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 17, 2013 | 9:07 pm
#2071
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: San Antonio
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 2,276
Campath - AP knows the name on the card, and doesn't care beyond that. I've done what you describe, no problem. I would just make sure you don't both link cards with the same number to your accounts.
Last edited by KennyBSAT; May 17, 2013 at 9:18 pm
May 20, 2013 | 5:11 am
#2073
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
May 20, 2013 | 9:19 am
#2074
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: SPG Gold, Hilton Diamon, IHG Spire
Posts: 374
May 20, 2013 | 10:18 am
#2075
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 905
May 20, 2013 | 5:33 pm
#2076
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Newport Beach, CA
Posts: 286
I have three AP accounts, account A in my name, B in spouses name and C in brother's name. I do A to B to my bank account fine, no problems.
Can I do C to A but use a credit card in A's name?(not my brother's name) Normally when I do C to A I am just doing prepaid gift cards so I enter his name and it works fine since there's no name associated with the prepaid gift cards.
Can I do C to A but use a credit card in A's name?(not my brother's name) Normally when I do C to A I am just doing prepaid gift cards so I enter his name and it works fine since there's no name associated with the prepaid gift cards.
May 20, 2013 | 9:02 pm
#2077
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,689
I have three AP accounts, account A in my name, B in spouses name and C in brother's name. I do A to B to my bank account fine, no problems.
Can I do C to A but use a credit card in A's name?(not my brother's name) Normally when I do C to A I am just doing prepaid gift cards so I enter his name and it works fine since there's no name associated with the prepaid gift cards.
Can I do C to A but use a credit card in A's name?(not my brother's name) Normally when I do C to A I am just doing prepaid gift cards so I enter his name and it works fine since there's no name associated with the prepaid gift cards.
I would say it's better not to try this.
I am thinking someone had reported being shut down for this (but cannot point you to that exact post number in this thread---and could be mistaken)
But, since their verification is soooo sensitive, it seems very risky to do this.
If you chance it, please report your outcome.
May 20, 2013 | 9:30 pm
#2078
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 450
I have three AP accounts, account A in my name, B in spouses name and C in brother's name. I do A to B to my bank account fine, no problems.
Can I do C to A but use a credit card in A's name?(not my brother's name) Normally when I do C to A I am just doing prepaid gift cards so I enter his name and it works fine since there's no name associated with the prepaid gift cards.
Can I do C to A but use a credit card in A's name?(not my brother's name) Normally when I do C to A I am just doing prepaid gift cards so I enter his name and it works fine since there's no name associated with the prepaid gift cards.
May 20, 2013 | 9:45 pm
#2079
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Delta GM, SPG Gold
Posts: 161
May 20, 2013 | 10:28 pm
#2081
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: San Antonio
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 2,276
FWIW, we make $100-$500 payments totaling near $1000 per month, not two $1000 payments every month on the first. A-B and B-A every month. Not sure how risky it is, but it can definitely be done.
May 20, 2013 | 11:05 pm
#2082
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 250
How long have you been doing this? You make 2 payments to each other monthly totaling near 1k each?
May 21, 2013 | 6:27 am
#2083
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: NE
Programs: UA PLAT, HH Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 211
May 21, 2013 | 6:34 am
#2084
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Actually this is not an AP trick, per se. It worked with the US Mint pretty well. One urban bank virtually cornered the market for this trick.
May 21, 2013 | 9:23 am
#2085
Join Date: May 2000
Location: I see palm trees....
Posts: 414
I've been doing even $1K transactions back and forth with the wife each month since April, 2011. Never had an issue. Each AP account is linked to a different bank account.
I've never even made an attempt to hide it...send payment to wife, withdrawl to bank account, resend same payment to myself, withdrawl to bank account. Rinse and repeat.
I've never even made an attempt to hide it...send payment to wife, withdrawl to bank account, resend same payment to myself, withdrawl to bank account. Rinse and repeat.