Reasons to Not Shop With Amazon points

 A few days ago, I decided to take advantage of a Cyber Monday deal and buy a digital product on Amazon. Initially, I converted some points into my gift card balance so I could use it for the purchase. But when it came time to buy, I decided to use my points. It was a small purchase and for no apparent reason, I decided to leave the gift card balance for another time. I barely shop on Amazon lately. And I've been a customer for over 20 years. I canceled Prime long before the Pandemic. For reference, I used to buy things on there almost daily. And back in 2005, I ordered petty household stuff from there. How could a college student afford that? Gift cards and Amazon was very cheap back then. I had also moved to a state that didn't have an Amazon presence so they were not charging taxes back then? Remember those times when Amazon had a bit of an edge from Brick and Mortar stores😁? Although prior to that, I lived in a state with an Amazon presence and they charged taxes. But I mostly purchased textbooks and back then Amazon was known for textbooks. 

When I made my purchase with points, I noticed that my Amazon gift card balance was reduced by the amount of the purchase. My Amazon reward points balance was also charged for the same purchased. When I looked at the order invoice, it showed it was paid by points and the amount paid by gift cards is zero. Yet, when I went to look at my gift card balance, it showed a deduction for the same order number. I think I have encountered this before and had resolved to not use my points but I had apparently forgotten about it this time. I did a quick online search and saw that others have had this issue. Considering Amazon's customer service has gone down significantly, it is one of the major reasons I avoid shopping there - they are not worth the extra release of cortisol in my system😉

If something is going to create stress, I'm not devoting time to it as it's not worth my time, energy or attention. Nursing was stressful enough. I canceled the order but the gift card was not refunded. I tried reaching out to Amazon customer service and after copying and pasting the order number and typing out the issue, there was silence. Also, it took a while for someone to show up. I don't recall having that issue in the past but it's been a long time so maybe things have changed for the worse? There was a point this year when my 6 month history had no purchases. After describing my issue and getting no response, I typed "hello?" and the agent responds that they are  still there and nothing else is said. I actually walked around to do some things, stepped away to read and still nothing when I would check back. I really wonder if it is a new tactic by Amazon to frustrate customers who contact for help so that they abort the interaction 🤔

When I checked at some point, it showed that a new customer service agent had entered the chat and when I looked above that notice, it seemed the previous person had typed that they would need to get another person to deal with the refund. The person who had entered the chat had typed that they would need to review the previous chat so I typed "OK" and was waiting and again, not sitting by the computer but doing other things and checking periodically. When they finally wrote something somewhat worthwhile, it was to ask me if I was asking about "the only item in the order". Really? I realized it was after 11 p.m and I needed to go to bed. It had been well over 40 minutes for this interaction where it seemed 99% of the time was occupied by waiting for the agent to type something. I really wonder if it's a tactic to get people to not contact their customer service. I decided it's not worth my time so I told the person I needed to go to bed and blah, blah, blah. Then I left, went to bed and had a very good night's sleep. I think my plan was to contact them the next day.

I actually forgot about it until Tuesday afternoon while driving. I didn't contact them but when I checked later, the gift card balance had been returned. In hindsight, it's not very wise to use Amazon reward points for purchase. Here's why you don't shop with Amazon points:

1. If you have a gift card balance, it takes from the gift card balance simultaneously. Therefore do not use Amazon reward points when you have an Amazon gift card balance. They claim it's a hold that gets released but I have read some instances where it wasn't. I have had a past experience where it was released. But if you intend to use the gift card balance for something right after, you are practically prevented from doing so. 
2. If you use reward points to shop, you are not earning reward points on the item you purchased. It is better to pay with the card and then redeem the reward points to pay off the card. So here's what I did a few months ago: I bought an item and then redeemed the equivalent in points to pay off the balance. So that I earned points for the purchase and still used points to pay for it. So why didn't I do it this time? That's for another day but I'll say greed? 
3. Another thing is that unlike gift cards where cancelling the order results in a release of the funds, reward points now take about a day to show up. And this is much better than the past. I think it's part of the reasons why I tend to use the reward points to buy gift cards and then shop with the gift card. Even then, I've realized it's best to pay with the card and redeem the reward points to pay off the card. See point #2.
4. Amazon customer service has clearly deteriorated. I decided it wasn't worth my time dealing with them and decided to walk away after over 40 minutes. (See my description above). It's not worth the stress. 

So, now you know that when you shop with Amazon reward points when you have a gift card balance, it also charges your gift card balance. I've read it's a hold but I've also read some instances where it wasn't released. But even if this wasn't an issue, it's better to shop with your card and get the 3 or 5 points per dollar and then redeem the reward points for cash to pay the card. For me, I do less business with them and mostly buy Kindle books, which was what I was buying on Cyber Monday. The amount of money wasn't worth the time dealing with customer service and depriving me of my bedtime. And I'm grateful the hold was released the next day but it was a good reminder for me to avoid using amazon reward points directly for purchase. If you've had this issue before, please don't hesitate to share your experience.