Ryan Dube · May 31, 2024 · 7 min read If you’re a frequent user of PayPal, then the odds are pretty good that you usually have some funds tied up in your PayPal account. Wouldn’t it be convenient to just use PayPal on Amazon directly?
Unfortunately, Amazon has never integrated PayPal into its payment system. This may be because eBay owns PayPal and is a direct competitor. Or it may be because Amazon wants people to use its own payment system called Amazon Pay instead.
Whatever the reason, you can’t make direct payments to Amazon with PayPal. However, there are some creative ways to workaround that issue.
How To Use PayPal On Amazon
Just because you can’t pay for something directly on Amazon with PayPal, that doesn’t mean you can’t use your PayPal funds to buy things.
By using third-party gift cards, credit cards, or money transfers, you can still use PayPal on Amazon.
Use A PayPal Cash Card
One of the best ways to use PayPal on Amazon is by signing up for a PayPal Cash Card.
This is essentially a debit Mastercard that works just like any other credit card you might use on Amazon. The upside is that it is no different than a debit card that you might have with your bank to buy things from funds with your checking account.
To Amazon, it just appears like you’re using a regular bank debit card. However, when you make payments for your purchases, the funds come directly out of your PayPal account.
The benefits of using a PayPal debit Mastercard include:
- No credit check required to obtain the card
- Money comes directly out of your PayPal account without a bank account required
- You get a routing and account number so you can have your employer deposit your checks directly into your PayPal account
- Can be used at any merchant that accepts Mastercard, not just Amazon
You can sign up for a PayPal Cash Card for free and get your debit Mastercard to start making Amazon purchases.
There is a catch. When you sign up for a PayPal cash card, you also need to apply for a PayPal Cash Plus account. There is no extra fee for this, but you will need to verify your identity by providing PayPal with:
- Name
- Physical address
- Birthday
- Taxpayer identification number
Once you are confirmed for a PayPal Cash Plus account, it will be linked directly to your Paypal personal account and used to fund all card purchases.
Add Your PayPal Cash Card to Amazon
To add the PayPal Cash Card as a payment option in Amazon, sign into Amazon and hover the mouse over Account & Lists in the menu. Select Your Account.
In the Ordering and shopping preferences box, select Payment options.
On the payment options page, scroll down to Add a New Payment Method and select Add a card.
Fields will appear where you can enter the card details from your Paypal Cash Card, and then select Add your card.
Your Paypal Cash Card will then appear under the Your credit and debit cards section. You’ll be able to select the PayPal Cash Card as a payment option any time you make an Amazon purchase.
Use A PayPal Mastercard
Unlike a PayPal Cash Card, a PayPal Mastercard is nothing less than an actual credit card. The card is actually issued by Synchrony Bank, and will require a credit check to get approved for one.
Like the PayPal Cash Card, the PayPal Mastercard is accepted at any online or offline retailer that accepts either PayPal or Mastercard.
There are two types of PayPal Mastercard:
- PayPal Cashback Mastercard: Earn 2% cash rewards whenever you make certain purchases that qualify. That earned cash can be transferred to your PayPal account.
- PayPal Extras Mastercard: You’ll earn points when you make qualified purchases, and can use those points at select merchants on the PayPal Extras Reward Redemption Servicing website.
You can sign up for either the PayPal Cashback Mastercard or the Paypal Extras Mastercard. Approval is fairly quick if you have good credit.
So why get a PayPal Mastercard rather than a PayPal Cash Card? There are a few extra benefits.
- You can pay your PayPal Mastercard balance with either your PayPal account or any other bank account.
- You’ll build credit the more you use the card.
- You aren’t limited to the balance you have in your PayPal Cash Plus account.
The most important benefit is that having a PayPal Mastercard lets you use PayPal on Amazon even though Amazon doesn’t accept PayPal payments directly.
It’s also dangerous – because you could potentially spend more than you have in your PayPal account, so use with caution! Make sure PayPal credit is right for you.
You can add your new PayPal Mastercard as a payment choice to your Amazon account using the same procedure in the last section above.
Purchase Amazon Gift Cards
Another trick many people use to buy things on Amazon with their PayPal account balance is by purchasing Amazon gift cards at online vendors that accept PayPal payments.
This is a useful loophole, but it does require the extra step of buying the gift cards. The benefit is that all of the gift card vendors below offer digital Amazon gift card codes that you can start using immediately for Amazon purchases.
A few digital Amazon gift card vendors that accept PayPal payments include:
You could also buy a Visa or Mastercard gift card at GiftCards.com using your PayPal account, and use that to make Amazon purchases. And if you only care to buy Audible audiobooks from Amazon, you can buy an Audible gift card straight from Paypal.
Transfer Money To Your Bank Account
While it may seem obvious, one of the easiest ways to use PayPal on Amazon is to simply move the funds to an account that Amazon accepts.
You may be thinking that it’ll take far too long to transfer money from PayPal to your bank account. When you’re looking to do it for free, this is true. The process can be tedious and includes:
- Linking your bank account (checking or savings account)
- Waiting for PayPal to deposit some funds for account verification
- Waiting up to 10 days for a money transfer out of your PayPal account
Noone wants to wait 10 days to buy something on Amazon. But what if you could do it instantly?
You can, if you’re willing to pay the fee. An instant balance transfer fee is 1% of the transferred amount, up to a maximum of $10. But if you’re only transferring $100, that’s just a $1 fee for an instant transfer. And if you use a debit card, there’s no waiting for account verification.
Here’s how it works. Log into your PayPal account and select Transfer Money.
On the next page, select Transfer to your bank. On this page you have two options. You can select the standard (free) transfer that can take several days, or go with the instant option.
If you haven’t linked a debit card for the free option yet, then select Link an eligible debit card or bank.
On the next screen, choose Link an eligible debit card. Don’t choose the bank account, since that will require deposits for verification. On the Link a card page, just fill out your debit card details and select Link Card.
Once your debit card is linked, you can go back to the money transfer screen again and perform an instant transfer of the amount you need to make the Amazon purchase. Then go to Amazon, and buy the item you want!
As you can see there are plenty of ways to use PayPal on Amazon. Do you know of any other workarounds? Share your ideas in the comments section below.
