Can You Gift Amazon Prime? Yes, Here's How!

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Give a year of Prime membership to someone with this trick

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: March 3, 2026 Fact Checked

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Gifting Amazon Prime

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Gifting Amazon Prime gives your friends and family access to free 2-day shipping, unlimited streaming, eBooks, and much more. But how can you gift someone Amazon Prime now that Gift of Prime, Amazon's gifting service, has been discontinued? We found a workaround! This wikiHow will teach you how to buy an Amazon Prime gift subscription using an Amazon gift card.

How do you give Amazon Prime as a gift?

Amazon has discontinued Gift of Prime, so you can't buy a Prime subscription as a gift. If you want to pay for someone's Amazon Prime subscription, buy them a gift card for the amount of a 1-year subscription. The recipient can apply the gift card to their Amazon account, then use it to buy 1 year of Prime.

Section 1 of 2:

Gifting Amazon Prime

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Buy an Amazon gift card. While you can no longer use the Gift of Prime service to send Prime as a gift, you can buy an Amazon gift card for the amount of a one-year Prime membership and instruct your friend or family member to use it to pay for Prime. Once they apply the gift to their account, they can buy a Prime subscription and choose the option to use their gift card balance.
- To buy a gift card, go to the Amazon Gift Card page and adjust the amount. A one-year subscription costs $139, but in most US states, you'll need to pay tax.^{[1]
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  - For example, if the recipient lives in NJ, they'll need to pay a 6.625% sales tax on Prime, which brings the total amount to $148.21.^{[2]
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  - Keep in mind that some cities and counties have additional sales taxes beyond the state amount. For example, in Oakland, CA, the sales tax amount is 10.75%, which is more than the state's base tax rate of 7.750%. This would bring the total of a one-year Prime membership to $153.95.^{[3]
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- Choose the option to email or text the gift card to your friend or family member. Once they receive the gift card amount, continue to the next step.
When the recipient receives the gift card for the amount of a Prime membership, tell them to click or tap Apply to your Amazon Account in the email or text from Amazon, then follow the on-screen instructions to redeem the amount.^{[4]
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Purchase a one-year subscription with the gift card balance. Once the gift card's value is applied to the recipient's Amazon account, they can use it to buy a one-year Amazon Prime subscription. During the checkout process, they'll see the option to "Use your gift card balance when available."
- To make sure the value of the gift card is used to pay for the subscription, they'll need to check that box.
- The recipient must also have a backup payment method on file. They won't be able to purchase the subscription without one, though the backup card will not be charged as long as the gift card balance is enough to cover the full amount.

Section 2 of 2:

FAQ

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What happened to Gift of Prime? Gift of Prime was an Amazon program that allowed you to buy Prime subscriptions for others as a gift. Amazon discontinued this program several years ago. If you were gifted a Prime subscription through Gift of Prime, the value of the gift was converted to a gift card.^{[5]
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Can I use an Amazon gift card to pay for Amazon Prime? Yes, but only if you pay for a full year of Amazon Prime and have another payment method on file. You'll just need to make sure you select the "Use your gift card balance when available" option at checkout.
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How can I renew my Amazon Prime membership with a gift card? First, apply the gift card balance to your Amazon account by selecting the option in the email or text message you received. Then, you'll need to tell Amazon you want to use your gift card balance to pay for your Prime renewal. Here's how:
- First, you'll need to log in to Amazon using a web browser, as the feature is not available in the mobile app. If you're on a phone or tablet, just log in to Amazon.com in your web browser.
- On a phone or tablet:
  - Tap the outline of a person at the top-right, then tap Your Prime Membership under "Your account."
  - Tap Manage membership, cancel and more.
  - Tap Update your payment method.
  - Tap Edit payment method.
  - Check the box next to "Use your gift card balance when available."
  - Tap Continue.
- On a computer:
  - Hover your mouse over your name at the top-right corner of Amazon and select Account.
  - Click Prime.
  - Click Update your payment method at the top.
  - Click Edit payment method.
  - Check the box next to "Use your gift card balance when available."
  - Click Continue.

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Can I gift this to myself?

Community Answer

Yes. Simply send it to yourself. Realize you still pay for it all the same.

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