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
Jun 1, 2014, 12:51 pm
#4156
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 260
Can you provide some data as 5 different accts with no back and forth transactions ? Just trying to figure out what was the trigger. Did you use the same computer for all transactions, all living at the same address , we're all transactions over $800 etc
Jun 1, 2014, 12:55 pm
#4157
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Bezos tribe fires at random during their head hunting rituals.
Jun 1, 2014, 2:45 pm
#4159
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
What will happen if I try to make a payment with an AMEX gift card that has insufficient funds? I'm almost too embarrassed to admit this, but I have a AMEX gc that's assigned to one of my AP accounts, but I'm not sure how much is on there and I can't seem to find that card. I used to be able to keep track of everything relatively easily, but I'm now managing more accounts and cards than before, and this one must've slipped my mind.
If I submit a payment with this card and there are insufficient funds, will AP notify me RIGHT away or will it show pending first before a notice is emailed later?
If I submit a payment with this card and there are insufficient funds, will AP notify me RIGHT away or will it show pending first before a notice is emailed later?
Last edited by DaveInLA; Jun 1, 2014 at 3:22 pm
Jun 1, 2014, 2:47 pm
#4160
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
I noticed in the Wiki as well some other people's reports that the expiration date trick doesn't work anymore for AMEX gift cards... but I've been doing it and it seems to work fine. I just emptied out an AMEX gf an hour ago. When I check the balance and activity of that gc, everything looks in order. I don't see anything out of place and no $1 hold.
Jun 1, 2014, 3:15 pm
#4161
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
What will happen if I try to make a payment with an AMEX gift card that has insufficient funds? I'm almost too embarrassed to admit this, but I have a AMEX gc that's assigned to one of my AP accounts, but I'm not sure how much is on there and I can't seem to find that card. I used to be able to keep track of everything relatively easily, but I'm not managing more accounts and cards than before, and this one must've slipped my mind.
If I submit a payment with this card and there are insufficient funds, will AP notify me RIGHT away or will it show pending first before a notice is emailed later?
If I submit a payment with this card and there are insufficient funds, will AP notify me RIGHT away or will it show pending first before a notice is emailed later?
Oh, you don't have the card, never mind.
If you submit the payment w/insufficient funds, it will NOT go thru.
AP is not too sophisticated, but sophisticated enough to NOT to pay when there is not enough funds on the CC.
Jun 1, 2014, 3:26 pm
#4162
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
go to www.americanexpress.com/mygiftcard and check the freaking balance, will you?
Oh, you don't have the card, never mind.
If you submit the payment w/insufficient funds, it will NOT go thru.
AP is not too sophisticated, but sophisticated enough to NOT to pay when there is not enough funds on the CC.
Oh, you don't have the card, never mind.
If you submit the payment w/insufficient funds, it will NOT go thru.
AP is not too sophisticated, but sophisticated enough to NOT to pay when there is not enough funds on the CC.
So if I try to pay with an insufficient card, you're sure AP will stop me right at the payment screen? Or will it say "pending" first, before a notification of insufficient funds a little later? (Like those who are getting notices of "we are unable to complete your transaction")
Jun 1, 2014, 3:30 pm
#4163
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
I keep track of all my emptied cards, but can't find it in that stack. I can't find it in my active card stack, either. I don't take them out either, so it's got to be somewhere at home.
So if I try to pay with an insufficient card, you're sure AP will stop me right at the payment screen? Or will it say "pending" first, before a notification of insufficient funds a little later? (Like those who are getting notices of "we are unable to complete your transaction")
So if I try to pay with an insufficient card, you're sure AP will stop me right at the payment screen? Or will it say "pending" first, before a notification of insufficient funds a little later? (Like those who are getting notices of "we are unable to complete your transaction")
Jun 1, 2014, 4:48 pm
#4164
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 396
If your account is shut down you'll receive an email notification for each account, right?
I received one shutdown notice sent to one email address that mentioned my "accounts" that had come to their attention were now closed. But I can still login to my other accounts, and I didn't get any notices to the other email addresses.
I received one shutdown notice sent to one email address that mentioned my "accounts" that had come to their attention were now closed. But I can still login to my other accounts, and I didn't get any notices to the other email addresses.
Jun 1, 2014, 5:48 pm
#4166
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: ATL
Programs: AA, AGR, DL, MR, WoH, UA
Posts: 951
So if I try to pay with an insufficient card, you're sure AP will stop me right at the payment screen? Or will it say "pending" first, before a notification of insufficient funds a little later? (Like those who are getting notices of "we are unable to complete your transaction")
Jun 1, 2014, 5:55 pm
#4167
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
I will make small payments, but I think there's a good chance the card is already empty. I was just asking if I would know immediately that there are no funds on the card, or if it would be pending for a day before I get a notice in my email.
Jun 1, 2014, 6:25 pm
#4168
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 129
What will happen if I try to make a payment with an AMEX gift card that has insufficient funds? I'm almost too embarrassed to admit this, but I have a AMEX gc that's assigned to one of my AP accounts, but I'm not sure how much is on there and I can't seem to find that card. I used to be able to keep track of everything relatively easily, but I'm now managing more accounts and cards than before, and this one must've slipped my mind.
If I submit a payment with this card and there are insufficient funds, will AP notify me RIGHT away or will it show pending first before a notice is emailed later?
If I submit a payment with this card and there are insufficient funds, will AP notify me RIGHT away or will it show pending first before a notice is emailed later?
i tried to send 1k but i didnt realize it had a 1$ hold so it failed
sent 999$ and it went through
Jun 1, 2014, 6:51 pm
#4169
Suspended
Join Date: May 2014
Location: ILG/PHL
Programs: Amex Plat, AA Gold, SPG Gold, Hyatt Gold, HHonors Gold, Carlson Gold
Posts: 1,075
Not true. A few weeks ago I forgot to put in the wrong expiration date to avoid the $1 hold and tried to do a $500 payment. Was pending for 3 or 4 hours before it failed.
Jun 2, 2014, 7:55 am
#4170
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375