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 6, 2014 | 3:24 pm
#3496
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 233
Feb 6, 2014 | 4:24 pm
#3498
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 233
Feb 6, 2014 | 5:09 pm
#3500
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
Feb 6, 2014 | 7:19 pm
#3501
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
I have several accounts between 2 SSNs tied to the same joint checking account. No problem.
Bezos tribe seems to be totally random. There is probably just one person on the team who can run SQL queries. When s/he feels like working, we are in trouble.
Bezos tribe seems to be totally random. There is probably just one person on the team who can run SQL queries. When s/he feels like working, we are in trouble.
Feb 6, 2014 | 9:57 pm
#3503
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 233
Feb 7, 2014 | 4:20 am
#3504
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Feb 8, 2014 | 6:50 am
#3505
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 11
Merchant Category: Services - BUSINESS SERVICES,NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSED
Charge To: Standard Purch
Charge To: Standard Purch
Also interesting is that I got a targeted spend last month from Citi, offering an extra 1 mile per $ (up to $1k) on "online purchases." Guess what counted as a online purchase?
Feb 8, 2014 | 9:34 am
#3507
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: AA, SPG, MR, UR, Cash Back!
Posts: 606
Got this email today:
Greetings from Amazon Payments,
Thank you for contacting us in regards to your account.
It appears that your account is on hold as we have not been able to verify your account information.
In order to verify your information, please login to your account and submit the requested information within the next 10 days. You will be unable to transact using your Amazon Payments account until we have verified your identity information. But, you will be able to enter the details again when you login.
Thank you for your compliance with our verification procedures.
Sincerely,
Account Specialist
Amazon Payments
I'm logged into Amazon Payments and I can't do or change anything. I'm not sure what or how they want me to verify my information.
Greetings from Amazon Payments,
Thank you for contacting us in regards to your account.
It appears that your account is on hold as we have not been able to verify your account information.
In order to verify your information, please login to your account and submit the requested information within the next 10 days. You will be unable to transact using your Amazon Payments account until we have verified your identity information. But, you will be able to enter the details again when you login.
Thank you for your compliance with our verification procedures.
Sincerely,
Account Specialist
Amazon Payments
I'm logged into Amazon Payments and I can't do or change anything. I'm not sure what or how they want me to verify my information.
Feb 8, 2014 | 9:59 am
#3508
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: AA, SPG, MR, UR, Cash Back!
Posts: 606
This is how I'm set up with my A to B account. My A account is frozen and I can't change anything with it.
Feb 8, 2014 | 10:02 am
#3509
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NY
Posts: 233
Same SS#? Same address? Same name?
Be more specific.
Feb 8, 2014 | 10:16 am
#3510
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: AA, SPG, MR, UR, Cash Back!
Posts: 606
Mailing addresses are the same. Just like the guy I quoted.
I use incognito browser when looking at account B. Account A is my real personal Amazon account, I've used it for years. I don't understand how it needs to be verified. I can't add or change anything in the account settings.