A couple of days ago Slide added a number of new high-value brands that you can buy in the app:
- Apple
- Target
- Amazon
- Best Buy
- Dick’s Sporting Goods
The way buying Amazon gift cards works is different to most other brands sold by Slide. For starters, it’s a Slide Select brand which means you don’t earn 4% cashback when buying it – one of the key benefits to buying gift cards from Slide.
I’d also noticed something unusual when looking at it the day it was added to the app. Although I could buy any value starting at $5, I was limited to buying up to $115.80, but I hadn’t understood the reason for that.
Reader EW subsequently reached out to let me know that there are some quirks to how Slide deals with Amazon gift cards, so thanks to him for providing the following details.
With other brands in the Slide app, you can buy gift cards directly with a credit or debit card or by preloading your account by the same payment methods. With Amazon gift cards, you’re not able to buy them directly that way. Instead, you’re limited to paying for them via the following means:
- Cashback balance – from past purchases
- Referral credit – you earn $5 for each of the first four purchases someone you referred makes
- Promotional credit – every so often Slide runs deals like ‘Buy $100 gift card & get $10 off’
Seeing as you can’t earn cashback in Slide when buying Amazon gift cards, that greatly limits how appealing the ability to buy them in the app is versus purchasing Amazon gift cards at a grocery store where you could earn fuel points/grocery rewards while also earning bonus points on a credit card that earns more on purchases at grocery stores. For most people, the biggest limiting factor to buying Amazon gift cards in Slide will be how large your cashback balance is, so there are very few reasons to use Slide versus some other more rewarding purchasing method.