Old Nov 10, 2013, 11:26 am
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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.
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:
  • 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
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Amazon Payments

Old Feb 19, 2013, 7:06 pm
  #1726  
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: SFO
Posts: 851
i haven't found it yet, so can someone tell me if this thread includes a list of cc's/banks known to backfire (either charge cash advance fee or otherwise not work) when used with AP?
decibel08 is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2013, 7:11 pm
  #1727  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: SFO
Programs: Hilton-Gold
Posts: 703
Citi will treat as Cash Advance
concordian is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 12:37 am
  #1728  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 229
I used Citi AMEX early Oct, 2012 and there was no fee. Unless I missed some valuable comments, I don't think Citi treats AP as cash advance.

I may need to use Citi AA biz card in the near future so please correct me if things have changed. Thanks.
lw7878 is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 7:47 am
  #1729  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 26
Originally Posted by lw7878
I used Citi AMEX early Oct, 2012 and there was no fee. Unless I missed some valuable comments, I don't think Citi treats AP as cash advance.

I may need to use Citi AA biz card in the near future so please correct me if things have changed. Thanks.
Used Citi AA biz a week or so ago with no fee.
TheMileGuy is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 7:49 am
  #1730  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: Mileage Plus, Aadvantage, Skymiles, Marriott, Priority Club, SPG, Amtrak, Hertz
Posts: 834
Originally Posted by TheMileGuy
Used Citi AA biz a week or so ago with no fee.
Has anyone used the Citi Personal AA Visa with AP? I just signed up for it, and I'll need AP to meet the min spend.
Kay_nyc is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 8:05 am
  #1731  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
Originally Posted by concordian
Citi will treat as Cash Advance
This statement is simply incorrect. Citi does not treat Amazon Payments as a cash advance.

Citi does treat any purchase from a financial institution as a cash advance.

Originally Posted by Kay_nyc
Has anyone used the Citi Personal AA Visa with AP? I just signed up for it, and I'll need AP to meet the min spend.
Works just fine. Enjoy the points!
ma91pmh is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 8:15 am
  #1732  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 59
Originally Posted by concordian
Citi will treat as Cash Advance
As has been repeated, this is wrong.

When I'm not trying to meet minimum spend requirements I sometimes use my TY Premier through AP in order to get access to my flight points.
bobfather is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 8:17 am
  #1733  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: Mileage Plus, Aadvantage, Skymiles, Marriott, Priority Club, SPG, Amtrak, Hertz
Posts: 834
Originally Posted by bobfather
As has been repeated, this is wrong.

When I'm not trying to meet minimum spend requirements I sometimes use my TY Premier through AP in order to get access to my flight points.
This is driving me nuts. For the longest time I was convinced I should keep my Citi Cards away from AP... then Milevalue posted about using AP for min spend, and I actually argued with him about it in the comments. I keep on getting different answers. Why the confusion?
Kay_nyc is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 11:14 am
  #1734  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 4
What is the fee for exceeding the $1,000 limit on Amazon Payments? I don't see anything on Amazon's website about their WebPay fee structure. If it's something small like 1%, it may be worth meeting minimum spend in one payment to be done with it...
awardtravelforgood is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 12:47 pm
  #1735  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: BAEC, A*A, SW RR
Posts: 199
Originally Posted by Kay_nyc
This is driving me nuts. For the longest time I was convinced I should keep my Citi Cards away from AP... then Milevalue posted about using AP for min spend, and I actually argued with him about it in the comments. I keep on getting different answers. Why the confusion?
I've used my AA Citi Amex, AA Citi Visa, and AA Citi Biz cards with AP. No problems wiht any of the three.
MSYnola is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 12:48 pm
  #1736  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: BAEC, A*A, SW RR
Posts: 199
Originally Posted by awardtravelforgood
What is the fee for exceeding the $1,000 limit on Amazon Payments? I don't see anything on Amazon's website about their WebPay fee structure. If it's something small like 1%, it may be worth meeting minimum spend in one payment to be done with it...
AP will not allow you to send more than $1,000/month. It's not a matter of an extra fee, it's hardwired into the system to not let you do it.
MSYnola is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 1:01 pm
  #1737  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 437
I just signed up with AP

Went to the page where it allows you to fund the account

But there is no credit card option

Only bank option

So how did you guys add funds with credit cards if there is no option there?

I am confused.
misterno is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 1:04 pm
  #1738  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 229
Originally Posted by Kay_nyc
This is driving me nuts. For the longest time I was convinced I should keep my Citi Cards away from AP... then Milevalue posted about using AP for min spend, and I actually argued with him about it in the comments. I keep on getting different answers. Why the confusion?
I have seen comments on different threads that it will be treated as cash advance when purchasing AMEX gift cards. That might be where the confusion came from.
lw7878 is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 1:24 pm
  #1739  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 4
Thumbs up

Originally Posted by MSYnola
AP will not allow you to send more than $1,000/month. It's not a matter of an extra fee, it's hardwired into the system to not let you do it.
Thanks for solving the riddle!
awardtravelforgood is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2013, 1:43 pm
  #1740  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 59
Originally Posted by Kay_nyc
This is driving me nuts. For the longest time I was convinced I should keep my Citi Cards away from AP... then Milevalue posted about using AP for min spend, and I actually argued with him about it in the comments. I keep on getting different answers. Why the confusion?
Places that Citi will do a CA on:

Amex GCs
Wells Fargo PP
Chase PP cards (I think)

So I believe Citi's logic is, if the place where the card is being used is a financial institution, any transactions will be a CA.
bobfather is offline  

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