Amazon Coins Are Gone: Refunds, Shutdown Dates and What to Use Instead

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There are no Amazon Coins deals left to find. Amazon stopped selling Coins on February 20, 2025, and shut the program down in every marketplace on August 20, 2025, the same day it ended the Amazon Appstore for Android devices. Any page still promising discounted or free Coins in 2026 is either years out of date or trying to scam you.

What matters now is money and devices. Unused Coins you paid for were refunded automatically, while Coins you got for free were not. Fire tablets and Fire TV still run the Amazon Appstore, but Coins no longer work there either. Below are the key dates, how the refunds worked, and the programs that can still cut what you spend on apps and games.

Updated, September 14, 2026: Rewritten from a 2021 Amazon Coins deals article. Amazon discontinued Coins in August 2025, so this page now covers the shutdown timeline, refunds for purchased Coins, what changed on Fire devices and verified alternatives.

What Amazon Coins were and where the 20% discount came from

Amazon launched Coins in the US on May 13, 2013, as a virtual currency for Kindle Fire owners. Each Coin was worth one cent, every Kindle Fire owner received 500 free Coins (a $5 value), and buying in bulk cut the price by up to 10%, according to Amazon’s launch announcement. Developers still collected their usual 70% revenue share when customers paid with Coins.

The bigger savings came from promotions. During the 2013 holidays, Amazon offered up to 20% off Coins bought or gifted through January 5, 2014. That promotional ceiling is where the familiar save-20% pitch for Amazon Coins came from, including the original version of this article.

Coins were never general store credit. Amazon’s guide to using Coins limited them to eligible apps, games and in-app items sold through the Amazon Appstore. Subscriptions were excluded, publishers could opt out, and Coins could not be combined with another payment method. If your balance fell short, you either paid the full price another way or bought more Coins.

That last rule is why the discount was smaller in practice than on paper. Bundle sizes rarely matched item prices, so occasional buyers topped up to cover one purchase and left a balance sitting unused. Coins suited people who spent steadily inside one or two Appstore games. For everyone else, they mostly encouraged extra spending.

Amazon Coins shutdown timeline: key dates

• March 5, 2024: Amazon stopped accepting new Windows 11 apps and set March 5, 2025 as the end of support for the Amazon Appstore on Windows 11. It was the first sign the store was pulling back to Amazon hardware.
• February 20, 2025: Amazon stopped selling Coins in all marketplaces and closed new app submissions for Android devices. In Japan, in-app purchases through the Android Appstore ended the same day.
• August 20, 2025: The Amazon Appstore for Android devices and the Coins program were discontinued. Amazon’s Appstore FAQ now warns that apps downloaded from it are not guaranteed to work on Android devices.
• August 22, 2025: Amazon began processing refunds for unused purchased Coins.
• Late August 2025: Refunds started reaching customers’ original payment methods.
• September 2025: Amazon released Vega OS, a Linux-based system, on the Fire TV Stick 4K Select.
• October 23, 2025: Amazon relaunched Luna and moved the Prime Gaming benefit into it.
• July 23, 2026: Luna games arrived inside the Prime Video app on Fire TV in the US and UK.

Amazon’s explanation, as reported by TechCrunch, was that the overwhelming majority of Appstore customers used it on Amazon’s own devices, so that is where the company would focus. Coins were cut everywhere rather than kept for Fire devices. In September 2026, Amazon’s Coins FAQ still describes the program as discontinued and offers only refund information.

Amazon Coins refunds: what happened to your balance

If you bought Coins and had not spent them by August 20, 2025, you did not need to do anything. Amazon’s Amazon Coins FAQ says those balances were refunded automatically to the payment method used for the original Coins order, or as an Amazon gift card, with processing on or after August 22, 2025. Amazon notified customers when a refund went through. If the original payment method was no longer active, Amazon sent an email and issued a gift card instead.

Purchased Coins versus free Coins

Only purchased Coins qualified. Coins that arrived for free, such as the 500 launch Coins or later promotional grants, were not turned into money. AFTVnews reported on August 25, 2025 that refunds had started arriving and that free Coins were excluded. It also found that Amazon had removed the page showing Coins balances, which left many people with no easy way to check whether a refund matched what they had held.

Appstore subscriptions bought on Android were handled separately. Amazon’s developer notice said those subscriptions stay accessible on Fire TV and Fire tablets, and customers could cancel and get a refund for any period that ran past August 20, 2025.

If a Coins refund never showed up

1. Search your inbox for Amazon’s refund notification, which was sent once a refund processed.
2. Check your Amazon gift card balance, because refunds that failed on a closed card were issued as gift cards.
3. Check the statement for the card or bank account you used to buy Coins. The money goes back there, not into the Appstore.
4. If nothing turns up and you are sure you had purchased Coins left, contact Amazon customer service with the date and amount of your original Coins order.

Do Amazon Coins still work on Fire tablets and Fire TV?

No. The Appstore itself survived on Fire TV, Fire tablets and Fire TV built-in televisions, but the Coins program ended in every marketplace, Amazon hardware included. On those devices, Amazon’s help page for downloading Appstore apps says paid apps need a default payment method on your Amazon account, and an Amazon gift card can also be used.

That matters most for families. Coins used to work as an informal spending cap on a child’s tablet, and without them purchases go straight to your card or gift card balance. Turn on the Appstore’s parental controls for in-app purchases before handing a Fire tablet to a child. Once enabled, every in-app purchase requires your Amazon account to be verified.

