Nov 10, 2013, 11:26 am
Last edit by: mcdullhk88
Dead as of 10/13/14
FAQ's
Is Amazon Payments treated as a cash advance? No CC issuer has been reported as treating an AP transaction as a cash advance unless the sender selected "Payment is for Cash Advance" on the Send Money screen.
What does it mean when your payment is "pending"? Your payment will be reviewed. We are unsure whether this review is done by a human or computer. It should take less than 24 hours but is usually within minutes.
How should you describe your payment? "Goods or services" will allow you to charge with a CC and it will not be treated as a cash advance. Note: If you choose cash advance, it may be treated as such by your CC issuer; always choose Goods/Services. There is no reason to put anything in the optional description field - leave it blank.
What is the monthly limit for sending CC payments? $1,000 per calendar month per AP account
What is the monthly limit for receiving CC payments? $1,000 per calendar month per AP account
What if it is not allowing me to send/receive more than $500 or any at all? You probably have not verified your bank and/or added a CC. In order to get the full $1,000 allowance for sending and receiving you must have a bank verified AND a CC added to your account as a payment method.
Does AP qualify for special spending categories? Specifically it qualifies for Discover's (usually 4th quarter) category of online purchases but so far, not Chase's "5% CB on Amazon.com purchases." Refer to thread for other options.
Can you get shutdown? Yes.
How do you get shutdown? No one knows. Anecdotes are found throughout the thread. Some suspicious behavior that MIGHT get your AP account(s) shut down is listed below.
Which transaction is most advisable? A -> B -> C -> A (see here)
Are any fees charged during this process? No, not by Amazon Payments. If your transaction is treated as a cash advance by your card issuer--fees are possible. Beware and always double check that goods/services is selected!
Can you liquidate Amazon GC via AP? NO!
Can you liquidate other gift cards via AP? Yes. Note that you cannot liquidate the full value of a GC because amazon places a $1 hold while it verifies the validity of the GC. You can sometimes (not always) avoid the hold by entering an incorrect expiration date for the GC when adding it to your AP account, and after you have added it, go to "Edit my account settings," then to "Add edit or delete my credit cards" and edit the expiration date there.
When does the month end? It appears as if Amazon is on pacific time, so midnight PDT/PST is when the month resets.
It bears repeating that no one knows the methodology amazon uses to police AP transactions, determines which transactions violate its T&Cs, or identifies violators. However, various people in this thread and elsewhere have confirmed that their AP account(s) were shut down for the following reasons:
Additionally, we have updated the terms and conditions of our User Agreement (https://payments.amazon.com/help/Personal-Accounts/User-Agreement-Policies/User-Agreement) that apply to your use of the products and services provided by Amazon Payments. Our updated User Agreement revises certain terms (including, among other things, the elimination of person-to-person payments). Our new User Agreement will become effective on October 13, 2014, which is more than 30 days from when we first posted our updated User Agreement. By continuing to use our services after October 13, 2014, you are agreeing to be bound by the terms and conditions of our new User Agreement.
Is Amazon Payments treated as a cash advance? No CC issuer has been reported as treating an AP transaction as a cash advance unless the sender selected "Payment is for Cash Advance" on the Send Money screen.
What does it mean when your payment is "pending"? Your payment will be reviewed. We are unsure whether this review is done by a human or computer. It should take less than 24 hours but is usually within minutes.
How should you describe your payment? "Goods or services" will allow you to charge with a CC and it will not be treated as a cash advance. Note: If you choose cash advance, it may be treated as such by your CC issuer; always choose Goods/Services. There is no reason to put anything in the optional description field - leave it blank.
What is the monthly limit for sending CC payments? $1,000 per calendar month per AP account
What is the monthly limit for receiving CC payments? $1,000 per calendar month per AP account
What if it is not allowing me to send/receive more than $500 or any at all? You probably have not verified your bank and/or added a CC. In order to get the full $1,000 allowance for sending and receiving you must have a bank verified AND a CC added to your account as a payment method.
Does AP qualify for special spending categories? Specifically it qualifies for Discover's (usually 4th quarter) category of online purchases but so far, not Chase's "5% CB on Amazon.com purchases." Refer to thread for other options.
