How To Use An API To Send Amazon.com Gift Cards

A scalable gift card API is a powerful tool that businesses use to distribute bulk Amazon.com gift cards for their rewards and incentives programs. 

Whether you’re managing customer loyalty, employee engagement, sales incentives, or something else, integrating Amazon.com gift card distribution into your existing app or software can dramatically simplify the process of delivering rewards and disbursements.

In this article we’ll explore gift card APIs, explain why they're crucial for effective program management, and show you exactly how to use them to buy and send Amazon.com gift cards.

What exactly is an API to send Amazon.com gift cards?

A gift card API is a tool that allows businesses to automate the process of sending Amazon.com gift cards and other digital rewards through programmatic requests.

Or in layman's terms, it lets you integrate Amazon gift card distribution into your existing software. This in turn lets you deliver Amazon.com digital gift cards (and sometimes other types of gift cards and prepaid cards) in real-time through your own app or portal.

This kind of real-time automation is crucial for businesses that rely on timely rewards to motivate actions. By ensuring that rewards are delivered right away, you can reinforce your desired behavior while engagement is still high.

Gift card API: the technical details

In simple terms, an API, or Application Programming Interface, is a software intermediary that lets two computer programs communicate with each other.

Using a tool like Giftbit's RESTful API will connect your company’s app or platform with Giftbit’s complete digital rewards platform and global catalog (which includes gift cards for Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.it, Amazon.com.mx, and Amazon.es, along with hundreds of other popular brands).

This means you (or your web developer) can use the Giftbit API to integrate Amazon.com gift cards, along with Visa® and Mastercard® prepaid cards, Starbucks gift cards, and literally every other option in our diverse catalog, directly into your own company’s software. 🙌

The Giftbit API is easy to understand and specifically designed to make integration as simple as possible.  Its purpose is to do one thing: take an order and send the reward.

Translation: you (or your developer) can have a seamless reward and payout workflow up and running in no time.

For example, according to Greg Augustine, Project Manager at Prime46, his company’s developer was able to integrate the Giftbit API with their processes in just two days.

“It wasn’t difficult for our developer to implement at all,” Greg remembers. “I basically told him, ‘Here's the information I have, let me know if you need anything more.’ And I haven’t heard anything since."

To sum up, if your company wants to integrate a gift card program directly into your existing workflow and/or platform, you’ll need an internal or external developer to connect it via API (or via Zapier, a simpler route which we’ll cover further below).

When choosing a new API, your developer will look for one with high uptime that is also reliable, secure, and cost-effective, with a fair and transparent pricing model.

But if you're a business owner or program manager, you don’t need to worry about the technical details—just know that using an API (or a Zapier integration, which we'll cover below) is essential for automating and scaling your Amazon.com gift card program.

API access for other brands

Assuming you choose the right one, the same API you use to send Amazon.com gift cards can also be used to access and distribute all your electronic rewards.

Like we've covered, with a single API integration from Giftbit, you’ll unlock the ability to send rewards from hundreds of different global brands.

This means you don’t have to set up separate systems for each brand—everything is managed through one simple and powerful API.

Whether you need Mastercard prepaid cards for a global rewards program, gas gift cards, gift cards in very low denominations, or virtually any other type of open or closed loop gift cards, the Giftbit API is free and easy to use and designed to make life simple.

API integration for sending Amazon.com gift cards: why you need it

Using a gift card API for Amazon.com gift card distribution is a smart choice for a wide variety of use cases, ranging from referral programs to employee engagement efforts designed to improve culture and retention.

One of the most significant benefits of this approach is the ability to deliver rewards instantly.

For example, if you’re running a sales contest, the ability to send an Amazon.com gift card immediately after a goal is achieved will reinforce the positive behavior you want to encourage.

This immediate reinforcement is crucial because it keeps participants engaged and motivated.

Reducing operational overhead is another key benefit. 

For businesses that send out bulk gift cards, manually processing these orders is time-consuming and prone to errors.

But by integrating an API, you can automate the entire process. This means no more logging in to place orders or worrying about inaccuracies. Instead, the API handles everything for you automatically, saving time and reducing the need for manual intervention.

In fact, this is how Greg at Prime46 now saves 10+ hours a week on inventive fulfillment of Amazon.com gift cards specifically.

Finally, scalability is another major advantage of solid API integrations. If your program involves multiple rewards per hour or operates 24/7, a manual system would require a dedicated team or manager (like Greg!) to manage orders constantly.

But with a gift card API, you can scale effortlessly, handling large volumes of rewards with minimal effort. 

How to access the gift card API

Accessing the gift card API to send Amazon.com gift cards through Giftbit is straightforward—and always free. There are never any minimums and exclusivity contracts to use Giftbit. 

To get started, you’ll just need to create an account with Giftbit. Once your testbed account is set up, you can easily connect to the API, and your developer can start testing in the sandbox environment.

Giftbit setup is designed to be accessible for businesses of all sizes, whether you’re just starting out or already running a large-scale program.

More automation options for incentives programs

If you’re not ready for direct API integration or you simply don't need it yet, you may want to explore other options for integration—namely Zapier integration.

Zapier acts as a platform middleman, connecting your existing apps with Giftbit’s gift card platform. Instead of using an API to ‘talk’ to your distributor, Zapier will do the talking instead, linking to workflows you already use (think Hubspot, Google Docs, Airtable, and a lot more).

For smaller programs or those just getting started, Zapier is a great way to automate reward sending, without needing deep technical expertise.

You can set up workflows that automatically send rewards when certain conditions are met, such as completing a survey or reaching a sales milestone—no developer needed. 

In fact, that’s how Curipod’s COO & Co-Founder Eirik Hernes Berre set up his app company’s own incentive program in just ten minutes.

That said, for larger programs or those that require more robust integration, direct API access is usually the way to go. It offers greater control, reliability, and scalability, ensuring that your rewards program can grow with your business. 

If you'd like to use a flexible API to send gift cards from Amazon.com along with other brands and retailers , sign up for a free Giftbit testbed account now. Or book time with Sales if you have any questions about the process.