Remove a card or bank account in three steps

Go to your Amazon account, select Login & security from the left menu, then scroll to Login & security settings and choose Your payments. Find the card or bank account you want to remove, click the three dots next to it, and select Delete. Amazon will ask you to confirm — click Delete again, and it's gone.

The whole process takes less than a minute. You don't need to have another payment method on file first, though Amazon will ask you to add one before you can place your next order. If you're removing your only payment method on purpose, that's fine — just know you'll have to enter new payment details when you're ready to buy something.

Removing a payment method doesn't cancel subscriptions or memberships tied to that card. If you have an active Prime membership or Subscribe & Save orders charging to the card you're deleting, those will fail on the next billing date unless you update them to a different payment method first.

Key Takeaways

  • You can delete any payment method from your account by going to Login & security, then Your payments, finding the card or bank account, and clicking Delete.
  • Amazon will not let subscriptions or recurring charges fail silently — you must update them to a different payment method before removing the card they use.
  • You don't need a backup payment method on file to remove one, but you will need to add one before placing your next order.
  • Removing a payment method from your account does not affect any past orders or refunds tied to that card.

Check for subscriptions before you delete

Before removing a card, look at what's charging to it. Go to Your Account, then Memberships and subscriptions. This page shows every active subscription — Prime, Prime Video, Kindle Unlimited, Subscribe & Save orders, and anything else that bills automatically. If any of them use the card you're about to delete, you need to update them first.

To change the payment method on a subscription, click into that subscription from the Memberships and subscriptions page, find the payment method section, and select a different card or bank account. Do this for every subscription using the card you want to remove. Once they're all switched over, you can safely delete the old card.

If you delete a card while a subscription is still charging to it, Amazon will send you an email saying the payment failed. You'll then have to add a new payment method and update the subscription manually — it's extra steps you can avoid by doing it first.

What happens to past orders and refunds

Removing a payment method does not affect orders you've already placed or refunds you're waiting for. Amazon keeps a record of which card was used for each order, so refunds will still go back to the original card even after you delete it from your account. Your bank will receive the refund and credit it to your account normally.

If you're worried about a refund that's in progress, you can leave the card on file until it arrives, then delete it. There's no time limit on how long a card can stay in your account after you stop using it — you can delete it whenever you want.

Removing a bank account instead of a card

The steps are the same whether you're removing a debit card, credit card, or bank account. Go to Your payments, find the bank account in the list, click the three dots, and select Delete. Amazon will confirm the deletion and remove it from your account immediately.

Bank accounts take longer to set up than cards in the first place — Amazon has to verify the account by depositing small amounts and having you confirm them — so you may have fewer of them on file. If you're removing a bank account because it's closed or you switched banks, make sure any subscriptions using it are updated to a card or new bank account before you delete it.

If you can't find the payment method to delete

Sometimes a card or bank account doesn't show up in your payments list even though you know you added it. This usually means it was declined when Amazon tried to verify it, or it was added to a different Amazon account. Check that you're logged into the right account — if you have multiple Amazon accounts, each one has its own separate payment methods.

If you're certain you're in the right account and the payment method still isn't there, it may have been automatically removed by Amazon because it failed verification or hadn't been used in a long time. You don't need to do anything in that case — it's already gone from your account.

Deleting a payment method doesn't close your account

Removing all your payment methods from Amazon does not close your account or affect your account history. You can have zero payment methods on file and still log in, view your order history, track returns, and manage your account settings. The only thing you can't do is place a new order until you add a payment method.

If you're trying to close your Amazon account entirely, removing payment methods is not the way to do it. You would need to contact Amazon Customer Service and request account closure. Removing a payment method is just a way to stop using a specific card or bank account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Amazon charge my card after I delete it?

No. Once you delete a payment method, Amazon cannot charge it. If you have subscriptions using that card, they will fail on the next billing date and you'll get an error email. That's why you should update subscriptions to a different card before deleting the old one.

Can I undo a deletion if I change my mind?

No, but you can add the same card back to your account anytime. Just go to Your payments, click Add a payment method, and enter the card details again. It will be treated as a new entry in your payment methods list.

What if I delete a card and then get a refund?

The refund will still go back to that card at your bank. Amazon's system keeps track of which card was used for each order, so the refund processes even if you've deleted the card from your account. Your bank will credit the refund to the account associated with that card.

Do I need to delete a card if I'm just not using it anymore?

No. You can leave old cards on file indefinitely without any charge or penalty. Delete it only if you want to clean up your account or if the card is closed or compromised.