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
Mar 11, 2013, 9:31 pm
#1831
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: Marriott, Radisson, AA, UA
Posts: 360
Not only did Chase charge me a cash advance fee, but their fraud department called me and threatened to come round to my house and confiscate my first born if I used Amazon Payments again. Next time I'm using Citi, who I'd have learned, had I been bothered to read the thread, love this sort of thing.
Mar 11, 2013, 10:17 pm
#1833
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 904
Mar 12, 2013, 3:03 pm
#1837
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Mar 12, 2013, 3:16 pm
#1838
formerly sahiljain22
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: BOS;NYC;YVR;YYZ;DEL;BOM
Programs: Amex Plat; HH Diamond; SPG Plat; Hyatt Diamond; United 1K; National EE; HSBC Premier
Posts: 532
Mar 12, 2013, 11:04 pm
#1839
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,738
1,800+ comments
An example of why Flyertalk needs to adopt a wiki after the first entry. Has there been any changes to the program in the past two years? I loosely follow this thread because of the signal to noise ratio and because I've stuck with what has worked for myself and not pushed the limits further. Is there any type of consensus that Amazon flags new accounts differently? Sometimes it's hard to tell if people that are reporting flagged accounts have already had accounts shut down in the past... possibly making them more of an easy target taking that Amazon already has their full details and could have placed these people on a watch list?
An example of why Flyertalk needs to adopt a wiki after the first entry. Has there been any changes to the program in the past two years? I loosely follow this thread because of the signal to noise ratio and because I've stuck with what has worked for myself and not pushed the limits further. Is there any type of consensus that Amazon flags new accounts differently? Sometimes it's hard to tell if people that are reporting flagged accounts have already had accounts shut down in the past... possibly making them more of an easy target taking that Amazon already has their full details and could have placed these people on a watch list?
Mar 13, 2013, 7:48 am
#1840
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Yes, the program has changed in that the cardinals have been more actively challenging new accounts within the past 6 months or so. The clergy do not seem to have a repeat offenders list, or if they do, they are very spotty in using it.
1,800+ comments
An example of why Flyertalk needs to adopt a wiki after the first entry. Has there been any changes to the program in the past two years? I loosely follow this thread because of the signal to noise ratio and because I've stuck with what has worked for myself and not pushed the limits further. Is there any type of consensus that Amazon flags new accounts differently? Sometimes it's hard to tell if people that are reporting flagged accounts have already had accounts shut down in the past... possibly making them more of an easy target taking that Amazon already has their full details and could have placed these people on a watch list?
An example of why Flyertalk needs to adopt a wiki after the first entry. Has there been any changes to the program in the past two years? I loosely follow this thread because of the signal to noise ratio and because I've stuck with what has worked for myself and not pushed the limits further. Is there any type of consensus that Amazon flags new accounts differently? Sometimes it's hard to tell if people that are reporting flagged accounts have already had accounts shut down in the past... possibly making them more of an easy target taking that Amazon already has their full details and could have placed these people on a watch list?
Mar 13, 2013, 9:11 am
#1841
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: MGM
Programs: United Silver, PC Plat/Amb, HH Dmnd
Posts: 805
A(me)-->B(also me)-->C(Mrs. Me)-->D(me again)-->E(my dog)-->A
?
Please help, I really need to get the spend up on my Spirit Airlines Mastercard!
AndyandyPS: I called Amazon to ask and they said they'd send an "agent" along to help me and that I should just stay right where I am. So I guess it's all good.
Mar 13, 2013, 10:00 am
#1842
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: SkyMiles Gold, AA Plat, UA Gold
Posts: 92
I tried to read the Wiki, but it's so long! Can someone tell me if I can do a cycle like this:
A(me)-->B(also me)-->C(Mrs. Me)-->D(me again)-->E(my dog)-->A
?
Please help, I really need to get the spend up on my Spirit Airlines Mastercard!
Andyandy
PS: I called Amazon to ask and they said they'd send an "agent" along to help me and that I should just stay right where I am. So I guess it's all good.
A(me)-->B(also me)-->C(Mrs. Me)-->D(me again)-->E(my dog)-->A
?
Please help, I really need to get the spend up on my Spirit Airlines Mastercard!
AndyandyPS: I called Amazon to ask and they said they'd send an "agent" along to help me and that I should just stay right where I am. So I guess it's all good.
Mar 13, 2013, 11:48 am
#1843
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
If your dog has a social security number this should work. Hope this helps you get to Spirit Airlines Million Miler status - I hear that is a rarely seen honor.
I tried to read the Wiki, but it's so long! Can someone tell me if I can do a cycle like this:
A(me)-->B(also me)-->C(Mrs. Me)-->D(me again)-->E(my dog)-->A
?
Please help, I really need to get the spend up on my Spirit Airlines Mastercard!
Andyandy
PS: I called Amazon to ask and they said they'd send an "agent" along to help me and that I should just stay right where I am. So I guess it's all good.
A(me)-->B(also me)-->C(Mrs. Me)-->D(me again)-->E(my dog)-->A
?
Please help, I really need to get the spend up on my Spirit Airlines Mastercard!
AndyandyPS: I called Amazon to ask and they said they'd send an "agent" along to help me and that I should just stay right where I am. So I guess it's all good.
Mar 15, 2013, 8:07 am
#1844
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 2
Authorized cards and AP
Hey guys, this is my first post.
I've been reading a lot the last few days, but i've never seen mention of AP used in this way. I have a friend that i added as an authorized user for my CSP I'm wondering if they can do AP->my AP with my authorized card without amazon or chase knowing that i'm basically sending to myself. Any thoughts on using this to meet min spend on new cards?(just always adding authorized user and doing this) This is the tightest circle and least amount of hassle i can think of, as i don't have much time to run around looking for VRs to meet min spend.
Looking forward to some input.
I've been reading a lot the last few days, but i've never seen mention of AP used in this way. I have a friend that i added as an authorized user for my CSP I'm wondering if they can do AP->my AP with my authorized card without amazon or chase knowing that i'm basically sending to myself. Any thoughts on using this to meet min spend on new cards?(just always adding authorized user and doing this) This is the tightest circle and least amount of hassle i can think of, as i don't have much time to run around looking for VRs to meet min spend.
Looking forward to some input.