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
May 10, 2013 | 4:58 pm
#2056
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: San Antonio
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 2,276
So it's been you all along! Where did you hided them? You can tell me, I'll keep it on the down load.
May 11, 2013 | 2:26 pm
#2057
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 35
May 11, 2013 | 8:01 pm
#2058
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 203
Ha, please excuse the fail. Turns out I've been reading "down load" as "down low" all this thread until I wasn't.
May 14, 2013 | 7:53 pm
#2060
Join Date: May 2003
Location: CA
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 2,879
May 14, 2013 | 8:41 pm
#2061
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 81
May 14, 2013 | 8:50 pm
#2062
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA, BA, CX, DL, EK, F9, GA, HA, IB, JL, KE, LH, MH, NH, OS, PG, QR, RJ, SA, TG, UA, VN, WN, ZH
Posts: 927
May 16, 2013 | 9:49 am
#2065
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 905
For those of us with more than one AP, using BB as my "bank" on an AP account gives me a no-fee alternative to unload amex pre-paid cards compared to resorting to multiple ATM withdrawals.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals have really stepped up their game regarding not allowing additional bogus accounts to be opened.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals have really stepped up their game regarding not allowing additional bogus accounts to be opened.
May 16, 2013 | 10:13 am
#2066
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Watch what you call bogus. If the names, social security numbers and related information were real (and usage authorized), then the dozens of working AP accounts used over here could hardly be called bogus. They were simply "redundant."
Although I have not walked in the jungle for about two months, I still have functional accounts that were never closed by Cardinal Fang. When I tire of flipping debit gift cards, I may yet do some jungle river rafting.
Although I have not walked in the jungle for about two months, I still have functional accounts that were never closed by Cardinal Fang. When I tire of flipping debit gift cards, I may yet do some jungle river rafting.
May 16, 2013 | 6:44 pm
#2067
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: UA Gold, AA Gold, Hyatt Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Hertz Pres Circle, etc etc
Posts: 382
But in the end isn't that effectively the same as using the Amex PP on regular CC spend, as you have foregone the CC spend could have otherwise used to fund the AP payment?
May 16, 2013 | 6:53 pm
#2068
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 905
Admittedly, this tip becomes more useful the more AP accounts you have. Maybe I didn't make that clear enough above. And like I said, this tip may be of diminishing usefulness, since AP seems to have gotten much more stringent in denying the opening of new bogus...sorry...redundant accounts.
May 16, 2013 | 7:16 pm
#2069
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: UA Gold, AA Gold, Hyatt Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Hertz Pres Circle, etc etc
Posts: 382
Well again...if you have, um, "mutliple" AP accounts...you can't use the same credit card to fund all your AP payments without setting off triggers. But you can use the same credit card (or two or three...whichever credit cards you're trying to reach minimum spend on, or bonus thresholds) to load your prepaid cards, and then assign a different prepaid card to each AP account.
Admittedly, this tip becomes more useful the more AP accounts you have. Maybe I didn't make that clear enough above. And like I said, this tip may be of diminishing usefulness, since AP seems to have gotten much more stringent in denying the opening of new bogus...sorry...redundant accounts.
Admittedly, this tip becomes more useful the more AP accounts you have. Maybe I didn't make that clear enough above. And like I said, this tip may be of diminishing usefulness, since AP seems to have gotten much more stringent in denying the opening of new bogus...sorry...redundant accounts.
May 17, 2013 | 6:35 pm
#2070
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 370
Are there any known issues with using a credit card to load someone elses AP account and sending money to myself if the card used is under that persons name but an adding to my own primary credit card?
For example, my wife uses a Chase Sapphire that she is an authorized user of (I have the primary account) and sends money to me via AP.
For example, my wife uses a Chase Sapphire that she is an authorized user of (I have the primary account) and sends money to me via AP.