtesy credit is missing, that means you don’t have any. 

What is Amazon Prime Courtesy Credit? 

amazon prime courtesy credit

I often get asked this question. There’s no difference between regular Amazon courtesy credit and Amazon Prime courtesy credit. 

The only difference is in what we have already explained. That is how you can obtain courtesy credit, where Amazon Prime users can do it by delaying shipping and giving Amazon extra breathing room in fulfilling all orders. 

Will You Get Courtesy Credit If a Shipment Is Lost?

It’s unlikely that will happen. Amazon’s policy for deliveries to wrong address is to reship the item to the correct address.

If that doesn’t correlate well with your timing, you can always go and request a cancellation immediately. 

You can also wait for your product to arrive, and then return it and ask for your money back. 

Amazon will gladly offer a refund, and you’ll get your money back.

Bottom Line

We have come down to the end of this article. 

I hope you now have a better understanding of Amazon courtesy credit, how to check it and how to use it in the future.