An Amazon tip charge on your bank statement is almost always a gratuity attached to an Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods Market delivery order. Amazon pre-fills a $5 tip at checkout on grocery deliveries, bundles it into the order total, and sends it to your card along with the rest of the charge. Standard Amazon package shipments do not add tips, so if a tip shows up, the trail leads back to a grocery order.
Which Amazon Orders Add a Tip
Only Amazon’s grocery delivery services tip. Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market deliveries both prompt a gratuity because a local driver picks and hands off your groceries. Regular Amazon purchases shipped by UPS, USPS, or Amazon’s own vans do not include a tipping option at checkout and will not produce a separate tip line on your statement. Amazon Pharmacy orders travel through the standard delivery network and are not tipped either.
If you haven’t ordered groceries recently, open Your Orders first and look for an Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods entry before assuming the charge is fraud. Shared household accounts are a common explanation: someone else on the account may have placed a grocery order you didn’t know about.
How to Remove or Change the Tip
You have two windows to adjust the tip. The first is at checkout, where you can change the pre-filled $5 to any amount, including zero, before you submit the order. The second runs for 24 hours after delivery.
To edit after delivery, open the Amazon app or website, go to Your Orders, and find the grocery delivery. The order detail page shows the tip with an option to edit it. Enter a new amount, zero included, and Amazon updates the final charge sent to your bank. Amazon’s grocery delivery help page confirms you can edit the tip for up to 24 hours after delivery.1Amazon. Getting Started with Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market on Amazon Deliveries and Pickup
The timing catches people out. The 24-hour clock starts when the driver marks the delivery complete, not when you unpack the bags or notice a problem. Once the window closes, the tip is locked in the app. Amazon customer service may be able to help after that point, but there’s no guarantee of a reversal, so handle it the same day if you can.
Why the Charge Amount or Timing Looks Off
Amazon places an authorization hold on your card when you submit a grocery order. The hold covers the estimated total with the tip included, but it is not the final charge. Item availability, weight-based pricing, and substitutions can shift the real total before the order ships, so the pending amount and the posted amount often differ. Your bank typically shows the hold labeled “Amazon” or “Amazon Fresh,” with the tip embedded in the total rather than broken out as its own line.
Once delivery is complete and the 24-hour editing window closes, Amazon sends the final charge. The authorization hold then drops off, but not instantly. Amazon notes that banks may take 5 to 7 days to release an authorization hold.2Amazon. Authorizations During that stretch, you may see both the hold and the final charge on your statement at the same time. That is not a double charge. If the hold is still there after a week, contact your bank.
If You Can’t Find a Matching Order
If no grocery order explains the charge, check whether you left the default $5 tip in place on an order where you meant to remove it. Then compare the statement entry to Your Orders using the last four digits of the payment method and the charge amount.
If nothing matches, contact Amazon customer service through the app or website. For charges you can confirm are fraudulent, your card issuer’s dispute process is the fallback. Most credit card issuers will reverse the charge while they investigate. File the dispute promptly rather than waiting it out.
Standard Package Deliveries Don’t Charge You a Tip
Standard Amazon package deliveries never produce a tip charge on your statement. Amazon runs a separate program called “Thank My Driver” that lets you send a $5 bonus to the person who delivered your most recent package, but Amazon pays the $5, not you. Your card is not charged.3Amazon Flex. Amazon Thank My Driver Returns 2025 So if a $5 charge appears and you only ordered standard packages, “Thank My Driver” is not the source. Keep looking for a grocery order, including one placed by someone else on the account.