probably the easiest way would be to buy an amazon gift card in cash and deliver it to a locker/shop for pickup, although you'd likely still need to link it to a phone number

I don't have much experience with soldering, but would it be possible to buy a device that uses this chip and take it out/re-use? E.g. this listing in my area: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/atq/d/san-jose-tasmota-smar...