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
Sep 30, 2013, 5:22 am
#2551
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Texas
Programs: AA, USAir
Posts: 228
AFAIK, sharing CC and emails are the no-no's. You should try getting an AU card with a different cc# (if a business acct), or a virtual card number (Visa, YMMV).
Sep 30, 2013, 9:18 am
#2552
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 498
why risk getting banned from a great thing?
Plus, if you add a C in there more power to you. I cannot add a C. a+b are great.
remember too to always try to use real, believable reasons for your notes in your money sends.
Sep 30, 2013, 3:06 pm
#2553
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 233
Sep 30, 2013, 7:55 pm
#2554
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Florida
Posts: 448
I have 2 accounts; A and B.
They share the same physical address, but different first and last names, different emails and different socials. I'm trying to add a credit card to account B. This credit card is in A's name and this credit card has NOT been added to A's AP account.
When I add this credit card to B's AP account I am using A's name and A's billing address (which is the same as B's billing address for B's credit cards).
When I press submit I get an error page that says:
"We're very sorry, but we're having trouble doing what you just asked us to do. Rest assured, we're working to resolve the problem as soon as possible. "
Has anyone else seen this? And is there anything I can do to get this card added to B's account?
They share the same physical address, but different first and last names, different emails and different socials. I'm trying to add a credit card to account B. This credit card is in A's name and this credit card has NOT been added to A's AP account.
When I add this credit card to B's AP account I am using A's name and A's billing address (which is the same as B's billing address for B's credit cards).
When I press submit I get an error page that says:
"We're very sorry, but we're having trouble doing what you just asked us to do. Rest assured, we're working to resolve the problem as soon as possible. "
Has anyone else seen this? And is there anything I can do to get this card added to B's account?
Sep 30, 2013, 8:08 pm
#2556
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Florida
Posts: 448
I appreciate the quick response. If anyone else has any ideas it would be greatly appreciated.
Sep 30, 2013, 8:14 pm
#2557
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
I have 2 accounts; A and B.
They share the same physical address, but different first and last names, different emails and different socials. I'm trying to add a credit card to account B. This credit card is in A's name and this credit card has NOT been added to A's AP account.
When I add this credit card to B's AP account I am using A's name and A's billing address (which is the same as B's billing address for B's credit cards).
When I press submit I get an error page that says:
"We're very sorry, but we're having trouble doing what you just asked us to do. Rest assured, we're working to resolve the problem as soon as possible. "
Has anyone else seen this? And is there anything I can do to get this card added to B's account?
They share the same physical address, but different first and last names, different emails and different socials. I'm trying to add a credit card to account B. This credit card is in A's name and this credit card has NOT been added to A's AP account.
When I add this credit card to B's AP account I am using A's name and A's billing address (which is the same as B's billing address for B's credit cards).
When I press submit I get an error page that says:
"We're very sorry, but we're having trouble doing what you just asked us to do. Rest assured, we're working to resolve the problem as soon as possible. "
Has anyone else seen this? And is there anything I can do to get this card added to B's account?
Sep 30, 2013, 8:16 pm
#2558
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
This is what AP sees: Name mismatch on CC because B is not the card holder that is being asked to process. Just like any other online transactions, unless B's name is authorized to use the card, doesn't matter if the address happens to be the same. No AU, then no dice.
Sep 30, 2013, 8:24 pm
#2559
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Florida
Posts: 448
Not that I don't trust lad2, but could anyone else verify that this is the problem.
Sep 30, 2013, 11:48 pm
#2560
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 233
Just add it to the Amazon account. It will show up in the AZP account after. You can setup multiple billing names/addresses in Amazon. Not sure about AZP, but I've always done it through Amazon, oddly enough. No reason for that other than just dumb luck, I suppose.
Oct 1, 2013, 1:17 am
#2561
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Brooklyn, NY, United States
Programs: AA, BA, UA, Spirit, Delta, PC Plat, SPG Gold, HHonors Diamond, Club Carlson Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,735
That's beside the point. You might've lucked out so far and you might keep getting lucked out. But you're risking it. With the demise of CGC, AP is the only free MS method left.
Dude, it seems you're having a major trust issue. Although I must say it's not like B is being unreasonable...
Life happens.
Life happens.
Oct 1, 2013, 7:04 am
#2562
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 498
thanks this work around worked for me!
Oct 1, 2013, 9:40 am
#2563
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: KC
Programs: Rapid Rewards
Posts: 15
I think I really messed this up. I had an existing amazon payments account already and I just signed for another myself using a different address, email, and bank. I sent $950 from my older account to my new account. Now the new account isn't able to be instantly verified thru Amazon. Now I see the $950 charge on my card and on amazon payments it says I can't claim the payment and to call, which I really don't want to do. Any resolution to this?
Oct 1, 2013, 9:48 am
#2564
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 498
I think I really messed this up. I had an existing amazon payments account already and I just signed for another myself using a different address, email, and bank. I sent $950 from my older account to my new account. Now the new account isn't able to be instantly verified thru Amazon. Now I see the $950 charge on my card and on amazon payments it says I can't claim the payment and to call, which I really don't want to do. Any resolution to this?