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 21, 2014 | 7:13 pm
#3316
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,616
So people just give up and dont try to resolve it? Believe me I am not advocating it but I am sure someone must have tried calling to find out what the deal was. Whether we call or not I don't think it really matters. Its not like Amazon is oblivious to what is going on.
Jan 21, 2014 | 7:31 pm
#3317
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
So people just give up and dont try to resolve it? Believe me I am not advocating it but I am sure someone must have tried calling to find out what the deal was. Whether we call or not I don't think it really matters. Its not like Amazon is oblivious to what is going on.
I'm sure if I called they'd say, "Oh. Looks like you have three accounts sending 1K a month via CC."
They're not stupid.
Jan 21, 2014 | 9:54 pm
#3318
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 519
New to MS here, but would sending $1000 a month to my gf be ok? She can pay me back via PayPal or Chase, and this would work no problem? Just wondering if this is risky or not? Sounds far less risky than the A-B-C game people are playing.
Last edited by Wise-Broccoli8301; Jan 21, 2014 at 9:59 pm
Jan 21, 2014 | 10:05 pm
#3319
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Jan 21, 2014 | 10:14 pm
#3320
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EP, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Platinum, M life Noir
Posts: 1,279
Jan 21, 2014 | 11:17 pm
#3321
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,616
I know they are not stupid but I was curious what scenario the other guy was using that caused his accounts to be suspended. Was he doing A>B>C>A OR was it just A>B and B>A? Since you can't answer that since you just butted in prematurely and thought you were just being smart. I am trying to use this as a data point.
Besides people who do just do 1 transaction of 1K to 1K to 1K to 1K every month is just dumb. Yes that is obvious to me. Besides you are not the first person to do A>B>C>A.
Jan 21, 2014 | 11:33 pm
#3322
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
I know they are not stupid but I was curious what scenario the other guy was using that caused his accounts to be suspended. Was he doing A>B>C>A OR was it just A>B and B>A? Since you can't answer that since you just butted in prematurely and thought you were just being smart. I am trying to use this as a data point.
Besides people who do just do 1 transaction of 1K to 1K to 1K to 1K every month is just dumb. Yes that is obvious to me. Besides you are not the first person to do A>B>C>A.
Besides people who do just do 1 transaction of 1K to 1K to 1K to 1K every month is just dumb. Yes that is obvious to me. Besides you are not the first person to do A>B>C>A.
It's been covered over and over. Suspensions and shutdowns have happened at random. No rhyme or reason.
Doesn't matter if it was A > B or some complex combo.
Jan 22, 2014 | 7:19 am
#3323
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,386
I know they are not stupid but I was curious what scenario the other guy was using that caused his accounts to be suspended. Was he doing A>B>C>A OR was it just A>B and B>A? Since you can't answer that since you just butted in prematurely and thought you were just being smart. I am trying to use this as a data point.
Besides people who do just do 1 transaction of 1K to 1K to 1K to 1K every month is just dumb. Yes that is obvious to me. Besides you are not the first person to do A>B>C>A.
Besides people who do just do 1 transaction of 1K to 1K to 1K to 1K every month is just dumb. Yes that is obvious to me. Besides you are not the first person to do A>B>C>A.
Jan 22, 2014 | 7:34 am
#3324
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SNA/LAX
Posts: 1,410
I completely understand what you are saying. In my reading, it seems most people getting shutdown are the ones that do the complex sends. I haven't really read too much in this thread about people that do simple A>B each month and get shutdown. So I agree that the data point would help.
Just do what you feel comfortable and reap the benefits! When you fail, accept it and move on to another form. There are many!
Jan 22, 2014 | 9:39 am
#3325
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
The sending account just received $1K from the different account and withdrawal (successful btw) was initiated.
Both sending and receiving accounts had the same "domain" - @gmail.com.
That's the only "pattern". Or "rhyme".
They didn't even send their usual "Thank you for your interest in Amazon Payments".
I still can login into this account, but it is as good as dead.
It's been mentioned many times in this thread that we still don't know exactly how AP police operates.
Last edited by MaineCoon; Jan 22, 2014 at 9:53 am
Jan 22, 2014 | 9:59 am
#3326
Join Date: May 2000
Location: I see palm trees....
Posts: 414
I did my "usual" monthly routine - $1K from the brand new CC.
The sending account just received $1K from the different account and withdrawal (successful btw) was initiated.
Both sending and receiving accounts had the same "domain" - @gmail.com.
That's the only "pattern". Or "rhyme".
They didn't even send their usual "Thank you for your interest in Amazon Payments".
I still can login into this account, but it is as good as dead.
It's been mentioned many times in this thread that we still don't know exactly how AP police operates.
The sending account just received $1K from the different account and withdrawal (successful btw) was initiated.
Both sending and receiving accounts had the same "domain" - @gmail.com.
That's the only "pattern". Or "rhyme".
They didn't even send their usual "Thank you for your interest in Amazon Payments".
I still can login into this account, but it is as good as dead.
It's been mentioned many times in this thread that we still don't know exactly how AP police operates.
And how about your regular Amazon account...any problems with it as a result of this?
Jan 22, 2014 | 10:25 am
#3327
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
No problem at all with the "regular" Amazon account.
Bezos tribe does not necessarily hate you for your multiple AP accounts. It is strictly business.
Amazon would never suspend your "regular" account over such a nuisance.
Jan 22, 2014 | 10:30 am
#3328
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
My comment is always "First Payment." "Second Payment." So on and so forth.
LOL. I'm sure I'll get shut down seeing as I milk almost 12K from it.
No VR via CC here and I'm surely not wasting my time driving around out of my way to find a Charlie Victor Sierra that will sell them. Not to mention, I don't have a way to liquidate AMEX GC so.... AP works. ^
I need more SSN's though...
LOL. I'm sure I'll get shut down seeing as I milk almost 12K from it.
No VR via CC here and I'm surely not wasting my time driving around out of my way to find a Charlie Victor Sierra that will sell them. Not to mention, I don't have a way to liquidate AMEX GC so.... AP works. ^
I need more SSN's though...
Jan 22, 2014 | 10:41 am
#3329
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820