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
Jan 7, 2014, 2:59 pm
#3228
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chicago
Programs: Mileage Plus, Rapid Rewards
Posts: 949
Update
Based on an email I just received from Amazon, it does appear that my Amazon.com account was "blocked" along with my Amazon Payments account because they didn't like the unspecified way that I was using my Amazon Payments account.
I've emailed them back to see if they will unlock my Amazon.com account, so I can access by Kindle library, movies I've purchased, etc. If they don't unblock my regular Amazon account, it's "on", as blocking access to media that I've already purchased is tantamount to stealing--at least to most people it would be. Regardless of what their "terms" might be, I'm sure Amazon wouldn't appreciate the negative publicity that they can block access to already purchased content without any recourse for the customer.
I've emailed them back to see if they will unlock my Amazon.com account, so I can access by Kindle library, movies I've purchased, etc. If they don't unblock my regular Amazon account, it's "on", as blocking access to media that I've already purchased is tantamount to stealing--at least to most people it would be. Regardless of what their "terms" might be, I'm sure Amazon wouldn't appreciate the negative publicity that they can block access to already purchased content without any recourse for the customer.
Last edited by CMHFlyerOH; Jan 7, 2014 at 3:23 pm
Jan 7, 2014, 7:42 pm
#3230
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The Phoenix Desert
Programs: Hilton Cubic Zirconia, Marriott Fools Gold
Posts: 1,692
I use a cap one 360 savings acct and it works great for AP.... make sure to set it up under acct b's name and info tho so it matches the AP acct.
Jan 7, 2014, 9:50 pm
#3232
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 920
Wait, did they specify your Amazon.com account being blocked? Most I've seen is something along the lines of "you have other amazon payments accounts, etc etc, we are closing this one down", but I've never seen them shut down an Amazon account. That's a separate product. Is there anything else unusual you've been doing?
Jan 8, 2014, 12:11 am
#3233
Join Date: May 2010
Programs: UA MileagePlus
Posts: 138
Based on an email I just received from Amazon, it does appear that my Amazon.com account was "blocked" along with my Amazon Payments account because they didn't like the unspecified way that I was using my Amazon Payments account.
I've emailed them back to see if they will unlock my Amazon.com account, so I can access by Kindle library, movies I've purchased, etc. If they don't unblock my regular Amazon account, it's "on", as blocking access to media that I've already purchased is tantamount to stealing--at least to most people it would be. Regardless of what their "terms" might be, I'm sure Amazon wouldn't appreciate the negative publicity that they can block access to already purchased content without any recourse for the customer.
I've emailed them back to see if they will unlock my Amazon.com account, so I can access by Kindle library, movies I've purchased, etc. If they don't unblock my regular Amazon account, it's "on", as blocking access to media that I've already purchased is tantamount to stealing--at least to most people it would be. Regardless of what their "terms" might be, I'm sure Amazon wouldn't appreciate the negative publicity that they can block access to already purchased content without any recourse for the customer.
Note: the past few times I had my main Amazon account on hold (with the same symptoms that you described), my access was restored automatically after a few days, sans all my saved payment methods (which they apparently automatically remove as a fraud prevention measure).
Jan 8, 2014, 1:15 am
#3234
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chicago
Programs: Mileage Plus, Rapid Rewards
Posts: 949
Update: They've re-enabled my Amazon.com account after my email, but my Amazon Payments account is most definitely "suspended" per their email, which I can verify when I log in.
Last edited by CMHFlyerOH; Jan 8, 2014 at 7:56 am
Jan 8, 2014, 8:31 am
#3235
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Wine Country, Finger Lakes
Programs: LFFRS BOD
Posts: 1,355
Successfully charged $1k on my new 2nd Citi HH card through AP.
(first and only account)
Was on pending for a good 5 hours before going through.
Just posted on the cc statement ( was pending for about 48 hours)
Sent $1k to son who needs it for school.
Not looking to play the ABC game.
Thanks for all the info on this thread.
Although did not see the warning of not doing all of $1k at once.
(first and only account)
Was on pending for a good 5 hours before going through.
Just posted on the cc statement ( was pending for about 48 hours)
Sent $1k to son who needs it for school.
Not looking to play the ABC game.
Thanks for all the info on this thread.
Although did not see the warning of not doing all of $1k at once.
Jan 8, 2014, 9:43 am
#3236
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: AA, UAL
Posts: 545
Yeppp, that's how it starts 
Yeah, we will see
Not an issue (even with ABC).
Cheers!
Yeah, we will see
Not an issue (even with ABC).
Cheers!
Jan 8, 2014, 10:03 am
#3237
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 37
been using AP between 7 accounts since it's inception. I had random accounts go suspended and would open new ones over the years however yesterday all of my accounts were suspended. I opened one ones, charge #1 is pending, i hope it's not blacklisted.
Jan 9, 2014, 6:59 am
#3238
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Texas
Programs: AA, USAir
Posts: 228
How long was your oldest account? I'm assuming you had one tied to a normal Amazon account. In relation to all of your accounts, when was it shut down?
Were the closures totally random, or do you have a suspicion (if you care to share)?
Jan 9, 2014, 7:53 am
#3239
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 267
Did Amazon CSR say anything about whether they would reopen your suspended account? Mine is suspended too. I think its weird that they call it "suspended" rather than "closed" since, to me, suspended implies that it is temporary. I don't wanna get any more attention than I have already gotten, so I am reluctant to call them. But if you were already in contact with Amazon CSR regarding this issue, I was wondering if you could share any info you received about your suspension that might also apply to other people's suspensions.
Jan 9, 2014, 9:15 am
#3240
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Programs: US/AA, UA, AS, BA, IHG, HGP
Posts: 223
Did Amazon CSR say anything about whether they would reopen your suspended account? Mine is suspended too. I think its weird that they call it "suspended" rather than "closed" since, to me, suspended implies that it is temporary. I don't wanna get any more attention than I have already gotten, so I am reluctant to call them. But if you were already in contact with Amazon CSR regarding this issue, I was wondering if you could share any info you received about your suspension that might also apply to other people's suspensions.