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
Mar 2, 2014, 8:12 am
#3676
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Any chance to include this info in the wiki with more detail. In short, I don't understand the problem. It would seem the only way to apply this restriction is 'per account' and if you do $1K per month, that is $12K per year. So, what/how is the $20K counted? In + out? That would limit you to 10 months per year, but I don't understand the limits, the computations, the threat that is implied.
In any case, an elaboration on what this means, in the wiki, would be hugely appreciated.
In any case, an elaboration on what this means, in the wiki, would be hugely appreciated.
And it's 1K received. Not sent.
Mar 2, 2014, 9:10 am
#3677
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 825
Any chance to include this info in the wiki with more detail. In short, I don't understand the problem. It would seem the only way to apply this restriction is 'per account' and if you do $1K per month, that is $12K per year. So, what/how is the $20K counted? In + out? That would limit you to 10 months per year, but I don't understand the limits, the computations, the threat that is implied.
In any case, an elaboration on what this means, in the wiki, would be hugely appreciated.
In any case, an elaboration on what this means, in the wiki, would be hugely appreciated.
Mar 2, 2014, 10:50 am
#3679
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Mar 3, 2014, 5:09 pm
#3680
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: NE
Programs: UA PLAT, HH Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 211
I fail to see the advantage in doing this. This still limits you to $1k with added risk. Just stick to A->B for the same result.
Mar 3, 2014, 6:04 pm
#3681
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,511
I don't think he is doing this to try to gain an advantage. I think the intention is to not to give the Bezo tribe the idea that you are always sending money about from person A to B every single month. In this case his proposal is 2 consecutive months ON and then 2 consecutive months OFF. His goal is to still do just $1K/month but just alternate accounts every 2 months and avoid shutdown. Again with AP we don't know what does or does not trigger shutdown his idea was just to create a scenario which he thinks will work.
Mar 3, 2014, 6:39 pm
#3683
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 274
I figure that if I ever have to talk to a human, I'm just going to say that I'm sending my $1000/month rent to my roommate. I doubt it will ever get to that point, but it's a valid reason why somebody would send another person a set amount of money every month.
Mar 6, 2014, 11:42 pm
#3684
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: OC/LAX
Posts: 376
I tried searching but the search function wasn't working correctly and was hoping for more recent data. I want to use AP to meet spend on a card and send from my AP account to my sister's. I don't want to have to keep asking my sister for a check every time I send her money so can I make a Serve account for her and link it to her Amazon payments account?
Mar 7, 2014, 4:56 am
#3687
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Mar 7, 2014, 5:25 am
#3688
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: OC/LAX
Posts: 376
Just wasn't sure what's more convenient/advantageous as of late since I read earlier reports in the Serve thread stating that some got shut down for loading Serve and then unloading entire balance via ATM.
Mar 7, 2014, 6:48 am
#3689
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Mar 7, 2014, 6:49 am
#3690
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
I find it interesting how AP can payout to registered bank acct in 1 biz day but it takes them 5-7 to do a trial deposit. This is longer than I have seen with any of my bank accts.