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 14, 2014 | 12:06 pm
#4816
Join Date: Jan 2008
Programs: aa, onepass, skymiles
Posts: 116
AP still suspending accounts
Well, AP just suspended my newest account, after I tried to send two payments off the same GC, to another one of AP accounts. Good thing I didn't have a cash balance, as I understand it can take a while b/f AP unsuspends the account.
Sep 16, 2014 | 9:16 am
#4818
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: Delta, Hilton Honors, SPG, Marriott, Hyatt
Posts: 672
Sep 16, 2014 | 9:18 am
#4819
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: Delta, Hilton Honors, SPG, Marriott, Hyatt
Posts: 672
You can use it. Just open a bunch of accounts before then. I'm gonna wait till the 1st of october, do my regular routine and open up new accounts with the same SSN as the other accounts then, go to town
Sep 16, 2014 | 12:02 pm
#4820
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 209
Sep 16, 2014 | 1:46 pm
#4821
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 8,227
I always figured this was allowed because it was sort of a beta test for whatever they had planned. Then Amazon Register came out just as the other announcement was made.
Sep 16, 2014 | 6:38 pm
#4822
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 756
Sep 16, 2014 | 7:03 pm
#4823
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: You Know Me... I Do Everything.
Posts: 1,482
ya, you might get lucky and get away with it. but just be prepared.
Sep 16, 2014 | 11:32 pm
#4824
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,436
I've been using credit cards for AP the past year or so, but since it's ending, I'm going to use 5x $200 VGC from Staples without much regard for risk of account closure. I could've sworn that I read somewhere that registering the gift card isn't necessary, but I did a quick Google search and multiple blogs said the cards have to be registered first. Is this true?
Sep 17, 2014 | 1:29 am
#4825
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,615
I've been using credit cards for AP the past year or so, but since it's ending, I'm going to use 5x $200 VGC from Staples without much regard for risk of account closure. I could've sworn that I read somewhere that registering the gift card isn't necessary, but I did a quick Google search and multiple blogs said the cards have to be registered first. Is this true?
Sep 17, 2014 | 10:35 am
#4826
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 422
I've been using credit cards for AP the past year or so, but since it's ending, I'm going to use 5x $200 VGC from Staples without much regard for risk of account closure. I could've sworn that I read somewhere that registering the gift card isn't necessary, but I did a quick Google search and multiple blogs said the cards have to be registered first. Is this true?
Sep 20, 2014 | 7:12 am
#4827
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 77
I've been using credit cards for AP the past year or so, but since it's ending, I'm going to use 5x $200 VGC from Staples without much regard for risk of account closure. I could've sworn that I read somewhere that registering the gift card isn't necessary, but I did a quick Google search and multiple blogs said the cards have to be registered first. Is this true?
Sad to see it go
Sep 21, 2014 | 8:52 pm
#4828
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,436
I manage my wife's AP account. For the past few months, I simply sent money from AMEX gift cards. Now I signed her up for a Chase Ink card that needs to meet $5k min spend. I was counting on AP helping with this but multiple attempts have resulted in failed payments. Her AP account has her maiden last name and her Ink card has a hyphenated last name (maiden-mine). I'm assuming this name is the reason for the failed payments. Is there any way around this? I tried using her maiden name when entering cc info on AP, and that doesn't work either. I currently have the hyphenated name for shipping address too. Is there anything I can do to get this card to work?
Sep 25, 2014 | 8:16 pm
#4830
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: AA 1M
Posts: 31,939
Any idea what this means?
"We're sorry but this transaction could not be completed because the recipient cannot receive this payment."
Tried to eligible recipients and got the same note.
"We're sorry but this transaction could not be completed because the recipient cannot receive this payment."
Tried to eligible recipients and got the same note.