I have a Visa gift card sitting on my desk that has a random leftover amount on it -- $26.31 -- and I wanted to use it to help buy a case on Amazon.com (the SKB MIDI Foot Controller Soft Case For FCB1010 if you're curious).

There is no place to punch in a Visa gift card on Amazon, so I figured I would add it to my account, then try and pay for the case, then Amazon would somehow figure out the amount that's left and ask me to pay that. Kind of like how it works at a cash register at a real store. Nope, I got a generic "card declined" message.

I went on Amazon's live chat and asked if there was a way to split a transaction, and the lady said no, you can't split transactions... but you can apply an Amazon.com gift card for partial payment. Hmm.. ok, that got me thinking, and I came up with a way to use the Visa gift card to make partial payments on Amazon.com!

First, add the card just like any credit card to your Amazon account.

Then, buy an Amazon e-mail gift card for the exact amount you have left:

and set your own email as the recipient. Lo and behold, you'll find this in your email:

Then, go buy your item and apply the shiny new Amazon gift card!

Easy as that!