This week I cashed in coins for Amazon.com gift certificates using Coinstar machines in my local grocery store. Although I rarely use cash I still wind up with a few handfuls of change every few months. I don’t purchase a ton of items at Amazon but every once in awhile they seem to have exactly what I’m looking for and as long as I spend $25 I rarely have to pay shipping.
I always choose Amazon.com gift cards when I cash out through Coinstar. As soon as I get home I add the gift card to my Amazon.com account, so it’s waiting for me to use as soon as I need it. I love that Amazon allows me to enter the information in advance. Then I can use the gift card to make a purchase from any computer. I just have to log into my account, pick the item I want and choose pay with my gift card balance.
Best of all when I spend the gift card balance I don’t have to pull out my credit card and I don’t feel guilty. I typically use the money for something fun that I want but don’t need. After all, someone once said, “One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.” I don’t know about continuous, but it sure is nice to treat myself to unexpected, non-necessities every once in awhile.
And you don't have to pay a fee like you do when you get cash. I'm on their email list. Usually every year they have a promotion…put in so many dollars worth of coins, you get a $10 voucher.
I did not realize that you could add money to your amazon account from cashed in coins! I am definitely going to start converting my cash to Amazon gift cards instead of cashing out!
I'm lucky that my bank has a coin sorter right in the branch. They'll take the coins and put the money right into my checking account for me for free. I do it once a year and always wind up with $100 or so.