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
Oct 31, 2013 | 2:12 am
#2821
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 322
I read some reports on dansdeals that Amazon has been more aggressive in closing accounts, especially for using GCs. Has anyone had any issue this month? I went through my 3 accounts without any issues for October. Since November is just around the corner, I am wondering if I should be more cautious.
Oct 31, 2013 | 8:03 am
#2822
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
Oct 31, 2013 | 8:46 am
#2823
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 747
I read some reports on dansdeals that Amazon has been more aggressive in closing accounts, especially for using GCs. Has anyone had any issue this month? I went through my 3 accounts without any issues for October. Since November is just around the corner, I am wondering if I should be more cautious.
Oct 31, 2013 | 9:08 am
#2824
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,086
+1
I've been doing this for months. I manage both accounts from my computer and we live at the same address - A > B (withdrawal to B's individual account) B > A (withdrawal to A's individual account).
The only thing I do to avoid problems is I separate those two transactions by about a week, and I try to wait at least a few hours between transfer and withdrawal (Usually either transfer in morning and withdraw in evening, or transfer in evening and withdraw next morning). I also transfer varying amounts (not the full $1000) ranging between ~$985-$999 - and not the same amount between the two accounts. i.e., A-B transfer is $992, B-A is 997.
I've been doing this for months. I manage both accounts from my computer and we live at the same address - A > B (withdrawal to B's individual account) B > A (withdrawal to A's individual account).
The only thing I do to avoid problems is I separate those two transactions by about a week, and I try to wait at least a few hours between transfer and withdrawal (Usually either transfer in morning and withdraw in evening, or transfer in evening and withdraw next morning). I also transfer varying amounts (not the full $1000) ranging between ~$985-$999 - and not the same amount between the two accounts. i.e., A-B transfer is $992, B-A is 997.
Oct 31, 2013 | 9:23 am
#2825
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,436
I'm having trouble getting the account to work for my wife. I opened my AP account almost a year ago but didn't bother finding the "B" to send money to. Recently, I talked my wife into playing this game with me and I sent $45 to her email address. She had an Amazon account, but no AP account. She received the email for AP and followed all the steps including putting in her SSN and just verified her email address a few hours ago, but she still can't claim the money that is waiting to be claimed. She gets this message when she tries to claim the money.
The thing is that she's already verified her email address...
It clearly says that her account is active and verified, but when she tries to claim the funds, it still says AP needs to verify her info. What gives?
As a result of changes to federal regulation, Amazon Payments is required to verify your identity. This functionality is temporarily disabled, pending verification of your information.
Thank you for verifying your e-mail address! You can now use your Amazon Payments Personal Account to send and receive payments using an Amazon Payments account balance and bank accounts.
Oct 31, 2013 | 9:42 am
#2826
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
I'm having trouble getting the account to work for my wife. I opened my AP account almost a year ago but didn't bother finding the "B" to send money to. Recently, I talked my wife into playing this game with me and I sent $45 to her email address. She had an Amazon account, but no AP account. She received the email for AP and followed all the steps including putting in her SSN and just verified her email address a few hours ago, but she still can't claim the money that is waiting to be claimed. She gets this message when she tries to claim the money.
The thing is that she's already verified her email address...
It clearly says that her account is active and verified, but when she tries to claim the funds, it still says AP needs to verify her info. What gives?
The thing is that she's already verified her email address...
It clearly says that her account is active and verified, but when she tries to claim the funds, it still says AP needs to verify her info. What gives?
Oct 31, 2013 | 10:08 am
#2827
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 291
I'm having trouble getting the account to work for my wife. I opened my AP account almost a year ago but didn't bother finding the "B" to send money to. Recently, I talked my wife into playing this game with me and I sent $45 to her email address. She had an Amazon account, but no AP account. She received the email for AP and followed all the steps including putting in her SSN and just verified her email address a few hours ago, but she still can't claim the money that is waiting to be claimed. She gets this message when she tries to claim the money.
If it doesn't go through in a little while contact AP and they should be able to help so you don't have to wait for the funds to be returned and then resended.
Oct 31, 2013 | 11:00 am
#2828
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: AA PLT 2MM
Posts: 2,026
Oct 31, 2013 | 11:16 am
#2829
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: AA PLT 2MM
Posts: 2,026
I read some reports on dansdeals that Amazon has been more aggressive in closing accounts, especially for using GCs. Has anyone had any issue this month? I went through my 3 accounts without any issues for October. Since November is just around the corner, I am wondering if I should be more cautious.
"We are unable to complete your transaction until further review. It can take up to 24 hours to complete this transaction. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause"
So far all payments have still eventually gone through, but, 'spidey sense' tells me this party could be coming to an end soon. One reason I haven't gone big into AMEX GC's despite BigCrumbs having returned.
Oct 31, 2013 | 2:51 pm
#2830
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 1,160
Something is definitely 'different' this month. For nearly 3 years all my payments would go through instantly. Now this month, every payment has been gone to 'pending' status for hours on end, and clicking on the details greets you with the following message:
"We are unable to complete your transaction until further review. It can take up to 24 hours to complete this transaction. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause"
So far all payments have still eventually gone through, but, 'spidey sense' tells me this party could be coming to an end soon. One reason I haven't gone big into AMEX GC's despite BigCrumbs having returned.
"We are unable to complete your transaction until further review. It can take up to 24 hours to complete this transaction. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause"
So far all payments have still eventually gone through, but, 'spidey sense' tells me this party could be coming to an end soon. One reason I haven't gone big into AMEX GC's despite BigCrumbs having returned.
Oct 31, 2013 | 5:38 pm
#2832
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 291
Nov 1, 2013 | 6:02 am
#2835
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 149
I linked one of my mom's CC and it turns out the card wasn't active (she never activated the card, lol). Her AP account was all screwy. It said everything was active and verified, but she couldn't claim the funds. I patiently waited for 3-5 (forgot how long) days and she could never claim the funds.
Long story short, after many calls I got them to cancel the transaction and they refunded me the money so I didn't have to wait the full 30 days.
Now everything is dandy, for now...