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
Oct 22, 2014, 9:04 am
#5026
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,399
My discover statement just closed and I did receive the 5% cashback on my amazon payments, so it is definitely an eligible purchase.
Oct 23, 2014, 3:56 pm
#5027
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 71
Oct 26, 2014, 8:30 pm
#5028
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: AA, UAL
Posts: 545
Nov 2, 2014, 6:28 am
#5032
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 904
Nov 2, 2014, 1:42 pm
#5035
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 13
one usage AP was fulfilling for me was getting x # transactions on a card per month, which is common for some checking accounts. could someone give me a suggestion of what to use now instead for that? AP was nice, because i didn't have a loss. before using AP for this, i would use purchase a series of small amazon GC, which i could later use. i could go back to that unless someone has a suggestion for many small transactions (quick to do)? thanks!
Nov 2, 2014, 6:44 pm
#5036
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 506
one usage AP was fulfilling for me was getting x # transactions on a card per month, which is common for some checking accounts. could someone give me a suggestion of what to use now instead for that? AP was nice, because i didn't have a loss. before using AP for this, i would use purchase a series of small amazon GC, which i could later use. i could go back to that unless someone has a suggestion for many small transactions (quick to do)? thanks!
2nd easiest would be multiple gas transactions, buy separate grocery items at self checkout, etc.
Nov 2, 2014, 10:34 pm
#5037
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 207
one usage AP was fulfilling for me was getting x # transactions on a card per month, which is common for some checking accounts. could someone give me a suggestion of what to use now instead for that? AP was nice, because i didn't have a loss. before using AP for this, i would use purchase a series of small amazon GC, which i could later use. i could go back to that unless someone has a suggestion for many small transactions (quick to do)? thanks!
Nov 3, 2014, 9:07 am
#5038
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 13
thanks for that suggestion! 
i hadn't tried the debit load feature on the BB site yet. i guess if i were previously to add a bunch of prepaids, then BB would flag the account. it should work fine if i just add a card to do the monthly transactions.
i hadn't tried the debit load feature on the BB site yet. i guess if i were previously to add a bunch of prepaids, then BB would flag the account. it should work fine if i just add a card to do the monthly transactions.
Nov 28, 2014, 3:20 pm
#5039
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Chyona
Programs: Anywhere I can ski...
Posts: 401
hey everybody , i had a dream last night...the dream was about amazon payments, it was resurrected and you can liquidate per calendar month 10K. i just was to know if anyone had the same dream as me last night.
, i had a dream last night...the dream was about amazon payments, it was resurrected and you can liquidate per calendar month 10K. i just was to know if anyone had the same dream as me last night.
Nov 28, 2014, 4:27 pm
#5040
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: MSP
Programs: DL-Polished Aluminum, Air Mobility Command-Chartreuse
Posts: 394
