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 27, 2014 | 10:28 am
#3856
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: New York City
Programs: SPG Platinum, Hyatt Platinum, United Gold
Posts: 44
Happy to help. But note I never actually send the $1000. I would send anywhere between $920 and $990 every month. The actual amount was randomly generated. Never more than $990. There were several months when I would also split the transaction into two or even three but the total would always come to something between $920 and $990.
Mar 27, 2014 | 10:43 am
#3858
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,615
I say both. I usually split my $1K up into 2 transactions with different amounts. Also I try not to actually hit the $1K cap. I strive for like $980 or $990 or something like that.
Mar 27, 2014 | 12:47 pm
#3860
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: In the ATL
Posts: 156
Yep I only use AP to hit min spend for certain cards not to get another 1-2% every month, so I only max out our $1ks maybe half the year.
But as seen in this thread there's not much of a pattern as to how and when you'll get shutdown.
But as seen in this thread there's not much of a pattern as to how and when you'll get shutdown.
Mar 27, 2014 | 1:07 pm
#3861
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: EUG,PDX
Posts: 495
How long was it after your most recent transaction?
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 | 1:15 pm
#3862
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: PHL
Posts: 930
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 28, 2014 | 8:49 am
#3864
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,386
Dang. I messed up my monthly AP. I was doing all transfers at one time, using Amex GC to liquidate on one acct. I sent A->B but when I went to send from B, I sent the AP balance instead of with the credit card :-( So now I am down a transfer method.
Mar 28, 2014 | 8:52 am
#3865
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Good thing April is right around the corner.
Mar 28, 2014 | 9:26 am
#3866
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,615
. Its ok you just needed to pop your AP virgin cherry.
Mar 28, 2014 | 9:58 am
#3867
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,386
Yea. Plus I was trying to use it to get my sister the $50 Serve deposit. Which I originally read ended on 3/31/14 but I believe it's June.
Haha. Yea. I'm still quite inexperienced in this area.
Haha. Yea. I'm still quite inexperienced in this area.
Mar 28, 2014 | 9:59 am
#3868
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Mar 28, 2014 | 10:19 am
#3869
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
Posts: 31,939
If we keep the funds in the AP account longer, it will help AP increase float and reduce the possibility of shutdowns and/or fees being added. I think the benefit AP gets from all this is float right?
Mar 28, 2014 | 10:22 am
#3870
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580