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 28, 2013 | 5:31 pm
#3166
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: ATL
Posts: 44
I read most of this thread. I've seen that others have gotten pending transactions, but noone has mentioned the "unable to complete your transaction until further review" part. That scares me a little.
Also, is everyone else receiving
<html><body><b>Http/1.1 Service Unavailable</b></body> </html>
from payments.amazon.com right now as well?
Also, is everyone else receiving
<html><body><b>Http/1.1 Service Unavailable</b></body> </html>
from payments.amazon.com right now as well?
Dec 28, 2013 | 6:10 pm
#3167
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
I read most of this thread. I've seen that others have gotten pending transactions, but noone has mentioned the "unable to complete your transaction until further review" part. That scares me a little.
Also, is everyone else receiving
<html><body><b>Http/1.1 Service Unavailable</b></body> </html>
from payments.amazon.com right now as well?
Also, is everyone else receiving
<html><body><b>Http/1.1 Service Unavailable</b></body> </html>
from payments.amazon.com right now as well?
We all get this message once in a while.
But yeah, you did not read the thread carefully, it's been asked and answered quite a few times.
Jan 1, 2014 | 3:54 pm
#3169
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 905
Wow. 5 straight AP accounts all with the "pending" status after sending payments. First time that's ever happened 5 straight times in a row on different accounts. I've gotten the occasional "pending" status for payments in the past, and they've always gone through after a couple of hours. But I wonder if AP is turning up the forensics...
Jan 1, 2014 | 3:57 pm
#3170
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AA,DL,BA,UA,SPG, and any other free trip!
Posts: 1,803
Wow. 5 straight AP accounts all with the "pending" status after sending payments. First time that's ever happened 5 straight times in a row on different accounts. I've gotten the occasional "pending" status for payments in the past, and they've always gone through after a couple of hours. But I wonder if AP is turning up the forensics...
Jan 1, 2014 | 7:18 pm
#3171
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 267
Jan 2, 2014 | 6:46 am
#3172
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 905
Jan 2, 2014 | 7:10 am
#3173
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Michigan
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 503
Is there any safe way of doing an A --> B between myself and my wife? If I set her account up with a separate bank account from what I'm using in my account, is that all it'd take? Or would the fact that our home address is the same kill it?
Jan 2, 2014 | 7:15 am
#3174
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,506
use separate bank accounts and separate funding cards and you should be ok
Jan 2, 2014 | 7:18 am
#3175
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Michigan
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 503
Also, what do you mean separate funding cards? As in, don't use the same card on both accounts? Or, don't use a card with her name on my account, and vice versa?
Jan 2, 2014 | 8:03 am
#3176
Used to be ' simz '
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Kolkata, India
Programs: Does it matter..??? It doesn't matter to them
Posts: 1,142
I've got each of our AP accounts set up with a different bank account - does it matter what the details are that I use to set those up with (e.g. Bank Account Holder Name, Driver's License Number, etc)?
Also, what do you mean separate funding cards? As in, don't use the same card on both accounts? Or, don't use a card with her name on my account, and vice versa?
Also, what do you mean separate funding cards? As in, don't use the same card on both accounts? Or, don't use a card with her name on my account, and vice versa?
Jan 2, 2014 | 9:00 am
#3177
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,506
I've got each of our AP accounts set up with a different bank account - does it matter what the details are that I use to set those up with (e.g. Bank Account Holder Name, Driver's License Number, etc)?
Also, what do you mean separate funding cards? As in, don't use the same card on both accounts? Or, don't use a card with her name on my account, and vice versa?
Also, what do you mean separate funding cards? As in, don't use the same card on both accounts? Or, don't use a card with her name on my account, and vice versa?
Funding cards means the credit cards you use to send money to each other. Make sure they have different numbers.
Jan 2, 2014 | 11:47 am
#3178
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 204
Yesterday, signed up for my 3rd account for myself and 3rd account for my spouse. Everything went smoothly on my signup. Hers remained in the "identity verification" process for about 24 hours (and therefore wasn't able to send or receive money), but seems to be up and running now.
Will now start doing each month:
A>B, B>A
A2>B2, B2>A2
A3>B3, B3>A3
If it continues to go well, I may just have to add A4/B4 in a few months.
Will now start doing each month:
A>B, B>A
A2>B2, B2>A2
A3>B3, B3>A3
If it continues to go well, I may just have to add A4/B4 in a few months.
Jan 2, 2014 | 12:23 pm
#3179
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 7
Sending money back and forth between two users (A > B, B > A) is generally regarded as a risky and likely to get you shut down, I think. You might be better off doing A > B > A2 > B2 > A3 > B3. Almost as much money is moved, and it creates no closed loops.
Jan 2, 2014 | 4:21 pm
#3180
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: JFK > LGA >> EWR
Programs: AA EXP 1.2mm, Kimpton IC, Starwood Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,188
OK this is weird... my AP "send money" list of credit cards now lists only two cards, even though I have about 10 cards registered with Amazon (and shown if I click "Add a credit card"). Neither of the cards that now shows is the one I want to use this month.
Has anyone seen anything similar? How can I use my preferred card again?
[EDIT: After editing the stored card and re-selecting the billing address, it appears in the list again. Weird.]
Has anyone seen anything similar? How can I use my preferred card again?
[EDIT: After editing the stored card and re-selecting the billing address, it appears in the list again. Weird.]