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
Sep 5, 2014 | 8:07 am
#4713
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 905
I had one of my 'old loops' get shut down last month. Loop was over 3 years old, full $1K per account. Bezos is definitely up to mischief.
Don't bother asking for 'details' of what I was doing. They seem irrelevant. AP will continue to work for anyone... until it doesn't.
Don't bother asking for 'details' of what I was doing. They seem irrelevant. AP will continue to work for anyone... until it doesn't.
What's more troubling is that 2 more of my accounts got shut down, and I've had them going in a 10 account loop for a couple of years. I use seperate bank accounts and IP addresses for each.
Bottom line: AP will continue to work for anyone... until it doesn't.
Sep 5, 2014 | 2:49 pm
#4714
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: AA, TY, UR, UA, US, WN, MR, SPG
Posts: 1,453
Will be interesting to see how long this lasts. I don't do loops or bogus accounts. I do wife > me $1K/mo (MS, call it rent/bills portion--which is half true), and me > father $500/mo (legitimate--school loans).
Sep 8, 2014 | 8:52 am
#4715
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 869
Sorry for this newb question, I sent $1k to someone and forgot to withdraw money from my account balance so it came from my account balance. If the person I sent money to refunds me, will I still be able to send another $1k this month without fees using my cc this time? Or am I done for this month? I tried doing a search and couldn't find the answer. I know the wiki says $1k a month with a CC, but I don't see anything about limits for sending money from your account balance. Or is it just strictly free $1k a month regardless of method. The AP page is no help. Thanks in advance.
Sep 8, 2014 | 9:02 am
#4716
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: SFO
Programs: Hilton-Gold
Posts: 728
Sorry for this newb question, I sent $1k to someone and forgot to withdraw money from my account balance so it came from my account balance. If the person I sent money to refunds me, will I still be able to send another $1k this month without fees using my cc this time? Or am I done for this month? I tried doing a search and couldn't find the answer. I know the wiki says $1k a month with a CC, but I don't see anything about limits for sending money from your account balance. Or is it just strictly free $1k a month regardless of method. The AP page is no help. Thanks in advance.
Sep 8, 2014 | 9:09 am
#4717
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 869
Thanks concordian! It's weird because I just tried to send another $1k with cc and it doesn't show any fees. Does anyone know why? Or will the fees be tacked on later? My limit also says I still have $1k left for the month. I'm going to test it out and see what happens.
Sep 8, 2014 | 9:11 am
#4718
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: NYC
Posts: 15
Sorry for this newb question, I sent $1k to someone and forgot to withdraw money from my account balance so it came from my account balance. If the person I sent money to refunds me, will I still be able to send another $1k this month without fees using my cc this time? Or am I done for this month? I tried doing a search and couldn't find the answer. I know the wiki says $1k a month with a CC, but I don't see anything about limits for sending money from your account balance. Or is it just strictly free $1k a month regardless of method. The AP page is no help. Thanks in advance.
Sep 8, 2014 | 9:14 am
#4719
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 869
Sep 10, 2014 | 2:54 pm
#4722
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6
Additionally, we have updated the terms and conditions of our User Agreement (https://payments.amazon.com/help/Per...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.
Sep 10, 2014 | 3:01 pm
#4723
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 8,229
Additionally, we have updated the terms and conditions of our User Agreement (https://payments.amazon.com/help/Per...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.