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 3, 2012, 4:08 pm
#826
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Bay Area, CA
Programs: AA Plat, UA Gold, AS MVP Gold, HH Diamond, SPG Gold, Club Carlson Gold, US
Posts: 956
Flagged a deposit of a few MOs I got back in the mail that week that had not been deposited in my CU. In rush to head off to trip I deposited them to BoA account with new teller - within minutes my account was flagged. Had to be the teller playing amateur cardinal.
Major loss - closed USAirways account which was on death row (Sept 30 no more USAirways miles) and Alaska account which had already earned its ticket.
Oddly, the bank still wants me to use its credit cards.
Major loss - closed USAirways account which was on death row (Sept 30 no more USAirways miles) and Alaska account which had already earned its ticket.
Oddly, the bank still wants me to use its credit cards.
Oct 3, 2012, 4:38 pm
#828
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Bay Area, CA
Programs: AA Plat, UA Gold, AS MVP Gold, HH Diamond, SPG Gold, Club Carlson Gold, US
Posts: 956
Oct 3, 2012, 5:26 pm
#829
Join Date: May 2010
Location: SoCal
Programs: SPG PLAT, AA Plat (2MM), BA, UA/CO
Posts: 442
Do Banks Have Issues with Money Order Deposits?
Flagged a deposit of a few MOs I got back in the mail that week that had not been deposited in my CU. In rush to head off to trip I deposited them to BoA account with new teller - within minutes my account was flagged. Had to be the teller playing amateur cardinal.
I routinely deposit those purchased with my solar card into my account stagecoach bank and trust and never gave it a second thought. Should I?
xlax
Oct 4, 2012, 8:31 am
#830
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
Oct 4, 2012, 12:23 pm
#832
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
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."
Mike
Oct 4, 2012, 2:09 pm
#836
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
Oct 5, 2012, 9:22 am
#837
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 100
anyone thinking these people are manually watching should take off the tin foil hat. I'm still trying to resolve my SIL's new account with a verified email (we have the confirmation email for the verification). Thus far, AP won't let her account send money or claim any payment sent to her. So, my mother owes my SIL money (long story).
I've written them a couple of times, and I find the overseas support to very lazy and unhelpful. A gentleman named Vinod especially. This just confirms (in my crazy mind) that they are in no way looking at any account activity outside of their little program.
I've written them a couple of times, and I find the overseas support to very lazy and unhelpful. A gentleman named Vinod especially. This just confirms (in my crazy mind) that they are in no way looking at any account activity outside of their little program.
Oct 7, 2012, 2:25 pm
#839
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,173
re
discover has its own payments program...you can send 1000 to anyone fee free and it counts toward cash back...it is a good way to get back up to the 1% tier after your annual reset which takes you down to .25% until you spend 3000. since they have their own payment program I doubt they would do AP. I don't know for sure.
Oct 7, 2012, 3:15 pm
#840
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
BoA Alaska debit and BoA USAirways debit. Blooody nuisance since happened right before I left the country. Also took out a bank of e-checking accounts set up to receive payments from Jungleland.
BoA even charged me a $40 research fee for the privilege of them finding nothing in my checking accounts but unprofitable business for them. However, the third part of Kennedy's law held up (ie There are only three things certain in life - death, taxes and that internal controls degrade over time). Their internal controls have a flaw and this financial termite remains able to continue to give the bank the business.
FTR, all frequent flyer miles earned were paid out.^
BoA even charged me a $40 research fee for the privilege of them finding nothing in my checking accounts but unprofitable business for them.
However, the third part of Kennedy's law held up (ie There are only three things certain in life - death, taxes and that internal controls degrade over time). Their internal controls have a flaw and this financial termite remains able to continue to give the bank the business.FTR, all frequent flyer miles earned were paid out.^