Is this the strangest Prime Day deal this year? Amazon will give you a $1,500 gift card if you buy a new car... via Amazon

Hyundai IONIQ 9 in front of a Hyundai dealership with an amazon Prime Day text overlay — (Image credit: Hyundai / Amazon)

I've covered Amazon Prime Day for a few years now, and each year it seems to get bigger as the retailer's inventory expands. I've just spotted a promotion that's admittedly new to me, however.

Right now, you can get a $1,500 Amazon gift card if you buy a car via the retailer's Amazon Autos service. I didn't even know that buying a car from Amazon was a thing until I spotted this Prime Day special.

Should you buy a car via Amazon? Well, that's a good question. From what I can see on the listings, Amazon Autos is essentially just a new marketplace for dealers, rather than a first-party retailer. It's a little strange seeing cars listed as for sale on the Amazon Store page, but the more I look at it, the more it seems to make sense. It doesn't seem that much different from most online car marketplaces.

Interestingly, it looks like the available stock is mostly from American, Korean, and Japanese brands, with a few German cars sprinkled here and there. There aren't any new Chinese brands, which isn't surprising considering the various tariffs!

How do I get my $1,500 gift card?

According to the T&Cs, to be eligible for your gift card you'll need to either buy or lease a brand new car. Annoyingly, this promo doesn't extend to used cars, even though those are also listed on Amazon Autos.

Even worse, this promotion is a Prime Day special, so there's only today and tomorrow to actually buy a car. That's a hell of a commitment to make at such short notice, but you can test drive the car before you buy it, according to Amazon Autos.

Once you've picked out a car, you've got until June 29th to actually go and get it from the dealership. The gift card is being sent out via email within two weeks of pick-up.

Aside from those caveats, it appears that this promotion doesn't have any other stipulations in terms of brands or vehicle type. There are EVs, hybrids, pickups, SUVs, and pretty much all types of vehicles under the sun.