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 6, 2014, 6:37 pm
#4201
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 29
Got 3 Amazon payments accounts shut down in a span of a few days.
I did legitimate sends with visa gc. I suspect they figured out by the IP address. I will tread lightly with the remaining accounts. Fortunately I have bluebird to unload most of my MSing. But the convenience of AP is the thing I enjoy about it. But like any deal that involves transfer of cash, they are sensitive to anything they think looks like abuse or laundering. Has anyone had experience with getting an account unsuspended?
I did legitimate sends with visa gc. I suspect they figured out by the IP address. I will tread lightly with the remaining accounts. Fortunately I have bluebird to unload most of my MSing. But the convenience of AP is the thing I enjoy about it. But like any deal that involves transfer of cash, they are sensitive to anything they think looks like abuse or laundering. Has anyone had experience with getting an account unsuspended?
Jun 6, 2014, 7:43 pm
#4202
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 71
No update yet - will update if/when I ever get a response.
Jun 7, 2014, 8:24 am
#4205
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: NYC
Posts: 111
That's exactly what I figured. I called, and he gave me some e-mail address to an account specialist. He looked at my history and said well these don't look wrong -- I see the accounts linked to your's he said. I tried to get more info out of him by saying I've tried not sending them all one account since that might be construed wrongly. I said I was sending the money each month to a family member who needed the money -- and I am. lol
No update yet - will update if/when I ever get a response.
No update yet - will update if/when I ever get a response.
Jun 7, 2014, 12:53 pm
#4208
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Seattle
Programs: United Airlines Premier, Starwood Gold Preferred Guest, Hyatt Gold Passport, Club Carlson Gold
Posts: 356
Jun 7, 2014, 9:55 pm
#4209
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: TPE, LAX
Programs: LH Senator, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 596
So.. I have been getting conflicting responses to my inquiries, and maybe one of you can clear it for me..
I have 3 AP accounts A, B, C. All with different SSN. And the flow direction is A - > B-> C -> A. A, B, C are all using the same bank account, and all three (A B C all have access to a pool of 6 cards)
This has been working fine.
But...
I am wondering if it's possible to setup another set of accounts. D, E, F. while:
D using A(SSN),
E using B(SSN),
F using C(SSN).
and D E F will share a different bank account other than what A B C use.
And have the whole thing be A - B - C - A, D - E - F - D or A-B-C-D-E-F-A
while A
can this be done without shut down?
I have 3 AP accounts A, B, C. All with different SSN. And the flow direction is A - > B-> C -> A. A, B, C are all using the same bank account, and all three (A B C all have access to a pool of 6 cards)
This has been working fine.
But...
I am wondering if it's possible to setup another set of accounts. D, E, F. while:
D using A(SSN),
E using B(SSN),
F using C(SSN).
and D E F will share a different bank account other than what A B C use.
And have the whole thing be A - B - C - A, D - E - F - D or A-B-C-D-E-F-A
while A
can this be done without shut down?
Jun 7, 2014, 10:30 pm
#4210
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
So.. I have been getting conflicting responses to my inquiries, and maybe one of you can clear it for me..
I have 3 AP accounts A, B, C. All with different SSN. And the flow direction is A - > B-> C -> A. A, B, C are all using the same bank account, and all three (A B C all have access to a pool of 6 cards)
This has been working fine.
But...
I am wondering if it's possible to setup another set of accounts. D, E, F. while:
D using A(SSN),
E using B(SSN),
F using C(SSN).
and D E F will share a different bank account other than what A B C use.
And have the whole thing be A - B - C - A, D - E - F - D or A-B-C-D-E-F-A
while A
can this be done without shut down?
I have 3 AP accounts A, B, C. All with different SSN. And the flow direction is A - > B-> C -> A. A, B, C are all using the same bank account, and all three (A B C all have access to a pool of 6 cards)
This has been working fine.
But...
I am wondering if it's possible to setup another set of accounts. D, E, F. while:
D using A(SSN),
E using B(SSN),
F using C(SSN).
and D E F will share a different bank account other than what A B C use.
And have the whole thing be A - B - C - A, D - E - F - D or A-B-C-D-E-F-A
while A
can this be done without shut down?
Jun 8, 2014, 3:23 am
#4211
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Jun 8, 2014, 3:55 am
#4212
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
Jun 8, 2014, 6:53 am
#4213
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