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 11, 2014 | 9:23 am
#4786
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 33
I send $1000 A->B and $1000 B->A every single month on a 2% CB card and have been doing so since 2010.
I have received more CB than the payments. So at this point I'm sending "their" money back and forth and still earning CB.
Sad to see it end.
I have received more CB than the payments. So at this point I'm sending "their" money back and forth and still earning CB.
Sad to see it end.
Sep 11, 2014 | 2:58 pm
#4787
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 38
Same cc in two accts
I had same CC # in my and wife's acct (she as authorized user) and was able to generate $2k spending every month. Now, I cannot select that particular CC # for payment in my acct. I still could use the same CC# from my wife's.
Anybody facing this issue?
Anybody facing this issue?
Sep 12, 2014 | 3:42 am
#4789
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,616
There definitely are fees if you act as an merchant. Not sure how it works but it certainly isn't fee free. Not to mention you need to avoid the 1099-Ks.
Sep 12, 2014 | 9:18 am
#4790
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: AA, TY, UR, UA, US, WN, MR, SPG
Posts: 1,453
So sad. I usually just send $1K from me to my wife. Perhaps worth it to go A > B and then B > A for Sept/Oct since it's getting shut down anyway? Or is that likely to have adverse effects on our actual Amazon accounts, considering they're obviously aware and watching?
Sep 12, 2014 | 9:23 am
#4791
Join Date: May 2000
Location: I see palm trees....
Posts: 414
Considering many of us have been doing that for years, I wouldn't worry about it.
Sep 12, 2014 | 11:09 am
#4794
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,386
Sep 12, 2014 | 12:09 pm
#4798
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 66
Sites acting strange, or its just me. Trying to add new bank accounts, everything is correct. Gets to the part where you login with bank id/password and it kicks me back saying you have 3 more attempts. Tried with two different bank accounts, all information provided is correct, leaving the only option of small despots which they state takes 5-7 days. Anyone else experience this? It was much simpler the first time around.
Sep 12, 2014 | 12:54 pm
#4799
Join Date: May 2014
Location: New York
Posts: 391
Sites acting strange, or its just me. Trying to add new bank accounts, everything is correct. Gets to the part where you login with bank id/password and it kicks me back saying you have 3 more attempts. Tried with two different bank accounts, all information provided is correct, leaving the only option of small despots which they state takes 5-7 days. Anyone else experience this? It was much simpler the first time around.
Sep 12, 2014 | 1:40 pm
#4800
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM/2MM, Hilton, Wyndham and IHG DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Southwest A List
Posts: 15,565
I had the same problem with my PNC account and was forced to do the small deposit route. Only took a couple days.