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 18, 2012 | 3:12 pm
#271
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Los Angeles & Orange County, CA
Programs: Wouldn't you like to know?!
Posts: 23,823
Apr 18, 2012 | 3:41 pm
#272
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
I'm was a banker in a previous life, but not with that bank. Look over their current offerings for opportunities.
As for AP - pay AP out, but if the money must come back (as in a legitimate product sales refund - QL_714) receive it via a bank transfer back to the account linked to AP. Don't do an AP out $1k and then an AP in $1k or 'ol Cardinal Fang is gonna BBQ you. Banks just don't like to see money yo-yo.
As for AP - pay AP out, but if the money must come back (as in a legitimate product sales refund - QL_714) receive it via a bank transfer back to the account linked to AP. Don't do an AP out $1k and then an AP in $1k or 'ol Cardinal Fang is gonna BBQ you. Banks just don't like to see money yo-yo.
Last edited by AlohaDaveKennedy; Apr 18, 2012 at 3:55 pm
Apr 18, 2012 | 7:33 pm
#274
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 866
Apr 20, 2012 | 3:39 pm
#275
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 308
Nice find! I assume you've verified that these count as purchases and not as "cash-back amounts at point of sale"?
Apr 21, 2012 | 8:22 am
#276
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 132
Stop asking public questions
People... use the PM... There is a reason that you aren't seeing tons of posts about people being shut down. It's because it's not that complicated and they aren't that strict. Read what you can on here.. and send a message to someone who is active in the thread if you aren't sure of something. AZ payments has got to be one of the most simple methods out there to raise your spending. Lets keep it alive!
Apr 27, 2012 | 1:52 pm
#278
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 866
Off on a tangent. Are there other companies like Venmo and Amazon Payments out there? I missed the big run at Venmo but it was still good for one $500 transaction. These could help someone get over a spend requirement. I'm not sure I hit the Amex Reserve $60k mark if it wasn't for these little singles and doubles.
Apr 28, 2012 | 7:16 am
#281
Join Date: May 2010
Location: WAS
Programs: Lotz
Posts: 1,542
Off on a tangent. Are there other companies like Venmo and Amazon Payments out there? I missed the big run at Venmo but it was still good for one $500 transaction. These could help someone get over a spend requirement. I'm not sure I hit the Amex Reserve $60k mark if it wasn't for these little singles and doubles.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...rd-charge.html
& you're also in Atlanta ?