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
Feb 2, 2014 | 6:32 pm
#3422
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
Feb 2, 2014 | 7:07 pm
#3423
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Midwest
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 401
You talking about an account with a miles earning debit or am I missing something else here? amaz-》suntrust -》bb online load? Thats where I've been headed towards next but would love to hear if there is something better!
Feb 2, 2014 | 7:12 pm
#3424
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 14
Anyone that recently opened an AP account, can you tell me how safe I'd be opening a second and third account using same name, SSN, credit card, etc... BUT different emails and different checking accounts?
Do I have a fair shot of keeping all three open?
Do I have a fair shot of keeping all three open?
Feb 2, 2014 | 7:29 pm
#3425
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 322
Used to be doable, but not as of the past few months. Amazon has been cracking down hard on multiple accounts lately.
Feb 2, 2014 | 7:37 pm
#3426
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Just like you wrote... 
And? I have no other use for them.
None of the CVS's etc here will allow me VR/MGC/VGC with CC.
Especially when someone that looks fairly young walks up wanting 500-1K in ice cream.
I'm sure it's a red flag... Even when I ask to just try it.
Try whatever you're doing. Maybe it's the next best thing? How should we know what's better for you?
It's playing with fire. Especially when Bezos' tribe has been on the hunt. 
None of the CVS's etc here will allow me VR/MGC/VGC with CC.
Especially when someone that looks fairly young walks up wanting 500-1K in ice cream.
I'm sure it's a red flag... Even when I ask to just try it.
Feb 2, 2014 | 8:18 pm
#3427
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
for me using the same cc caused my several account to be shut down.
for f0xx it works just fine.
Also, I did not believe it before, but for now I think that the same IP causes problems too.
I might be wrong.
Feb 2, 2014 | 9:25 pm
#3429
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Did you ever use different browsers or incognito mode? That's all I have ever done.
^
Feb 2, 2014 | 9:26 pm
#3430
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
Feb 2, 2014 | 9:27 pm
#3431
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: LAX/SNA
Programs: AA, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,887
You should search to find recent users experiences with this, it wouldn't be hard to find out if it works or not.
Feb 2, 2014 | 10:04 pm
#3432
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
No incognito mode, no IP/VPN switches.
However, the headhunters keep killing my accounts. Not to the extent that it would bother me, but still
Feb 3, 2014 | 1:07 am
#3435
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,616
So are you telling me that when you do your AP transaction your IP is logged? So lets say I do the AP transaction at work which has a different IP address instead of my home IP address, are you saying that will be ok? I don't see the connection and IP address being a criteria for suspension.