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 21, 2013, 3:41 pm
#1741
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.
Feb 21, 2013, 4:32 pm
#1742
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
You can have more than one account using the same SS#? I only started doing this several months ago. Recently, Amazon has become a lot more stringent and to have a fully functional account, they need to verify your information before unlocking it. I would like to open an additional account using my SS#, but I thought that was not allowed.
I wrote what has worked for me as a data point.
Feb 28, 2013, 8:42 pm
#1744
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Land of 10,000 Upgrades
Posts: 9,465
Mar 1, 2013, 6:35 am
#1745
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: RDU
Programs: DL Platinum, SPG Gold
Posts: 244
))
Mar 2, 2013, 11:12 am
#1752
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Miami, FL
Posts: 140
Mar 2, 2013, 3:51 pm
#1753
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
You can also search the thread for the trick when using Amex GC's to avoid the $1 hold for authorization.
PM'd the original poster with the needed information.
Last edited by Astrophsx; Mar 2, 2013 at 4:18 pm Reason: PM'd original poster with needed info
Mar 2, 2013, 4:38 pm
#1754
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Miami, FL
Posts: 140
I'm not exactly sure what you are talking about when you say registering a GC with your name turns it into a CC?? You do not have to call, you can use it as is.
You can also search the thread for the trick when using Amex GC's to avoid the $1 hold for authorization.
PM'd the original poster with the needed information.
You can also search the thread for the trick when using Amex GC's to avoid the $1 hold for authorization.
PM'd the original poster with the needed information.