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
Dec 1, 2013 | 4:09 pm
#2956
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 33
I had this second account only for 3 months and I am already shut down. Maybe more is on the way. Now that they have SSN linked to the accounts, it should be pretty simple to track down the multiple account.
Dec 1, 2013 | 5:33 pm
#2957
Join Date: May 2012
Location: NYC
Programs: AA, UA, SPG
Posts: 105
Yeah - two separate accounts, not sending to each other, no similarities across either both went into pending today with $1k sends. A third, separate account was fine for $750 sent, then accidentally sent $250 to an incorrect email. Assuming that will get kicked out in 24 or so hours... hopefully no one accepts!
Dec 1, 2013 | 5:57 pm
#2958
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SNA/LAX
Posts: 1,410
Yeah - two separate accounts, not sending to each other, no similarities across either both went into pending today with $1k sends. A third, separate account was fine for $750 sent, then accidentally sent $250 to an incorrect email. Assuming that will get kicked out in 24 or so hours... hopefully no one accepts!
Dec 1, 2013 | 6:02 pm
#2959
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Dec 1, 2013 | 6:04 pm
#2960
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SNA/LAX
Posts: 1,410
Dec 1, 2013 | 7:16 pm
#2964
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
I usually do them around 10PM and I see them posted around 4-5AM when they go into "pending".
Dec 1, 2013 | 7:19 pm
#2965
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Warm, sunny Florida
Posts: 251
It's the first time I've done a $1k single shot transaction. Next time I'll try your evening method. Then again, doing AP right before bed would make for some heart pounding nightmares. I can only imagine what death by Amazon's new Prime Air drone would feel like.
Dec 1, 2013 | 7:29 pm
#2966
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,506
LOL maybe that is what Bezo's is thinking... actually I can't help think the geek in him lets us play this game a bit ... not like they are not smart enough to work this stuff out
Dec 1, 2013 | 7:51 pm
#2968
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
Might wanna look at the last page of this thread, your question has been answered in much depth.
Dec 1, 2013 | 8:01 pm
#2969
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: MSP
Posts: 330
Dec 1, 2013 | 8:32 pm
#2970
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
You want to minimize risk. 1K limit from Amazon, and you're shooting off that limit in one go. That would look really suspicious if I was Amazon. Not to mention, it's an automatic "Pending" status.
I guess Amazon sees that I send high amounts a lot. So I doubt it's a bother any more. The first few times. I panicked. But then I realized they went through with no problems. Didn't panic much anymore.
Never in one transaction. ^
Read above what I said above.
I think it would also help if people read through the past, eh. 25-30 pages or so. A lot of good information. ^ It's how I developed my plan of attack.