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
Nov 1, 2013 | 12:15 pm
#2838
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 353
I have never had a single issue with Amazon Payments but today I sent funds from my wife to myself (different bank accounts) and it didn't go through instantly like it usually does.
Odd thing is the transaction doesn't show up in my activity at all (not pending, simply nothing). I thought maybe I didn't hit send or confirm at the end but when I tried to send the funds again, it said I had sent too much for this month already (meaning it must have gone through).
Hope it's just a fluke.
Odd thing is the transaction doesn't show up in my activity at all (not pending, simply nothing). I thought maybe I didn't hit send or confirm at the end but when I tried to send the funds again, it said I had sent too much for this month already (meaning it must have gone through).
Hope it's just a fluke.
Nov 1, 2013 | 2:33 pm
#2840
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 30
I have never had a single issue with Amazon Payments but today I sent funds from my wife to myself (different bank accounts) and it didn't go through instantly like it usually does.
Odd thing is the transaction doesn't show up in my activity at all (not pending, simply nothing). I thought maybe I didn't hit send or confirm at the end but when I tried to send the funds again, it said I had sent too much for this month already (meaning it must have gone through).
Hope it's just a fluke.
Odd thing is the transaction doesn't show up in my activity at all (not pending, simply nothing). I thought maybe I didn't hit send or confirm at the end but when I tried to send the funds again, it said I had sent too much for this month already (meaning it must have gone through).
Hope it's just a fluke.
Nov 1, 2013 | 5:49 pm
#2841
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
I have never had a single issue with Amazon Payments but today I sent funds from my wife to myself (different bank accounts) and it didn't go through instantly like it usually does.
Odd thing is the transaction doesn't show up in my activity at all (not pending, simply nothing). I thought maybe I didn't hit send or confirm at the end but when I tried to send the funds again, it said I had sent too much for this month already (meaning it must have gone through).
Hope it's just a fluke.
Odd thing is the transaction doesn't show up in my activity at all (not pending, simply nothing). I thought maybe I didn't hit send or confirm at the end but when I tried to send the funds again, it said I had sent too much for this month already (meaning it must have gone through).
Hope it's just a fluke.
Nov 1, 2013 | 10:48 pm
#2842
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: South Florida
Programs: SPG,Marriott,Hilton,Delta,US airways,Hyatt,Fairmont,American A,Priority Cub,Discovery,etc
Posts: 255
joint account
Just dipping my toe in MS.I have set up accounts for myself and hubby.Can I send money to our joint checking account or is that trouble? Sorry if this has been mentioned.Newbie to this aspect.Thanks.
Nov 1, 2013 | 11:21 pm
#2843
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
To be honest, it's a hit or miss.
Nov 3, 2013 | 1:57 pm
#2845
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: All of them!
Posts: 325
I've done a lot of MS with US Bank Cash+, substantially more than 5k/month though not through AP, all in 5% categories (grandfathered), and all they did was increase my CL. YMMV
Nov 3, 2013 | 2:45 pm
#2846
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 39
Back in 2010 Amazon closed down a large number of people who created multiple accounts. These were people who were doing something around 8+ accounts within opening their account in the first month. Some were allowed to come back in as long as they didn't operate too many accounts. In 2010 I got an email saying that they permitted no more than 3 accounts per home. They have since not sent out any more emails with this information. A very large number of people are doing AZ payments. It's on tons of blogs and frequently on Dan's Deals. Out of the large number of people that are doing this deal very few ever post about being shut down. This could be because they don't care to share on a public forum or that Amazon just isn't shutting down many people.
I've done 3 accounts since 2010 and triangle my payments. The only unique thing to each account is the email address and the bank account. I've stayed in contact with many people and no one has ever been shut down for having 3 accounts. Doesn't matter how you structure the payments or the number of IP addresses. Amazon could randomly select accounts from time to time to randomly review, but it's not a bad risk to take. I typically liquidate my Amex gift cards that I earned 2% back with Big Crumbs.
You do this deal at your own risk, but I think it's pretty safe to say that having 3 or fewer accounts keeps you in the clear. You shouldn't worry too much about methods to send while you are under this limit. It would be helpful if in the future a wiki was started for people to state which cards don't work and those who were shut down to state why they think they were flagged.
You will notice some people getting shut down from time to time but if they've been honest so far on Flyertalk it seems they might have just been randomly flagged for an account review. I wouldn't send more money than you are comfortable having frozen for a month or two.
I've done 3 accounts since 2010 and triangle my payments. The only unique thing to each account is the email address and the bank account. I've stayed in contact with many people and no one has ever been shut down for having 3 accounts. Doesn't matter how you structure the payments or the number of IP addresses. Amazon could randomly select accounts from time to time to randomly review, but it's not a bad risk to take. I typically liquidate my Amex gift cards that I earned 2% back with Big Crumbs.
You do this deal at your own risk, but I think it's pretty safe to say that having 3 or fewer accounts keeps you in the clear. You shouldn't worry too much about methods to send while you are under this limit. It would be helpful if in the future a wiki was started for people to state which cards don't work and those who were shut down to state why they think they were flagged.
You will notice some people getting shut down from time to time but if they've been honest so far on Flyertalk it seems they might have just been randomly flagged for an account review. I wouldn't send more money than you are comfortable having frozen for a month or two.
Nov 3, 2013 | 3:04 pm
#2847
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,774
Nov 3, 2013 | 10:13 pm
#2848
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, AS, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,075
Make sure your name in the Ink Bold card details on AP matches your registered AP name. They must have put in a change recently, because all the cards I had on there with my middle initial didn't show up in the drop down. When it removed middle initial, voila.
Nov 4, 2013 | 7:23 am
#2849
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 353
But then told I had sent my limit. Looks like you are correct and I will miss out on $600 this month, one way. Thanks for the info! Small issue, no big deal.
Nov 4, 2013 | 8:04 am
#2850
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,506
