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 20, 2013 | 12:37 am
#1727
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 237
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.
I may need to use Citi AA biz card in the near future so please correct me if things have changed. Thanks.
Feb 20, 2013 | 7:47 am
#1728
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 26
Used Citi AA biz a week or so ago with no fee.
Feb 20, 2013 | 7:49 am
#1729
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: Mileage Plus, Aadvantage, Skymiles, Marriott, Priority Club, SPG, Amtrak, Hertz
Posts: 834
Feb 20, 2013 | 8:05 am
#1730
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,506
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.
Works just fine. Enjoy the points!
Citi does treat any purchase from a financial institution as a cash advance.
Works just fine. Enjoy the points!
Feb 20, 2013 | 8:15 am
#1731
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 59
Feb 20, 2013 | 8:17 am
#1732
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: Mileage Plus, Aadvantage, Skymiles, Marriott, Priority Club, SPG, Amtrak, Hertz
Posts: 834
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?
Feb 20, 2013 | 11:14 am
#1733
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...
Feb 20, 2013 | 12:47 pm
#1734
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: BAEC, A*A, SW RR
Posts: 199
I've used my AA Citi Amex, AA Citi Visa, and AA Citi Biz cards with AP. No problems wiht any of the three.
Feb 20, 2013 | 12:48 pm
#1735
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: BAEC, A*A, SW RR
Posts: 199
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.
Feb 20, 2013 | 1:04 pm
#1737
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 237
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.
Feb 20, 2013 | 1:43 pm
#1739
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 59
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.
Feb 21, 2013 | 3:41 pm
#1740
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX, SNA
Posts: 359
The "safe" number has always been three accounts with unique email addresses and unique bank accounts. At one point in time in the very beginning there was an email sent out stating that there could only be three accounts per household. YES, there may be people doing more than this... I don't work for Amazon so I have no idea what they do to flag accounts or if signing up for three accounts in one day will raise red flags. This is anecdotal evidence from someone who has worked this deal from day one.
Splitting up payments, changing credit cards, etc... has done nothing but add time. There is no evidence that it helps prevent you getting flagged. I use the same credit card and max out all three account (that all have the same SS#) each month. Playing it "safe" would be to stick in line with that, anything beyond that... or people trying to get back in the game after being frozen out is YMMV.
Hope this helps anyone out there thinking about doing this or is currently doing it. Don't over complicate things, don't get your brother's dog involved, I spend 5 minutes the 1st of each month on AZ payments, wait a few days.. pay off my credit card. Easy as that.
Feel free to PM me any questions if you have any "basic" questions. I will not be able to tell you how to go beyond 3 accounts. I only know from my own experience. I want to help other members so that they do not make mistakes making this more complicated than it should be. I also am a strong believer that you should not pull anyone into this deal as it is not necessary from my experience. I've also had no experience having my account frozen or "fanged" so I can't help you there.