Can you get shutdown? Yes.
How do you get shutdown? No one knows. Anecdotes are found throughout the thread. Some suspicious behavior that MIGHT get your AP account(s) shut down is listed below.
Which transaction is most advisable? A -> B -> C -> A (see here)
Are any fees charged during this process? No, not by Amazon Payments. If your transaction is treated as a cash advance by your card issuer--fees are possible. Beware and always double check that goods/services is selected!
Can you liquidate Amazon GC via AP? NO!
Can you liquidate other gift cards via AP? Yes. Note that you cannot liquidate the full value of a GC because amazon places a $1 hold while it verifies the validity of the GC. You can sometimes (not always) avoid the hold by entering an incorrect expiration date for the GC when adding it to your AP account, and after you have added it, go to "Edit my account settings," then to "Add edit or delete my credit cards" and edit the expiration date there.
When does the month end? It appears as if Amazon is on pacific time, so midnight PDT/PST is when the month resets.
It bears repeating that no one knows the methodology amazon uses to police AP transactions, determines which transactions violate its T&Cs, or identifies violators. However, various people in this thread and elsewhere have confirmed that their AP account(s) were shut down for the following reasons:
- Associating one credit card number with more than one AP account (Be Careful if authorized user card has the same number as the primary card holder - in some instances the CC numbers are completely different)
- Associating one bank account with more than one AP account
Amazon Payments
Feb 15, 2013, 6:17 am
#1696
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 639
Ha ha. You are nothing more than a common criminal in their eyes. Please let us know how they respond to your plea for mercy.
Feb 15, 2013, 10:19 am
#1698
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 385
Yes that is what triggered it. I do not care about the account at this point, I am just worried silly about the money, although member7777 said that they will give it back to me. For know I emailed them asking if they can allow me access to my money which is in the closed account. Now just anxiously checking my email, awaiting a response.
Feb 15, 2013, 12:04 pm
#1699
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
Yes that is what triggered it. I do not care about the account at this point, I am just worried silly about the money, although member7777 said that they will give it back to me. For know I emailed them asking if they can allow me access to my money which is in the closed account. Now just anxiously checking my email, awaiting a response.
Mike
Feb 15, 2013, 12:52 pm
#1700
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 385
Good news to report though!!! After I emailed AP asking how I can get out my frozen money they wrote back that they verified the account and it is unfrozen!!! Funny cause the email that said it is frozen said it was due to multiple accounts. Guess whoever looked at it now was nicer then the dude who closed it!!
I thank everyone for their help and concern.
Feb 15, 2013, 2:24 pm
#1701
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,689
It is in my friends account, however he does not use it. I created it with his consent to add to my AP limits. He has another account besides for this one.Good news to report though!!! After I emailed AP asking how I can get out my frozen money they wrote back that they verified the account and it is unfrozen!!! Funny cause the email that said it is frozen said it was due to multiple accounts. Guess whoever looked at it now was nicer then the dude who closed it!!
I thank everyone for their help and concern.
I thank everyone for their help and concern.
Feb 15, 2013, 2:32 pm
#1702
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 385
not sure how often they may 'freeze' an account twice, but if your friend has a 2nd account in his name that he uses, I would suggest you use only your account. They flagged his account already as a 2nd account, so the next time it may not be so easy to get your funds back.
Feb 16, 2013, 9:41 am
#1705
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,689
Yes I agree, the account that was not flagged is the only one that will be used again. I was happy they unfroze the other so that I can get out my money but a lesson was learned. I am thinking of emailing them to close the second account so that they will only have 1 account on file.
Your problem may be that if you created this 2nd account in your friends name (giving him two account), you have no idea when he accesses and uses his other account (therefore, creating 2 actively used accounts in the same name).
Feb 17, 2013, 10:59 am
#1708
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,689
+1^
People need to understand, sometimes it takes reading part of a thread, or the entire thread or maybe even re reading a thread to understand or remind yourself.
The same questions are asked over and over and over.
Read, read, read and re- read.
Feb 17, 2013, 11:00 am
#1709
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 217
I did read the thread, only then I started this thing. I know couple of things to watch for, but was not sure what I need to watch when I am transferring to my wifes bank account.