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 9, 2013, 5:18 pm
#1666
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: Northwest, United
Posts: 3,257
I'd actually think AP would be one of the more secure uses of a card.
Feb 10, 2013, 12:18 pm
#1667
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: East Coast
Programs: AA/DL/UA, SPG/HH
Posts: 154
For those new to the game, mint.com can be quite handy for keeping an eye on transactions taking place across large numbers of cards/issuers. Mint doesn't currently track your AP & BB balances directly, but does cover just about everything else..
Watch all your cards carefully, especially if running transactions in volume. One consistent source of exposure is compromise of banking and transaction processing systems. AFAIK AP has not been compromised, but most of the major banks have and ditto the transaction processing systems.
Feb 10, 2013, 6:12 pm
#1668
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,767
Once every few days logging into your accounts by yourself would have been suffice to catch any irregularities.
Many cards also allow you to set alert for suspicious transactions defined by amount or some other criteria.
Feb 10, 2013, 6:21 pm
#1670
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
I am not sure I would give all the userid / password info to an online outfit to track my finances.
Once every few days logging into your accounts by yourself would have been suffice to catch any irregularities.
Many cards also allow you to set alert for suspicious transactions defined by amount or some other criteria.
Once every few days logging into your accounts by yourself would have been suffice to catch any irregularities.
Many cards also allow you to set alert for suspicious transactions defined by amount or some other criteria.
And in the couple of instances where I have been the victim of credit card fraud, it was the fact that I check Mint.com on a daily basis and see every single transaction very quickly, means it was caught much earlier than it would by the odd login to separate accounts. Accounts were closed before transaction even went from pending to posted (which for most websites would not even be seen on a cursory glance)
There is for sure some risk that things could go wrong, but I equate it to the risk that iPhones not switched "fully off" will cause a plane to crash. There is a theoretical remote possibility of the feared event occurring, but in practice every day millions of us go day after day without any incident.
Feb 10, 2013, 6:35 pm
#1671
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,767
I understand the concern, but between a dozen different issuers and over 100 different accounts, split between different User ID's and passwords even with the same issuer, logging in yourself just isn't that practical on any scale.
And in the couple of instances where I have been the victim of credit card fraud, it was the fact that I check Mint.com on a daily basis and see every single transaction very quickly, means it was caught much earlier than it would by the odd login to separate accounts. Accounts were closed before transaction even went from pending to posted (which for most websites would not even be seen on a cursory glance)
There is for sure some risk that things could go wrong, but I equate it to the risk that iPhones not switched "fully off" will cause a plane to crash. There is a theoretical remote possibility of the feared event occurring, but in practice every day millions of us go day after day without any incident.
And in the couple of instances where I have been the victim of credit card fraud, it was the fact that I check Mint.com on a daily basis and see every single transaction very quickly, means it was caught much earlier than it would by the odd login to separate accounts. Accounts were closed before transaction even went from pending to posted (which for most websites would not even be seen on a cursory glance)
There is for sure some risk that things could go wrong, but I equate it to the risk that iPhones not switched "fully off" will cause a plane to crash. There is a theoretical remote possibility of the feared event occurring, but in practice every day millions of us go day after day without any incident.
I keep my accounts updated using accounting software on my own computer - any balances disagree with my records would raise a flag.
The 2 occasions 2 different Chase cards being fraudulently used, I caught them myself by my routine logging in Chase online and the outstanding balances did not look right - the charges were still in pending stages but they definitely were fraudulent ones.
The 1 occasion a Citi card was cloned and used in Mexico on a weekend, Citi called after 5 usages to inquire if cardholder traveled in Mexico (AU card). Odd thing is the total fraudulent charges was less than $500 - all in restaurants and grocery stores, small time thief.
It is annoying that fraudulent charges happened. To minimize the chances I do not register any card with any merchant. A few extra minutes to input card info when making reservations / buying something from Amazon or whatever, is no big deal to me.
