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, 2012 | 3:26 pm
#481
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 117
I've usually been doing the following,
A-->B
A-->C
D-->B
Accounts A and B are both mine with my name and SSN and driver's license.
C and D belong to friends who I trust.
I want to do a C-->E and a D-->A
would it be possible to use a credit card that is in MY name with accounts C and E that are not in my name? Has anyone done this?
The reason I think it may be possible is because, the last time I needed PRIME, I created a new membership with a fake first name and my last name. I used a credit card and put all the correct details in the billing address along with my real name.
Amazon allowed me to make purchases using that card even though the names on the card and account didn't match.
But I'm sure they scrutinize Amazon Payments more thoroughly...Does anyone have any thoughts one this?
A-->B
A-->C
D-->B
Accounts A and B are both mine with my name and SSN and driver's license.
C and D belong to friends who I trust.
I want to do a C-->E and a D-->A
would it be possible to use a credit card that is in MY name with accounts C and E that are not in my name? Has anyone done this?
The reason I think it may be possible is because, the last time I needed PRIME, I created a new membership with a fake first name and my last name. I used a credit card and put all the correct details in the billing address along with my real name.
Amazon allowed me to make purchases using that card even though the names on the card and account didn't match.
But I'm sure they scrutinize Amazon Payments more thoroughly...Does anyone have any thoughts one this?
Jul 8, 2012 | 3:43 pm
#482
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: In CT,left my heart in Leicester.
Programs: Work in progress.
Posts: 1,237
Now if the SSN and everything else is the same for ACCOUNT A and B and you do A-->B and then B-->A, there's a 99.9999% chance that you'll be caught.
You can do A-->C, B-->C, and keep the payments $600 or below...I'm sure there are people that have transferred $1000 with no problems, but the best way to keep under the radar is to transfer small amounts over a 30 day period.
Jul 8, 2012 | 4:26 pm
#485
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
Jul 8, 2012 | 6:15 pm
#487
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: In CT,left my heart in Leicester.
Programs: Work in progress.
Posts: 1,237
Jul 8, 2012 | 6:59 pm
#488
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
How about just taking the tradecraft to PM?
And kill the SHOUTING as Cardinal Fang is trying to take a nap! Think he's dreaming about BBQing heretics who use fake names.
And kill the SHOUTING as Cardinal Fang is trying to take a nap! Think he's dreaming about BBQing heretics who use fake names.I've usually been doing the following,
A-->B
A-->C
D-->B
Accounts A and B are both mine with my name and SSN and driver's license.
C and D belong to friends who I trust.
I want to do a C-->E and a D-->A
would it be possible to use a credit card that is in MY name with accounts C and E that are not in my name? Has anyone done this?
The reason I think it may be possible is because, the last time I needed PRIME, I created a new membership with a fake first name and my last name. I used a credit card and put all the correct details in the billing address along with my real name.
Amazon allowed me to make purchases using that card even though the names on the card and account didn't match.
But I'm sure they scrutinize Amazon Payments more thoroughly...Does anyone have any thoughts one this?
A-->B
A-->C
D-->B
Accounts A and B are both mine with my name and SSN and driver's license.
C and D belong to friends who I trust.
I want to do a C-->E and a D-->A
would it be possible to use a credit card that is in MY name with accounts C and E that are not in my name? Has anyone done this?
The reason I think it may be possible is because, the last time I needed PRIME, I created a new membership with a fake first name and my last name. I used a credit card and put all the correct details in the billing address along with my real name.
Amazon allowed me to make purchases using that card even though the names on the card and account didn't match.
But I'm sure they scrutinize Amazon Payments more thoroughly...Does anyone have any thoughts one this?
Last edited by AlohaDaveKennedy; Jul 8, 2012 at 7:06 pm
Jul 8, 2012 | 7:17 pm
#489
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: In CT,left my heart in Leicester.
Programs: Work in progress.
Posts: 1,237
Jul 9, 2012 | 7:55 am
#490
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: All of them
Posts: 214
Please look at your post. You quoted the whole thing which jatink has now removed. You are now the one responsible.
Jul 9, 2012 | 5:18 pm
#491
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, United, BA, Delta, MR, SPG, PC
Posts: 192
Dave / jatink129 / others,
A PM with some helpful pointers on AP would be greatly appreciated. Looking to get started, and obviously trying to stay under the radar as well. Some expert tips would be nice.
A PM with some helpful pointers on AP would be greatly appreciated. Looking to get started, and obviously trying to stay under the radar as well. Some expert tips would be nice.
Jul 9, 2012 | 8:26 pm
#492
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: USA
Programs: DL DI AA LTPL MAR LTPL HY GL
Posts: 478
Jul 9, 2012 | 9:11 pm
#494
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 30,343
And if a person has the issue of poor memory / short attention span, open a Note Pad while you read, copy/paste the relevant info as you read, over to the Note Pad so then you can re-read the pertinent points a few times more to get the gist of it.
Jul 9, 2012 | 9:50 pm
#495
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, United, BA, Delta, MR, SPG, PC
Posts: 192
zilberbrand, I agree, and trust me, I happen to be one of those folks that spends a great deal of time on the forum. The challenge is that very often when a great tip is posted, it almost always gets removed within minutes due to requests, leaving PM as the only other way to get such information. And to reiterate, there is no denial of the value secured in reading such threads in entirety. The PM that is sought is not to replace it.