Does Amazon Take EBT

Does Amazon Take EBT? (2023)

Does Amazon Take EBT? (2023)

Does Amazon Take EBT?

Does Amazon Take EBT

Many of us shop on Amazon thanks to its low prices and great selection of products. You can buy anything on Amazon.com from groceries to beauty products and everything in between.

If you’re a SNAP recipient, you may want to know, “Does Amazon take EBT?”

What is EBT?

The Electronic Benefits Transfer card is given to people who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

SNAP benefits replaced food stamps and are delivered through an EBT card. As a SNAP recipient, you use your EBT card to buy items much like you would with a regular debit card. The difference is that while you can use a regular debit card to purchase any item as long as you have the funds to cover it, EBT cards can only be used to purchase SNAP-eligible items from authorized stores.

Does Amazon Accept EBT?

Yes, Amazon does accept SNAP EBT benefits on Amazon Fresh and Amazon Grocery purchases. Shipping is often free too provided that you meet certain order minimums.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a pilot program, called the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot. Through this program, SNAP recipients are able to use their EBT card to purchase groceries online from participating retailers in select states, and this includes Amazon.

What states can use EBT on Amazon?

You can use your EBT on Amazon if you live in a state that participates in the Online Purchasing Pilot program. States that are currently participating in the SNAP Online Purchasing Pilot include:

How Do I Add My EBT Card to My Amazon Account?

You will need to add your SNAP EBT card to your Amazon account. Then, you can shop for the products you want and enter your EBT PIN to pay for eligible items.

You can use your EBT card at Amazon on Amazon Fresh and Amazon grocery items. Let’s take a look at how using SNAP on Amazon works in more detail…

Using EBT Card on Amazon Fresh

You can use your EBT card to purchase items through Amazon Fresh.

Amazon Fresh basically works like a regular grocery store and allows you to have a wide range of grocery items delivered to you. This includes perishable, shelf-stable, and household products. It’s available in select regions.

While Amazon Fresh is typically only available to Prime members, Amazon has made the Amazon Fresh Selection available to customers who shop with an EBT card in eligible regions, without Prime membership fees.

What’s great is that Amazon is that you can get free delivery on Amazon Fresh orders by purchasing $35 or more ($50 in select regions) of eligible items.

Also, you have the option to place a smaller order and pay a shipping fee, but you won’t be able to use your EBT card to cover the shipping fee. So, if you don’t meet the free shipping minimum, you would need to provide an alternate form of payment.

Another great feature of Amazon Fresh is that it allows you to schedule your preferred delivery time within a 1 or 2-hour delivery window, as early as the same day.

Using Your EBT Card on Amazon Grocery

Your EBT card can also be used on Amazon groceries. The Grocery and Gourmet Food category on Amazon is available nationwide and features pantry staples, shelf-stable food, and household items.

If you have a Prime membership, you can get free shipping. You can still get free shipping even without a Prime membership, but you will need to purchase $25 or more of eligible items.

Or, you can place a smaller order and pay the shipping fee. But, you won’t be able to use your EBT card to cover the shipping cost, so you will need to provide an alternate form of payment for that.

What Can You Buy with EBT at Amazon?

You can only use your EBT funds to purchase SNAP-eligible food items that are shipped and sold by Amazon.com. You can see which items on Amazon are eligible for purchase with SNAP by looking for the “SNAP EBT eligible” label near the product name.

Not all products can be purchased with SNAP benefits. So, you won’t be able to purchase stuff like TVs, personal care products, etc. Instead, you can use your SNAP benefits to purchase eligible food and drink items.

Here’s what you can buy with your EBT card:

Breads and cereals, like pita bread, rye bread, tortillas, pasta, bagels, and rice.
Protein, Protein bars, Protein drinks.
Candy
Chips
Cold sandwiches
Cooking oils, like olive oil and vegetable oil
Dairy products, like cheese, milk, and almond milk.
Desserts, like ice cream, cookies, or brownies
Fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, or canned)
Non-alcoholic beverages, such as soft drinks, like Sprite and Pepsi, and energy drinks like Red Bull.
Other foods such as snack foods
Pork products, like chops, sausages, bacon, and tenderloin.
Poultry products like chicken and eggs
Red meat, like steak, ribs, and ground beef
Salads
Seafood, such as fish, shrimp, shellfish, and lobster.
Seeds and plants that produce food for the household to eat
Snack crackers

FAQs

Here are some answers to common questions you may have about using your SNAP benefits on Amazon.

Can I use EBT on Amazon Whole Foods?
Whole Foods takes EBT cards in its stores, but if you want to shop at Whole Foods online, you’re out of luck because WF doesn’t take EBT online in most locations. However, you can still get your favorite Whole Foods products delivered to your home through Amazon. Many Whole Foods products are available through the Amazon.com groceries and Amazon Fresh delivery programs, and customers are able to use their EBT card to purchase Amazon Grocery items and items through Amazon Fresh.

Can you use EBT to pay for Amazon Prime?
No, you can’t use EBT to pay for Amazon Prime. EBT cardholders can’t get Amazon Prime for free, but they can get it at a discount. A Prime membership usually costs $12.99 per month, and Amazon is offering it to EBT recipients for just $5.99 a month. So you can save 50% on an Amazon Prime membership. Prime has lots to offer, like free delivery on Prime-eligible items with no order minimum and access to a library of movies and TV shows you can stream for free through Prime Video.

Can you buy EBT items and non-EBT items in the same transaction?
Yes, you can use multiple forms of payment, like your EBT card and a credit card when you check out on Amazon. If you have items that aren’t SNAP eligible in your cart, you will need to use a regular debit or credit card to cover the cost of those. And, if you have to pay any shipping fees, you’ll need to use a regular payment card to cover those too, since EBT cards can’t be used to cover shipping fees.

Do Amazon Coupons apply to SNAP orders?
Amazon doesn’t accept paper coupons, like the ones you get from the newspaper from manufacturers or competitors. But, it does have its own online coupons that are available to all customers, including customers that use SNAP. This means you can use Amazon’s coupons toward SNAP-eligible items and save yourself money on the platform. You can browse all coupons and clip them directly from the main page or look for the “Save $X.XX” flags while you are shopping.

Amazon EBT Policy Summary

It’s good to know that Amazon takes EBT cards as a payment method. You can get staple food items like pasta, spices, and meat, as well as some more surprising items, like protein powder, using your SNAP benefits. What’s good about using EBT on Amazon is that its prices are really affordable, and there are often discounts and free shipping offered too. If you’ve wondered, “Does Amazon take EBT?”, then hopefully this post helped you out!