Fire TV is also changing underneath. Amazon’s 2025 developer year in review confirms Vega OS is live on the Fire TV Stick 4K Select, with more Vega devices expected in 2026. On Vega hardware, only Amazon Appstore apps can be installed and Android APK files will not run, while existing Fire TV models stay on Android-based Fire OS.

If you used the Appstore on an Android phone, switch to the Google Play versions of your apps and games. Anything still installed from Amazon can stop working without notice, and developers could only push updates through August 20, 2025. If an app you need is missing from Play, there are alternative Android app stores, but read up on the risks of installing APK files before you sideload anything.

Best alternatives to Amazon Coins deals in 2026

Nothing replaces Coins one for one. The options below save money in two different ways: loyalty points on Android, or subscriptions that swap in-app purchases for a fixed fee.

Option	Where it works	How it saves	Cost
Google Play Points	Google Play on Android	Points on purchases, redeemable for Play credit, coupons and in-game items	Free to join
Google Play Pass	Android, Google Play Games on PC	More than 1,000 games and apps with no ads or in-app purchases	Subscription, price varies by country
Apple Arcade	Apple devices	Hundreds of games with no ads or in-app purchases	$6.99 a month or $49.99 a year
Amazon Luna with Prime	Fire TV, Fire tablets, phones, computers, select TVs	More than 50 cloud games plus monthly PC games	Included with Prime; Luna Premium is $9.99 a month

Google Play Points

Google Play Points is the closest thing to the old Coins rewards. Joining is free, and you earn on app purchases, in-app purchases and subscriptions. In the US, Google’s Play Points level table sets the base rate at 1 point per dollar at Bronze, rising to 1.1 at Silver, 1.2 at Gold, 1.4 at Platinum and 1.6 at Diamond, the top level, which starts at 10,000 points earned in a calendar year.

You can spend points on Play credit, discount coupons for in-app items, or items inside participating games, according to Google’s rules for using Play Points. There are two catches. Credit and coupons from points expire after a year, and the points themselves expire one year after the last time you earned or used any. Play Points is also not offered in every country.

The base rates are modest. Play Points pays off mainly if you already spend regularly on Google Play and time purchases around Google’s boosted-points promotions.

Google Play Pass

Play Pass works the other way around: you pay a subscription and more than 1,000 games and apps come without ads or in-app purchases. Subscribers also get Gold-level Play Points benefits, and a family manager can share access with the family group. The catalog is a curated selection rather than all of Google Play, and it changes, so confirm your regular games are included and check the Play Store for the price in your country. TechEngage’s early report on Google’s plans for Play Pass covers how the service started.

Apple Arcade for iPhone and iPad

Apple never had a Coins-style currency. Its nearest money saver is Apple Arcade, which costs $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year, carries no ads or in-app purchases, and can be shared with up to five people through Family Sharing. It is also included in Apple One bundles.

Amazon Luna with Prime (formerly Prime Gaming)

For Prime members with Fire devices, the most useful replacement is not a discount at all. Under the Luna FAQ published at the October 2025 relaunch, Prime includes a cloud library of more than 50 games plus a rotating set of downloadable PC games each month. Luna runs on Fire TV, Fire tablets, iOS and Android phones, computers and select Samsung and LG TVs. Cloud play was available in 14 countries at the relaunch, while the monthly PC games are offered wherever Prime is available. Luna Premium, the paid tier, costs $9.99 a month in the US.

On July 23, 2026, Amazon added a Games tab to Prime Video on Fire TV in the US and UK, so Prime members can start Luna games without opening a separate app. For how the service got here, see TechEngage’s coverage of Amazon Luna’s US launch for Prime members.

Which option fits which player

• Heavy spenders in one Android game: Play Points, since it rewards spending you already do.
• Families who want predictable costs: Play Pass or Apple Arcade, because neither catalog allows in-app purchases.
• Fire TV and Fire tablet owners with Prime: Luna first, before paying for anything else.
• People who buy an app now and then: skip the subscriptions. Paying per purchase is usually cheaper, and on Android free Play Points membership still returns a little.

Amazon Coins generators and free Coins offers are scams

Amazon Coins cannot be generated, and since August 20, 2025 there is no Coins balance to add them to. Any site, video or app offering an Amazon Coins code generator, free Coins for finishing a survey, or a modified app with unlimited Coins is not delivering Coins. The real goal is usually your Amazon login, your personal details, a paid sign-up or a malware install.

Common warning signs:

• Login requests: a page asks for your Amazon password or a one-time verification code.
• Human verification walls: the code only appears after you complete surveys, install apps or enter a phone number.
• Gift card payments: someone wants a gift card number and PIN to release a reward.
• Unofficial downloads: the offer depends on installing an APK or modded game from outside an official store.

The FTC’s guidance on gift card scams is blunt: no legitimate business asks to be paid in gift cards, and Google Play, Apple and Amazon cards are frequent targets. If you were caught, contact the gift card company right away and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Free virtual currency offers have caused trouble even without outright fraud. In January 2021 the FTC settled with Tapjoy, a mobile ad network whose offers promised in-game currency for completing ads and surveys, which the FTC said had drawn hundreds of thousands of complaints from people who never got the rewards. Modified game files carry separate risks, covered in TechEngage’s guide to Android game mods, and these tips for staying safe while browsing help you spot fake giveaway pages before you type anything in.

Amazon Coins FAQs

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