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 27, 2012, 9:10 pm
#783
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 249
Maybe it is because my accounts are old and established, but they simply don't check anything. No sophisticated monitoring system. Not even a crude and basic one. I always send and receive from the same computer/IP. Same name and address on both sender and receiver. Multiple sets of accounts. Payments go through month after month after month. I used to try to be clever and then slowly learned it was a waste of time. It is entertaining to read about how others are outsmarting them though.
Sep 27, 2012, 10:54 pm
#784
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: On the Lake USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond because they have nothing higher
Posts: 523
OK I have a question:
I have account and so does wife and mother. So I send wife money which she has a bank account and mother sends her money too.
So the 1k limit is confusing me. I have only sent $500 in the last 30 but it the recipient cannot recieve the funds when I tried to send some more to wife and then I tried to send to mother and same message.
Why would that be if I haven't hit 1k cap this month?
I have account and so does wife and mother. So I send wife money which she has a bank account and mother sends her money too.
So the 1k limit is confusing me. I have only sent $500 in the last 30 but it the recipient cannot recieve the funds when I tried to send some more to wife and then I tried to send to mother and same message.
Why would that be if I haven't hit 1k cap this month?
Sep 27, 2012, 11:09 pm
#786
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: On the Lake USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, Hilton Diamond because they have nothing higher
Posts: 523
You are right cuz I went back and lowered to $300 and it went thru.
Say what is the best way to take money off if a bank account isn't set up on the account I sent it to? I am guessing it is best to set one up cuz I know sending it back is not the answer. Thanks
Sep 30, 2012, 1:36 pm
#789
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: RDU
Programs: DL Platinum, SPG Gold
Posts: 244
Oct 1, 2012, 8:57 am
#791
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS .. but soon SFO
Programs: UA PLAT, TK GLD, Hilton Diamond, IC PLAT, SPG GLD, Marriott GLD
Posts: 1,528
opened an account mid Sept
Sent $500 + $500 to sister in LA ... she sent same to my wife (who has a different last name from me) a week later..
I had the wifey send me an odd # as payment for a laptop...
today I tried to send her money back and put something in the notes as if I was making a return on the $$ she paid ... and it put me in a penalty box as 'pending'
could be nothing ... could already be shut down, who knows.
but after reading multiple pages of people doing $1k monthly A-->b-->c I didn't expect to get frozen after one pull!
EDIT: this is what it says
"We are unable to complete your transaction until further review. It can take up to 24 hours to complete this transaction. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause."
Sent $500 + $500 to sister in LA ... she sent same to my wife (who has a different last name from me) a week later..
I had the wifey send me an odd # as payment for a laptop...
today I tried to send her money back and put something in the notes as if I was making a return on the $$ she paid ... and it put me in a penalty box as 'pending'
could be nothing ... could already be shut down, who knows.
but after reading multiple pages of people doing $1k monthly A-->b-->c I didn't expect to get frozen after one pull!
EDIT: this is what it says
"We are unable to complete your transaction until further review. It can take up to 24 hours to complete this transaction. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause."
Oct 1, 2012, 11:09 am
#793
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: YYZ
Programs: AA LT Plat, AC 25K, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,137
Oct 1, 2012, 1:38 pm
#794
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS .. but soon SFO
Programs: UA PLAT, TK GLD, Hilton Diamond, IC PLAT, SPG GLD, Marriott GLD
Posts: 1,528
I believe I did A -> B -> C -> A
I (A) -> Sister (B) -> Wife (C) -> Me (A)
hmm.. but that was in Sept ... so when I did A -> C in Oct that screwed things up huh?
Because I figured in Oct we would do
A -> C -> B ->A just to keep it fresh, but now I realize that my last C->A would put up a red flag for A -> C
this is more confusing than those old 'two trains leave houston' math problems from high school that I always hated
either way, I just got an email stating it was approved. I believe we will lay low for the month on this as it is a good source of spend and I don't want any more red flags.
I (A) -> Sister (B) -> Wife (C) -> Me (A)
hmm.. but that was in Sept ... so when I did A -> C in Oct that screwed things up huh?
Because I figured in Oct we would do
A -> C -> B ->A just to keep it fresh, but now I realize that my last C->A would put up a red flag for A -> C
this is more confusing than those old 'two trains leave houston' math problems from high school that I always hated
either way, I just got an email stating it was approved. I believe we will lay low for the month on this as it is a good source of spend and I don't want any more red flags.
Oct 1, 2012, 1:43 pm
#795
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: 787
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 1,306
I believe I did A -> B -> C -> A
I (A) -> Sister (B) -> Wife (C) -> Me (A)
hmm.. but that was in Sept ... so when I did A -> C in Oct that screwed things up huh?
Because I figured in Oct we would do
A -> C -> B ->A just to keep it fresh, but now I realize that my last C->A would put up a red flag for A -> C
this is more confusing than those old 'two trains leave houston' math problems from high school that I always hated
either way, I just got an email stating it was approved. I believe we will lay low for the month on this as it is a good source of spend and I don't want any more red flags.
I (A) -> Sister (B) -> Wife (C) -> Me (A)
hmm.. but that was in Sept ... so when I did A -> C in Oct that screwed things up huh?
Because I figured in Oct we would do
A -> C -> B ->A just to keep it fresh, but now I realize that my last C->A would put up a red flag for A -> C
this is more confusing than those old 'two trains leave houston' math problems from high school that I always hated
either way, I just got an email stating it was approved. I believe we will lay low for the month on this as it is a good source of spend and I don't want any more red flags.