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
Aug 4, 2012 | 8:00 am
#586
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: DL DM Hub Captive, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, PC Plat, and other stuff.
Posts: 905
This is smelling soooo much like the Mint in it's final days. This thread needs to die.
Aug 4, 2012 | 9:43 am
#587
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Shanghai
Programs: BAEC (Gold), PC (Plat), HH (Gold), MR (Gold)
Posts: 2,732
Aug 4, 2012 | 4:18 pm
#588
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Aug 11, 2012 | 1:26 am
#591
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 187
So let me get this straight...
For the high rollers, you guys create 'dummy' checking accounts (through a method I have yet to discover) that are then linked to each Amazon account. Each Amazon account has its own credit card attach to it to earn miles. Every month you send money from A to B and B to C and so forth until you do anywhere from 10-20k a month? Man...I can't believe some of you guys are going through proxies to change up your IP addresses so Amazon can't track you. Crazy smart.
For the average Joe, the best way to do this is to do it with people you trust. All new accounts appear to require a SSN, though I do not know how vigorously AP is cross checking to see if they are legit. If you have an older account, you can bypass the SSN requirement simply by ignoring it. Also by adding an additional user on your credit card and having them link that card to AP, you can meet large spend quicker since u have multiple cards in play.
Rumors of tax documents are only that unless you meet BOTH of the following requirements which are 200 transactions as well as $20,000. Some posters I believe are scaring people into thinking that Amazon may still report activity to the IRS even without this requirement.
$1000 limit per month which resets on the 1st of the month. All this is fee FREE, just make sure the service/goods box is checked as opposed to cash advance.
There have been reports of closed Amazon Payments account due to higher than normal activities, but for the most part, Amazon has let this continue for the past year or so. Anyone fathom a guess why? There might be no better way to find that answer then to go directly to the source.
For the high rollers, you guys create 'dummy' checking accounts (through a method I have yet to discover) that are then linked to each Amazon account. Each Amazon account has its own credit card attach to it to earn miles. Every month you send money from A to B and B to C and so forth until you do anywhere from 10-20k a month? Man...I can't believe some of you guys are going through proxies to change up your IP addresses so Amazon can't track you. Crazy smart.
For the average Joe, the best way to do this is to do it with people you trust. All new accounts appear to require a SSN, though I do not know how vigorously AP is cross checking to see if they are legit. If you have an older account, you can bypass the SSN requirement simply by ignoring it. Also by adding an additional user on your credit card and having them link that card to AP, you can meet large spend quicker since u have multiple cards in play.
Rumors of tax documents are only that unless you meet BOTH of the following requirements which are 200 transactions as well as $20,000. Some posters I believe are scaring people into thinking that Amazon may still report activity to the IRS even without this requirement.
$1000 limit per month which resets on the 1st of the month. All this is fee FREE, just make sure the service/goods box is checked as opposed to cash advance.
There have been reports of closed Amazon Payments account due to higher than normal activities, but for the most part, Amazon has let this continue for the past year or so. Anyone fathom a guess why? There might be no better way to find that answer then to go directly to the source.
Last edited by DrSifu; Aug 11, 2012 at 11:16 am
Aug 12, 2012 | 9:52 am
#593
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 756
Most likely get you "flagged" and close it for the rest of us.
Everything and I mean EVERYTHING you asked is already on this thread posted at least 2-3x.
Please no more post on this thread and somebody close and lock this already. Wish I had the power to do so as I would've done so months ago.
Aug 12, 2012 | 10:05 am
#594
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Yeah, lets steer newbies into creating dummy checking accounts. Maybe using false drivers licenses and a disguise kit when they go to their branch.
Come on guys, lets not steer some newbie into a money laundering investigation.
Color inside the lines, don't commit fraud and don't set up the newbies for disaster.
Shut the thread.
Come on guys, lets not steer some newbie into a money laundering investigation.
Color inside the lines, don't commit fraud and don't set up the newbies for disaster.
Shut the thread.
) .
Aug 12, 2012 | 12:06 pm
#597
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,686
Here is more info about using the Alert button. Harassment of moderators is mentioned here.
There is no way to keep everyone from bumping this thread, but, at the very, very least, posting to tell others not to bump this thread is silly and hypocritical.
The moderators here really have more important issues to deal with than trying to hide legitimate information, even if a majority of users would just rather it be removed for their own reasons.
Aug 12, 2012 | 12:17 pm
#598
Flyertalk Posting Legend Moderator: Credit Card Programs, American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Diners Club, Eco Travel, Signatures
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA, IHG & Marriott Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 51,884
Moderator observation
Threads are not closed by request. The only way to allow this thread to die is to stop posting.
Aug 12, 2012 | 2:38 pm
#599
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,684
Aug 12, 2012 | 7:23 pm
#600
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: TPA & MCO
Programs: DL Diamond, AA EXP & UA Gold
Posts: 3,051