Last edited by Happy; Feb 10, 2013 at 6:41 pm
Feb 10, 2013, 6:40 pm
#1672
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
It's not possible to consolidate between certain products for the same issuer (as you know, e.g. Citi Hilton). And also between different people. I manage accounts for myself, my wife and some child accounts. And when you add in bank accounts, I must have at least 20 issuers.
I don't have an issue, I have Mint
I don't have an issue, I have Mint
Feb 10, 2013, 6:51 pm
#1673
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,767
It's not possible to consolidate between certain products for the same issuer (as you know, e.g. Citi Hilton). And also between different people. I manage accounts for myself, my wife and some child accounts. And when you add in bank accounts, I must have at least 20 issuers.
I don't have an issue, I have Mint
I don't have an issue, I have Mint
I just prefer not have all the eggs in one single basket so to speak.
BTW, while userid must be unique, password does not. I also prefer KISS and only have 2 groups of such - one group for bank accounts and one group for cards. There are some variations within each group but easy to remember. Works for us with everything x 2.
I dont really care for CC being compromised because other than some annoyance and inconvenience, it is no big deal. Bank accounts would be a bit more complicated. Still no big damage can be done given any external transfer must only be to verified linked banks. Besides, you would have to give someone your online access info otherwise nothing can be done online to your bank accounts by others than you. So it is not much chance they could be compromised.
Take advantage of all kinds of Alerts banks provide - that I have found to be quite useful.
Last edited by Happy; Feb 10, 2013 at 7:00 pm
Feb 11, 2013, 7:31 am
#1674
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Yes or funds revert back (back to the card, if a cc was used). However, if you send funds to the wrong email address, you need to establish that address as yours before someone else takes it. Sufficient to lockout the wayward transaction from being processed.
Feb 11, 2013, 7:38 am
#1675
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Not entirely true. Through a lapse in internal controls The Bank of the Biker once let ADK, Jr. root all my accounts there. ADK, Jr. had his own account for years, but a system security enhancement suddenly gave him access to all my accounts (over 100k) and locked me out from them. This is not the first major lapse in banking security I have seen - I see about one lapse a year.
"Besides, you would have to give someone your online access info otherwise nothing can be done online to your bank accounts by others than you. So it is not much chance they could be compromised."
"Besides, you would have to give someone your online access info otherwise nothing can be done online to your bank accounts by others than you. So it is not much chance they could be compromised."
Feb 11, 2013, 10:43 am
#1676
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
Mike
Feb 11, 2013, 2:06 pm
#1677
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 204
Did anyone get this message before? What happened?
Pending
We are unable to complete your transaction until further review. It can take up to 24 hours to complete this transaction. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause.
We are unable to complete your transaction until further review. It can take up to 24 hours to complete this transaction. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause.
Last edited by cronin85; Feb 11, 2013 at 2:40 pm
Feb 11, 2013, 2:18 pm
#1678
Join Date: Jul 2007
Programs: Marriott Platinum
Posts: 274
Hey guys, I'm fairly new at this game and when I heard about multiple accounts, I got few PMs telling me that you can have different account with same name and SSN, but with different email (of course), bank account and CC.
I previously had 2 accounts for 2 different people. My cousin that lives at different address and myself. I created another account for myself while applying logic received in PMs and just sent funds from A -> B -> C -> A while A and C are myself.
I got the pending review message immediately after I sent funds. Should I be worried of shut down?
Someone please PM me
I previously had 2 accounts for 2 different people. My cousin that lives at different address and myself. I created another account for myself while applying logic received in PMs and just sent funds from A -> B -> C -> A while A and C are myself.
I got the pending review message immediately after I sent funds. Should I be worried of shut down?
Someone please PM me
Feb 11, 2013, 2:25 pm
#1679
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 204
be careful.. Amazon has been tightening the noose for the past few days. there is absolutely no reason to kill a good thing by being too greedy. just setup a real *trust* circle with your buddies, relatives, etc and keep playing the same within the confines of their rules..