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
May 13, 2014, 10:13 pm
#4096
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,509
I have read the entire thread and some 4k posts. Took some time. I would appreciate comments on the following:
post #3894, March 31, healthnut, and the suggestion that the AP account be independent of the Amazon account. My earlier reading suggested that it was a good thing to have the accounts linked; especially if credit cards entered in AP were not showing up.
Post #3968, sharka, suggests that A>B is somehow problematic. I don't see that from the rest of the thread.
I saw a reference to ghostery during a discussion of IP addresses but that product does not seem particularly helpful. There are some VPN services out there. Anyone use Hotspot Shield VPN?
Current plan based on what I have read is: A > B..that is it. $800-$900 monthly. Separate bank accounts. Two or three different transactions. Product/services. Comments?
post #3894, March 31, healthnut, and the suggestion that the AP account be independent of the Amazon account. My earlier reading suggested that it was a good thing to have the accounts linked; especially if credit cards entered in AP were not showing up.
Post #3968, sharka, suggests that A>B is somehow problematic. I don't see that from the rest of the thread.
I saw a reference to ghostery during a discussion of IP addresses but that product does not seem particularly helpful. There are some VPN services out there. Anyone use Hotspot Shield VPN?
Current plan based on what I have read is: A > B..that is it. $800-$900 monthly. Separate bank accounts. Two or three different transactions. Product/services. Comments?
May 14, 2014, 1:40 am
#4097
Suspended
Join Date: May 2014
Location: ILG/PHL
Programs: Amex Plat, AA Gold, SPG Gold, Hyatt Gold, HHonors Gold, Carlson Gold
Posts: 1,075
I might have to recruit some more family members in the next few days though with the upcoming 5x gas reward points on AGCs next week at Giant.
May 14, 2014, 3:00 pm
#4098
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 301
Opened my 2nd round of AP accts couple of months ago after previous shutdown, only doing simple me->SO with <1K per month, now my acct is suspended (SO's is not).
I'm following AP's rule strictly, what could be the cause of acct suspension? Didn't close my previous AP accts even they are shutdown? Using the same address for my and SO's accts?
Response from AP about the suspension doesn't really give any detail or when the review will be completed.
Greetings from Amazon Payments.
To ensure that all parties have the best experience using Amazon Payments, we conduct reviews of Amazon Payments accounts. This action is undertaken regularly on Amazon Payments accounts. Unfortunately, at this time, we are not able to approve your request for an Amazon Payments Account based on our review of your intended use of our payments service.
Your account is restricted and cannot be used to initiate any future transactions. While we appreciate your interest, your account is restricted and cannot be used to initiate any transactions until our review is complete.
Thank you for your interest in Amazon Payments.
Sincerely,
Account Specialist
Amazon Payments
I'm following AP's rule strictly, what could be the cause of acct suspension? Didn't close my previous AP accts even they are shutdown? Using the same address for my and SO's accts?
Response from AP about the suspension doesn't really give any detail or when the review will be completed.
Greetings from Amazon Payments.
To ensure that all parties have the best experience using Amazon Payments, we conduct reviews of Amazon Payments accounts. This action is undertaken regularly on Amazon Payments accounts. Unfortunately, at this time, we are not able to approve your request for an Amazon Payments Account based on our review of your intended use of our payments service.
Your account is restricted and cannot be used to initiate any future transactions. While we appreciate your interest, your account is restricted and cannot be used to initiate any transactions until our review is complete.
Thank you for your interest in Amazon Payments.
Sincerely,
Account Specialist
Amazon Payments
May 14, 2014, 3:37 pm
#4100
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 122
Normally when you add a prepaid card with the right info, they put a $1 hold on the card, which means you won't be able to totally drain it right away. The "trick" is to add the card with the wrong expiration date, then go back and edit it to the right date, then process the transaction.
May 14, 2014, 8:54 pm
#4101
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: NYC
Posts: 111
Sent my first AP transfer from A>B (still have C&D waiting on the sidelines). It immediately went to pending and a few hours later I got a call asking to verify the payment.
They let the payment through but it appears B doesn't have the full limits yet. It says I need to add a credit card (which I have). There is still a $1 pending payment on the card since 5/10. Does that need to clear first before the limits are increased?
