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 22, 2014 | 10:44 am
#3331
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Jan 22, 2014 | 11:09 am
#3332
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
Jan 22, 2014 | 11:15 am
#3333
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
AP is the best. When it works, of course.
Not just Big Brother numbers, one also needs the checking accounts, to get rid of the limitations and withdraw funds quickly and efficiently. That's the problem for me.
Jan 22, 2014 | 3:14 pm
#3334
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 422
Sorry if this has been posted before, but... I suspect it was because these were variable GCs since several fixed-amount ones have worked since. I just used another variable & made the payment without fixing the expiration date first - expected it to fail but it went into Pending status for several hours. Payments I made afterward from other cards went through immediately. So I fixed the date while the payment still showed pending & it completed a few minutes afterward for the full amount of the card, no $1.00 test charge ever showed.
Jan 23, 2014 | 2:54 pm
#3337
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,615
I noticed this happens if you try to do an AP transaction at night like 8-9 PM PST or later. But the transaction for me still goes through after a few hours.
Jan 23, 2014 | 2:56 pm
#3338
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,615
I am guessing its not that they don't believe you in the Scuba diving classes, flights to NC, etc. I think its just that they must be curious why everything costs $1K each and every single month.
Jan 23, 2014 | 3:29 pm
#3340
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
The one which got the account suspended had something like that.
And just sent exact $1K from one of the accounts. Went like a song.
So, that's not it.
Jan 23, 2014 | 3:57 pm
#3341
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,615
How long were you doing AP for before they suspended you?
Jan 23, 2014 | 4:08 pm
#3342
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
They didn't suspend me per ce, lol, they suspended 3 of my accounts, latest one is brand new, two others are from August.
It seems to me by reading this thread that they started their "regular" witch-hunt in December 2013 and it is still going on.
Jan 23, 2014 | 4:15 pm
#3343
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,615
But are you using multiple Amazon accounts with the same SSN (I assume yours)? I am curious if Amazon looks for that. Its hard to figure out what some people get suspended but sometimes the small details make the difference.
Jan 23, 2014 | 4:23 pm
#3344
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
It's been beaten to death on this thread.
No, using the same SSN is not the trigger for the suspension, at least not right away.
Jan 23, 2014 | 4:40 pm
#3345
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,615
Actually it has also been beaten to death as well that we don't know exactly what criteria Amazon uses to determine when accounts are suspended. Therefore we can't rule out that having multiple accounts via same SSN couldn't be part of the reason or at least a factor. Of course having multiple accounts with same SSN wouldn't trigger suspension right away just like nothing is right away or else that would be nuts. However doing it consistently month after month is when you establish a pattern so my point is over time it could be a contributing factor.