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
Jul 8, 2014 | 9:54 pm
#4441
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
as far as I know you can only send or receive money from someone with an AP account. that is for personal accounts though, so I'm not sure if it applies to biz accounts as well. To cash out to her bank account, she has to link her bank account to do an ACH pull.
Jul 8, 2014 | 10:20 pm
#4442
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 260
I haven't been following this thread that carefully: are there a significant number of shut down reports? I pretty much do anything I want with my one-way transactions to my wife: I'm constantly loading new gift cards to liquidate. And I always spend the full $1000. Nobody's bothered me yet, in over a year.
Over a yr ago, the shutdowns were there but fairly random and not many shutdowns in general but they exist. The last few months have increased shutdowns and crackdown are no longer random as on many many accts they seem to track IP addresses, duplicate SSN and even same last names as an excuse. Any hints of suspicious activity or doing it to earn miles will trigger their attack mode these days. Amz is no longer the safe haven it use to be.
Jul 9, 2014 | 7:29 am
#4443
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AS MVP Gold, TK *Gold, HHonors Gold, SPG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 570
Got an email saying payment from one of my accounts failed. When I logged in it showed the account has been shutdown. This was the 6th month of activity on this account. Part of a A->B->C->D->E->F->A. Other accounts have been running well for 1yr+. Added a new cc to fund this acc this month but nothing too exotic.
My buddy told me one of his accounts got shutdown day before yest. Any hopes to reopen or just move on?
"This functionality is disabled on your account as your account is in a suspended state. Click here to find out more about these limitations."
My buddy told me one of his accounts got shutdown day before yest. Any hopes to reopen or just move on?
"This functionality is disabled on your account as your account is in a suspended state. Click here to find out more about these limitations."
Last edited by Duffman; Jul 9, 2014 at 7:52 am
Jul 9, 2014 | 7:33 am
#4444
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
Got an email saying payment from that account failed. When I logged in it showed the account has been shutdown. This was the 6th month of activity on this account. Part of a A->B->C->D->E->F->A. Other accounts have been running well for 1yr+. Added a new cc to fund this acc this month but nothing too exotic.
My buddy told me one of his accounts got shutdown day before yest. Any hopes to reopen or just move on?
"This functionality is disabled on your account as your account is in a suspended state. Click here to find out more about these limitations."
My buddy told me one of his accounts got shutdown day before yest. Any hopes to reopen or just move on?
"This functionality is disabled on your account as your account is in a suspended state. Click here to find out more about these limitations."
Jul 9, 2014 | 7:40 am
#4445
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Indeed! The natives are getting restless. We have Dr. Moreau to thank for this. "The Island of Lost Souls" (1933)
>...Amz is no longer the safe haven it use to be...
>...Amz is no longer the safe haven it use to be...
Jul 9, 2014 | 9:55 am
#4446
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 218
Got an email saying payment from one of my accounts failed. When I logged in it showed the account has been shutdown. This was the 6th month of activity on this account. Part of a A->B->C->D->E->F->A. Other accounts have been running well for 1yr+. Added a new cc to fund this acc this month but nothing too exotic.
My buddy told me one of his accounts got shutdown day before yest. Any hopes to reopen or just move on?
"This functionality is disabled on your account as your account is in a suspended state. Click here to find out more about these limitations."
My buddy told me one of his accounts got shutdown day before yest. Any hopes to reopen or just move on?
"This functionality is disabled on your account as your account is in a suspended state. Click here to find out more about these limitations."
Jul 9, 2014 | 10:35 am
#4447
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE, AA EXP MM, BA Silver, UA Gold MM, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Titanium, HH Dia, IHG Plat
Posts: 4,972
Does this mean you shouldn't use gift cards even if registered in your name (assuming you can pull the expiration date trick that is)
Jul 9, 2014 | 11:42 am
#4448
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 38
I have been doing A>B payments to my wife's account each month (over the past year) for just under the $1K limit with no problems. All of a sudden this month, I tried to send a payment of $992 and it failed. I tried again and it failed again. Then I tried $499 and it completed immediately. Two days later I tried $492 and it failed again. When I get an email from AP, it only says the payment has failed but does not tell me why? Have they possibly lowered the limits? Anyone else have this happen?
Jul 9, 2014 | 12:45 pm
#4450
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 56
I have been doing A>B payments to my wife's account each month (over the past year) for just under the $1K limit with no problems. All of a sudden this month, I tried to send a payment of $992 and it failed. I tried again and it failed again. Then I tried $499 and it completed immediately. Two days later I tried $492 and it failed again. When I get an email from AP, it only says the payment has failed but does not tell me why? Have they possibly lowered the limits? Anyone else have this happen?
I usually open up 2 windows one in AP and the other one in GC.
When I register the GC in AP window, I double check the balance of GC before I do anything.
Sometimes AP hold $1.00 sometimes not depending on cards.
BTW. one might want to do Amazon MS to keep your history all mixed up.
If your Amazon account show only AP, this might be the reason of canceling.
One can purchase $0.00 eBooks/MP3... and store them in Amazon Cloud and create lots of transaction traffic history which in term proving you are not doing AP only.
Yes, I purchased couple thousands of eBooks/MP3 for ZERO dollar when I got my Nexus 7 long time ago. I am still buying eBooks/MP3 from time to time.
Jul 9, 2014 | 12:50 pm
#4451
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: DC
Posts: 360
I'm curious as well, as this is my setup! My SO pays me $1k every month for "rent" and I withdraw to my bank account. Doing this for 6 months now.
Jul 9, 2014 | 1:25 pm
#4452
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 38
Did you verify the balance in your card?
I usually open up 2 windows one in AP and the other one in GC.
When I register the GC in AP window, I double check the balance of GC before I do anything.
Sometimes AP hold $1.00 sometimes not depending on cards.
BTW. one might want to do Amazon MS to keep your history all mixed up.
If your Amazon account show only AP, this might be the reason of canceling.
One can purchase $0.00 eBooks/MP3... and store them in Amazon Cloud and create lots of transaction traffic history which in term proving you are not doing AP only.
Yes, I purchased couple thousands of eBooks/MP3 for ZERO dollar when I got my Nexus 7 long time ago. I am still buying eBooks/MP3 from time to time.
I usually open up 2 windows one in AP and the other one in GC.
When I register the GC in AP window, I double check the balance of GC before I do anything.
Sometimes AP hold $1.00 sometimes not depending on cards.
BTW. one might want to do Amazon MS to keep your history all mixed up.
If your Amazon account show only AP, this might be the reason of canceling.
One can purchase $0.00 eBooks/MP3... and store them in Amazon Cloud and create lots of transaction traffic history which in term proving you are not doing AP only.
Yes, I purchased couple thousands of eBooks/MP3 for ZERO dollar when I got my Nexus 7 long time ago. I am still buying eBooks/MP3 from time to time.
Jul 9, 2014 | 1:48 pm
#4455
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 38
I have been doing A>B payments to my wife's account each month (over the past year) for just under the $1K limit with no problems. All of a sudden this month, I tried to send a payment of $992 and it failed. I tried again and it failed again. Then I tried $499 and it completed immediately. Two days later I tried $492 and it failed again. When I get an email from AP, it only says the payment has failed but does not tell me why? Have they possibly lowered the limits? Anyone else have this happen?