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 26, 2014 | 2:28 pm
#3841
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 55
I believe so. I dont see a thank you for verifying your email for the sending account but i showed no limitations on what I could send or receive. I just reclicked the link in the email to see...if email might need to be verified...
Also some other points, BB was my funding bank acct for the sending acct. I just closed that acct the other day to switch to serve..might that be it? are they constantly pinging the accounts to make sure all information is true at all times? Also the receiving acct has no credit card attached to it...is that a problem?
Also some other points, BB was my funding bank acct for the sending acct. I just closed that acct the other day to switch to serve..might that be it? are they constantly pinging the accounts to make sure all information is true at all times? Also the receiving acct has no credit card attached to it...is that a problem?
Mar 26, 2014 | 4:29 pm
#3842
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 19
ok i must have taken that and/or to mean just or. THanks I'll try that and see.
Thanks for that data point...for some reason I don't remember reading about people having those problems...but I just kept checking my account limits and looked like everything was good to go 
Mar 26, 2014 | 4:52 pm
#3844
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: AA, SPG, MR, UR, Cash Back!
Posts: 606
You want to use Serve Amex card as a debit card on file with AP? I don't think that will work, most debit cards are V/MC plus AP has been know to not work well with prepaids.
Mar 26, 2014 | 7:10 pm
#3845
Suspended
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, AS, DL, BA, F9, IHG Plat, HH Gold, CC Gold, SPG Gold, MR Silver
Posts: 1,786
Mar 26, 2014 | 8:02 pm
#3846
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 19
For where it says the amazon payments account needs a verified credit card attached to send or receive payments? I made a spare account but I don't have access to any real credit cards for that account at this moment. I added a visa rebate card from staples that had that account name on the card...using that for now...but I guess I'm becoming confused.
Mar 26, 2014 | 8:08 pm
#3847
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 19
I thought I read about people pushing Target Prepaid GC through AP, since it doesn't work with BB. And I know it's a debit card but I was actually trying to use it as Credit card on file so that my send limits would be lifted?
Mar 26, 2014 | 8:11 pm
#3848
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
If you have a Citi card you may virtually have a solution to the missing real credit card. That can lead to many happy returns for the same account.
For where it says the amazon payments account needs a verified credit card attached to send or receive payments? I made a spare account but I don't have access to any real credit cards for that account at this moment. I added a visa rebate card from staples that had that account name on the card...using that for now...but I guess I'm becoming confused.
Mar 27, 2014 | 6:50 am
#3850
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Looks like they SP Experian.
That's how they're verifying accounts.
That's how they're verifying accounts.
AMAZON PAYMENTS INC
Address:
1200 12TH AVE S
SEATTLE WA 98144
No phone number available Date of Request:
10/16/2013
10/14/2013
Address:
1200 12TH AVE S
SEATTLE WA 98144
No phone number available Date of Request:
10/16/2013
10/14/2013
Mar 27, 2014 | 7:45 am
#3851
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,386
I believe so. I dont see a thank you for verifying your email for the sending account but i showed no limitations on what I could send or receive. I just reclicked the link in the email to see...if email might need to be verified...
Also some other points, BB was my funding bank acct for the sending acct. I just closed that acct the other day to switch to serve..might that be it? are they constantly pinging the accounts to make sure all information is true at all times? Also the receiving acct has no credit card attached to it...is that a problem?
Also some other points, BB was my funding bank acct for the sending acct. I just closed that acct the other day to switch to serve..might that be it? are they constantly pinging the accounts to make sure all information is true at all times? Also the receiving acct has no credit card attached to it...is that a problem?
Mar 27, 2014 | 9:09 am
#3852
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: New York City
Programs: SPG Platinum, Hyatt Platinum, United Gold
Posts: 44
AP account is blocked
Amazon blocked my account last week. I have been doing AP for over 2 years now and have been always very careful. Always used this structure: A -> B -> C -> A (3 different people, different credit card and bank accounts). Never had a problem with AP before last week. They called me to inform that the account is now blocked. They refused initially to elaborate why it was blocked. They did tell me that the payment paten over 24 months suggests that I am just trying to collect miles. They wouldnt elaborate of how they arrived to this conclusion but as we talked the woman on the phone said something interesting she said that I have been using 90% of my credit card payment limit every month since I started using Amazon payments. It seems that the % of the credit card payment limit used is a factor Amazon uses to flag folks doing MS. In my case the block is permanent so it is a bit too late but maybe for the rest of you this info would be helpful.
Mar 27, 2014 | 9:30 am
#3853
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,386
Amazon blocked my account last week. I have been doing AP for over 2 years now and have been always very careful. Always used this structure: A -> B -> C -> A (3 different people, different credit card and bank accounts). Never had a problem with AP before last week. They called me to inform that the account is now blocked. They refused initially to elaborate why it was blocked. They did tell me that the payment paten over 24 months suggests that I am just trying to collect miles. They wouldnt elaborate of how they arrived to this conclusion but as we talked the woman on the phone said something interesting she said that I have been using 90% of my credit card payment limit every month since I started using Amazon payments. It seems that the % of the credit card payment limit used is a factor Amazon uses to flag folks doing MS. In my case the block is permanent so it is a bit too late but maybe for the rest of you this info would be helpful.
Mar 27, 2014 | 10:03 am
#3854
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 19
As soon as I fixed that everything is as it should be. and my receive and sending limits on receiving account is $1000 now. Thanks everyone!
Mar 27, 2014 | 10:06 am
#3855
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
I always split mine and no issues here. Always a different amount every month.