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 20, 2014, 1:06 pm
#4111
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
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."
May 20, 2014, 1:39 pm
#4112
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
May 20, 2014, 1:49 pm
#4113
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
May 20, 2014, 4:24 pm
#4114
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: NYC
Posts: 111
I had a 2nd account with an AU card of mine and the same thing happened. This time with sending money out. With this account, the transaction failed so there was no transfer/charge.
I thought this would be the simplest method. Anyone have luck with using AU cards in other's accounts? What do you put as the billing address? Your own?
May 20, 2014, 5:51 pm
#4115
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SNA/LAX
Posts: 1,407
So I think the issue was with adding AU cards and having a different billing address. I called and the account needs to be verified.
I had a 2nd account with an AU card of mine and the same thing happened. This time with sending money out. With this account, the transaction failed so there was no transfer/charge.
I thought this would be the simplest method. Anyone have luck with using AU cards in other's accounts? What do you put as the billing address? Your own?
I had a 2nd account with an AU card of mine and the same thing happened. This time with sending money out. With this account, the transaction failed so there was no transfer/charge.
I thought this would be the simplest method. Anyone have luck with using AU cards in other's accounts? What do you put as the billing address? Your own?
May 20, 2014, 8:22 pm
#4116
Join Date: May 2012
Location: New York
Posts: 283
Last month I had orders from late morning and early evening pend for hours. This month, same routine, all went through within a minute.
May 21, 2014, 2:43 pm
#4118
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA, BA, CX, DL, EK, F9, GA, HA, IB, JL, KE, LH, MH, NH, OS, PG, QR, RJ, SA, TG, UA, VN, WN, ZH
Posts: 927
IME, no problem. But if you don't like the risk, just have two separate accounts.
May 22, 2014, 7:04 pm
#4119
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: NYC
Posts: 111
Is there a number to call for Amazon Payments? I go to contact us and have called the number / done the chat, but I speak with a representative saying they need to confirm my account. I give them the address and they say they'll get back to me in 24 hours.
I've contacted them 3 times since Monday and still no response.
I've contacted them 3 times since Monday and still no response.
May 23, 2014, 5:23 am
#4120
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
May 23, 2014, 5:58 am
#4121
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 633
I have 3 of my 10 family accounts shut down this morning. Had most accounts open for years. For this year, I have been always logging in from different IP address for each.
Possible triggers?
1. Did an AP to one of the closed accounts yesterday. (from one of the accounts which hasn't been shut down yet.)
2. The closed account receiving the payment yesterday pays each month to one of the other ones which have been shut down.
3. Each of the three accounts had a balance in them of between $890 to $995. (Which I have 10 days to withdraw. One just accumulated the balance yesterday when receiving the payment.)
4. Two of the accounts were my own, with the same SSN set up earlier back when we could do that. Neither of these were the one which received the payment yesterday.
5. The other account was registered under different last name than the individuals current name. (Changed name at marriage.)
6. Starting this year I have been doing AGC, prior to that it was always CC. (Though the closed acct receiving payment yesterday was from a CC.)
7. I switched my normal pattern across the 10 accounts last month but I don't think I did any A-B where there was a previous B-A.
So, not sure what did it.
Thinking if they are smart, I will probably get them all closed if they follow the trail A-B, B-C etc.
Deciding whether I should do AP on the live accounts this month (if they stay open), or if I should let them lay for a while. Not sure if the change in pattern would cause a flag or not. Thinking at this point to let them lay, since the closure occurred within a day of receiving payment.
FYI, all closure emails came in at the same time, 3:46AM.
Possible triggers?
1. Did an AP to one of the closed accounts yesterday. (from one of the accounts which hasn't been shut down yet.)
2. The closed account receiving the payment yesterday pays each month to one of the other ones which have been shut down.
3. Each of the three accounts had a balance in them of between $890 to $995. (Which I have 10 days to withdraw. One just accumulated the balance yesterday when receiving the payment.)
4. Two of the accounts were my own, with the same SSN set up earlier back when we could do that. Neither of these were the one which received the payment yesterday.
5. The other account was registered under different last name than the individuals current name. (Changed name at marriage.)
6. Starting this year I have been doing AGC, prior to that it was always CC. (Though the closed acct receiving payment yesterday was from a CC.)
7. I switched my normal pattern across the 10 accounts last month but I don't think I did any A-B where there was a previous B-A.
So, not sure what did it.
Thinking if they are smart, I will probably get them all closed if they follow the trail A-B, B-C etc.
Deciding whether I should do AP on the live accounts this month (if they stay open), or if I should let them lay for a while. Not sure if the change in pattern would cause a flag or not. Thinking at this point to let them lay, since the closure occurred within a day of receiving payment.
FYI, all closure emails came in at the same time, 3:46AM.
Last edited by FlyingBoat; May 23, 2014 at 6:09 am
May 23, 2014, 10:08 am
#4122
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,509
I have 3 of my 10 family accounts shut down this morning. Had most accounts open for years. For this year, I have been always logging in from different IP address for each.
Possible triggers?
1. Did an AP to one of the closed accounts yesterday. (from one of the accounts which hasn't been shut down yet.)
2. The closed account receiving the payment yesterday pays each month to one of the other ones which have been shut down.
3. Each of the three accounts had a balance in them of between $890 to $995. (Which I have 10 days to withdraw. One just accumulated the balance yesterday when receiving the payment.)
4. Two of the accounts were my own, with the same SSN set up earlier back when we could do that. Neither of these were the one which received the payment yesterday.
5. The other account was registered under different last name than the individuals current name. (Changed name at marriage.)
6. Starting this year I have been doing AGC, prior to that it was always CC. (Though the closed acct receiving payment yesterday was from a CC.)
7. I switched my normal pattern across the 10 accounts last month but I don't think I did any A-B where there was a previous B-A.
So, not sure what did it.
Thinking if they are smart, I will probably get them all closed if they follow the trail A-B, B-C etc.
Deciding whether I should do AP on the live accounts this month (if they stay open), or if I should let them lay for a while. Not sure if the change in pattern would cause a flag or not. Thinking at this point to let them lay, since the closure occurred within a day of receiving payment.
FYI, all closure emails came in at the same time, 3:46AM.
Possible triggers?
1. Did an AP to one of the closed accounts yesterday. (from one of the accounts which hasn't been shut down yet.)
2. The closed account receiving the payment yesterday pays each month to one of the other ones which have been shut down.
3. Each of the three accounts had a balance in them of between $890 to $995. (Which I have 10 days to withdraw. One just accumulated the balance yesterday when receiving the payment.)
4. Two of the accounts were my own, with the same SSN set up earlier back when we could do that. Neither of these were the one which received the payment yesterday.
5. The other account was registered under different last name than the individuals current name. (Changed name at marriage.)
6. Starting this year I have been doing AGC, prior to that it was always CC. (Though the closed acct receiving payment yesterday was from a CC.)
7. I switched my normal pattern across the 10 accounts last month but I don't think I did any A-B where there was a previous B-A.
So, not sure what did it.
Thinking if they are smart, I will probably get them all closed if they follow the trail A-B, B-C etc.
Deciding whether I should do AP on the live accounts this month (if they stay open), or if I should let them lay for a while. Not sure if the change in pattern would cause a flag or not. Thinking at this point to let them lay, since the closure occurred within a day of receiving payment.
FYI, all closure emails came in at the same time, 3:46AM.
