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 22, 2013 | 7:40 pm
#2927
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: NYC
Posts: 398
Nov 22, 2013 | 8:55 pm
#2928
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 939
Very weird ...
I have an Amex 4 Target cards loaded but its no longer an option for sending payments.
Thinking that they limited the choices to just 4 I removed some other cards so that I have 3 Visa/MCs and 1 Amex in my profile. When I went back to send money I only had 3 payment choices to choose from... Amex was not one of them.
Very weird...
Edit to add:
I also noticed the cards that my wife and I share (1 card number loaded in both accounts) aren't an option in both anymore.
The card is still visible in the "Add, edit, or delete my credit cards" section in both of our accounts but its only a payment option in one of our accounts... instead of both as before.
I have an Amex 4 Target cards loaded but its no longer an option for sending payments.
Thinking that they limited the choices to just 4 I removed some other cards so that I have 3 Visa/MCs and 1 Amex in my profile. When I went back to send money I only had 3 payment choices to choose from... Amex was not one of them.
Very weird...
Edit to add:
I also noticed the cards that my wife and I share (1 card number loaded in both accounts) aren't an option in both anymore.
The card is still visible in the "Add, edit, or delete my credit cards" section in both of our accounts but its only a payment option in one of our accounts... instead of both as before.
Last edited by KYBOSH; Nov 22, 2013 at 9:12 pm
Nov 22, 2013 | 9:49 pm
#2929
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, AS, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,075
Very weird ...
I have an Amex 4 Target cards loaded but its no longer an option for sending payments.
Thinking that they limited the choices to just 4 I removed some other cards so that I have 3 Visa/MCs and 1 Amex in my profile. When I went back to send money I only had 3 payment choices to choose from... Amex was not one of them.
Very weird...
Edit to add:
I also noticed the cards that my wife and I share (1 card number loaded in both accounts) aren't an option in both anymore.
The card is still visible in the "Add, edit, or delete my credit cards" section in both of our accounts but its only a payment option in one of our accounts... instead of both as before.
I have an Amex 4 Target cards loaded but its no longer an option for sending payments.
Thinking that they limited the choices to just 4 I removed some other cards so that I have 3 Visa/MCs and 1 Amex in my profile. When I went back to send money I only had 3 payment choices to choose from... Amex was not one of them.
Very weird...
Edit to add:
I also noticed the cards that my wife and I share (1 card number loaded in both accounts) aren't an option in both anymore.
The card is still visible in the "Add, edit, or delete my credit cards" section in both of our accounts but its only a payment option in one of our accounts... instead of both as before.
Nov 23, 2013 | 4:32 am
#2930
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
I would guess that the cards you see as options to send money have an exact match between name attached to the card and the name on your AP account. They recently changed something that requires name to match. That lines up with why the cards you share are issues - make sure in each account the name associated with the card matches the AP name. The actual name on the card doesn't matter.
Nov 23, 2013 | 1:12 pm
#2931
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, AS, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,075
Nov 23, 2013 | 1:38 pm
#2932
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 709
i think others have previously reported no issues doing AP transactions outside the US? any recent reports? may try to finish spends on some cards with upcoming deadlines thru AP if we don't manage to spend enough while on vacay 
thanks!
thanks!
Nov 23, 2013 | 3:49 pm
#2933
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Mistakenly used my friends address as the billing address and it was "Processing" for forever. Realized my mistake. Corrected and it went through.
I have 6 AP accounts.
2 are under my SSN
2 under a SO SSN.
and two that are separate.
I'm churning 6K a month.
All are A > B > Bank.
A > B > Bank
B > C > Bank
C > A > Bank
Easiest way to maximize 1K Send and Receive. ^
Now am I risking it? Sure. I just have some spends to meet. Once I'm done, I'll be cutting back.
Nov 25, 2013 | 2:49 am
#2934
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,086
I have been doing AP in Indonesia for the past 2 years.
Nov 25, 2013 | 4:42 am
#2935
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Warm, sunny Florida
Posts: 251
Where you could run into issues would be if you're based here in the US, use a US IP for one account, then complete the transfer using an outside US based IP. That could also throw up a red flag. Best practice may be like some others are doing with home/work PCs or using smartphone (airplane mode on/off method) to perform the transfers. I've been doing that for some time without any issues, but then again who knows what triggers a shutdown.
Nov 25, 2013 | 6:38 am
#2936
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SNA/LAX
Posts: 1,410
Correct. As long as the billing address on your card is the same. No problems.
Mistakenly used my friends address as the billing address and it was "Processing" for forever. Realized my mistake. Corrected and it went through.
I have 6 AP accounts.
2 are under my SSN
2 under a SO SSN.
and two that are separate.
I'm churning 6K a month.
All are A > B > Bank.
A > B > Bank
B > C > Bank
C > A > Bank
Easiest way to maximize 1K Send and Receive. ^
Now am I risking it? Sure. I just have some spends to meet. Once I'm done, I'll be cutting back.
Mistakenly used my friends address as the billing address and it was "Processing" for forever. Realized my mistake. Corrected and it went through.
I have 6 AP accounts.
2 are under my SSN
2 under a SO SSN.
and two that are separate.
I'm churning 6K a month.
All are A > B > Bank.
A > B > Bank
B > C > Bank
C > A > Bank
Easiest way to maximize 1K Send and Receive. ^
Now am I risking it? Sure. I just have some spends to meet. Once I'm done, I'll be cutting back.
Nov 25, 2013 | 10:11 am
#2938
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: DEN
Programs: SPG Gold; HH Diamond
Posts: 223