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
Apr 1, 2012, 11:10 am
#226
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 3
Im thinking to open a citicard premier ty card with 50k bonus but it requires 3k within 3 months, i heard this was a good way to meet it but not quite clear on process, do i need 2 amazon payment accounts, or can i just create 1 amazon payment account that can pull payments from my cc and send to my bank, whats the best way to avoid getting flagged, if info is to sensitive please pm me, from what i understand as well if you select service goods it wont be treated as cash advance for this card and chase freedom?
thanks
thanks
Apr 1, 2012, 11:24 am
#227
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 37
Im thinking to open a citicard premier ty card with 50k bonus but it requires 3k within 3 months, i heard this was a good way to meet it but not quite clear on process, do i need 2 amazon payment accounts, or can i just create 1 amazon payment account that can pull payments from my cc and send to my bank, whats the best way to avoid getting flagged, if info is to sensitive please pm me, from what i understand as well if you select service goods it wont be treated as cash advance for this card and chase freedom?
thanks
thanks
Apr 1, 2012, 12:09 pm
#228
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
But think of the money you saved on your annual exam by the proctologist!
Apr 1, 2012, 12:12 pm
#229
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
More like in such a way that it looks like a legitimate transaction - some of you are trying to pull the hood over Cardinal Fang's eyes.
You can't send to yourself. It has to go to another person. Sorry if this is inappropriate for a noob to say, but you should use it to pay someone as a legitimate transaction. maybe you could send money to your kids at college or something. Just sending money to yourself to hit limits might ruin it for the rest of us who use it within the limits of what it is designed for i.e. paying people we owe money to.
Apr 4, 2012, 11:18 am
#232
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Washington State
Programs: UA, Starwood, AAdvantage, Alaska, BAEC, Marriott, Hawaiian, Hilton HHonors
Posts: 255
Apr 4, 2012, 12:01 pm
#233
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Los Angeles & Orange County, CA
Programs: Wouldn't you like to know?!
Posts: 23,822
When sending money, it only gives you the option to select either goods/services or cash advance. Given the fact that you had to give your social security number and the IRS notification at sign up, wouldn't that raise some flags with the IRS? If you do $1k a month, that's potentially $12K of income that IRS would want to tax you (even though amazon clearly says you can use it to pay friends and family).
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Apr 5, 2012, 4:00 pm
#234
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: sjc sfo
Programs: A little bit of miles and points scattered everywhere
Posts: 360
Apr 5, 2012, 11:13 pm
#235
Join Date: May 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 1,389
When sending money, it only gives you the option to select either goods/services or cash advance. Given the fact that you had to give your social security number and the IRS notification at sign up, wouldn't that raise some flags with the IRS? If you do $1k a month, that's potentially $12K of income that IRS would want to tax you (even though amazon clearly says you can use it to pay friends and family).
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
If you're talking about receiving 1k a month, they still don't care. 200 transactions AND $20,000 in gross income is what the IRS cares about.
Apr 11, 2012, 11:15 am
#237
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: many
Posts: 1,437
Apr 11, 2012, 12:29 pm
#238
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 756
Also another red flag for Amazon is sending money to Person X and then having the same person sending money back to you, again and again. Can do this a few times before they catch on and shut both parties down (blacklisted). Happened to someone I know.
But, Not sure if they track peoples address as Amz could easily see 2 people sending money back and forth living in the same place??--any thoughts on this?
But, Not sure if they track peoples address as Amz could easily see 2 people sending money back and forth living in the same place??--any thoughts on this?
Apr 11, 2012, 3:09 pm
#239
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
The moral of this story is don't use AMEX with AP unless you want a free colonoscopy.
Apr 11, 2012, 3:22 pm
#240
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
The only good red flag is the one we use when diving. The Cardinal Rule is to have Y use AP to send a payment to X and then have X send the payment to Y by a means other than AP. If the Cardinal's (of AP and AMEX) can't see the complete transaction cycle they ain't got a reason to stick their beak in your business.
Also another red flag for Amazon is sending money to Person X and then having the same person sending money back to you, again and again. Can do this a few times before they catch on and shut both parties down (blacklisted). Happened to someone I know.
But, Not sure if they track peoples address as Amz could easily see 2 people sending money back and forth living in the same place??--any thoughts on this?
But, Not sure if they track peoples address as Amz could easily see 2 people sending money back and forth living in the same place??--any thoughts on this?