They let the payment through but it appears B doesn't have the full limits yet. It says I need to add a credit card (which I have). There is still a $1 pending payment on the card since 5/10. Does that need to clear first before the limits are increased?
May 16, 2014, 5:53 am
#4103
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: NYC
Posts: 111
So after getting the transfer to go through, I tried withdrawing from account B to Serve. The withdraw failed and now I can't log in with that account (says credentials are incorrect even though I've reset the password). Thoughts?
May 16, 2014, 9:30 am
#4104
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,509
do you issue AP transactions at night? i noticed if you issue AP transactions say 9PM PST or later it can be delayed until the next morning. If you do the transaction during normal "business" hours then the transaction goes through almost immediately.
May 16, 2014, 9:41 am
#4105
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SNA/LAX
Posts: 1,407
I don't think we're going to be of any help to you. I think you're going to have to contact AP to see where your money is and if you can get access to it via that account.
May 19, 2014, 10:31 am
#4106
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,425
What triggers AP reporting to IRS?
I read somewhere that a certain number of AP payments (like 40 some-odd per year) could cause Amazon to report your transactions to the IRS. But I also read elsewhere that you have to run more than $20,000 a year through an account to trigger reporting. Does anyone know what the real story is?
I often use AP to drain small amounts of money (like 10 bucks) from mostly-depleted gift cards so I can toss them. If lots of small transactions would trigger a 1099, I obviously don't want to do this.
I often use AP to drain small amounts of money (like 10 bucks) from mostly-depleted gift cards so I can toss them. If lots of small transactions would trigger a 1099, I obviously don't want to do this.
May 19, 2014, 10:59 am
#4107
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: DEN
Programs: SPG Gold; HH Diamond
Posts: 223
I read somewhere that a certain number of AP payments (like 40 some-odd per year) could cause Amazon to report your transactions to the IRS. But I also read elsewhere that you have to run more than $20,000 a year through an account to trigger reporting. Does anyone know what the real story is?
I often use AP to drain small amounts of money (like 10 bucks) from mostly-depleted gift cards so I can toss them. If lots of small transactions would trigger a 1099, I obviously don't want to do this.
I often use AP to drain small amounts of money (like 10 bucks) from mostly-depleted gift cards so I can toss them. If lots of small transactions would trigger a 1099, I obviously don't want to do this.
Due to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, U.S. third-party settlement organizations and payment processors, including Amazon, are required to file Form 1099-K for U.S. taxpayer sellers who meet the following thresholds in a calendar year:
More than $20,000 in unadjusted gross sales, and
More than 200 transactions.
May 19, 2014, 4:46 pm
#4109
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Boston
Posts: 56
I read somewhere that a certain number of AP payments (like 40 some-odd per year) could cause Amazon to report your transactions to the IRS. But I also read elsewhere that you have to run more than $20,000 a year through an account to trigger reporting. Does anyone know what the real story is?
I often use AP to drain small amounts of money (like 10 bucks) from mostly-depleted gift cards so I can toss them. If lots of small transactions would trigger a 1099, I obviously don't want to do this.
I often use AP to drain small amounts of money (like 10 bucks) from mostly-depleted gift cards so I can toss them. If lots of small transactions would trigger a 1099, I obviously don't want to do this.
May 20, 2014, 12:34 pm
#4110
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,425
From the Amazon FAQs:
Due to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, U.S. third-party settlement organizations and payment processors, including Amazon, are required to file Form 1099-K for U.S. taxpayer sellers who meet the following thresholds in a calendar year:
More than $20,000 in unadjusted gross sales, and
More than 200 transactions.
Due to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, U.S. third-party settlement organizations and payment processors, including Amazon, are required to file Form 1099-K for U.S. taxpayer sellers who meet the following thresholds in a calendar year:
More than $20,000 in unadjusted gross sales, and
More than 200 transactions.
I'm not sure if there have been recent reports, but I recall reading a couple reports on flyertalk that some folks who used Evolve Money but did not totally drain their gift cards have had money stolen. I'm a bit sensitive to this because I have been a victim of the Target X-mas security breach, where somebody got ahold of my Target prepaid debit card number and pin, made a duplicate card, and drained my balance. So I try to use Evolve only when I'm going to completely drain a card. I think Amazon is "safer."