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
Dec 7, 2012 | 4:57 pm
#1036
Suspended
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 613
Dec 7, 2012 | 5:32 pm
#1037
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Dec 7, 2012 | 8:23 pm
#1040
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: LAX
Posts: 1,212
Dec 7, 2012 | 8:54 pm
#1041
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: BOS
Posts: 85
Amazon is safe
Amazon is the safest program out there. Better than paypal, netspend, serve.
Bluebird will be the best once the growing pains are worked out and the vanillas get distributed across mainstream companies. Give it 3 months and they will be everywhere.
Everyone in the mileage game should have at least 1 amazon and bluebird account for each member of the family and move the maximum $1K on amazon each month and $2.5K+ per month through BB.
Bluebird will be the best once the growing pains are worked out and the vanillas get distributed across mainstream companies. Give it 3 months and they will be everywhere.
Everyone in the mileage game should have at least 1 amazon and bluebird account for each member of the family and move the maximum $1K on amazon each month and $2.5K+ per month through BB.
Dec 8, 2012 | 12:17 pm
#1043
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Dec 8, 2012 | 12:23 pm
#1044
Used to be garyjr316
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: LAX or SBA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, Gold Passport, Hilton HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 800
Isn't this the same as everything else? Fly below the radar and you'll be fine. Bring attention to yourself and you're asking for trouble. Sometimes less is more...
Dec 11, 2012 | 11:06 am
#1045
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 14
I've been paying my wife close to $1000 each month via AP. We're just a pure and simple A-->B setup, she never sends me anything. She just got two new cc's, would it be too risky for me to use them and pay her from my AP acct? Or should I refrain from sending her anything for a while and just reverse our setup to B-->A until she meets her minimums?
Dec 11, 2012 | 11:32 am
#1046
Used to be garyjr316
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: LAX or SBA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, Gold Passport, Hilton HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 800
I've been paying my wife close to $1000 each month via AP. We're just a pure and simple A-->B setup, she never sends me anything. She just got two new cc's, would it be too risky for me to use them and pay her from my AP acct? Or should I refrain from sending her anything for a while and just reverse our setup to B-->A until she meets her minimums?
This is just what we do so you can choose to do what you want. I've never had an issue thus far.
Dec 11, 2012 | 11:40 am
#1047
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Anaheim Hills, CA
Programs: UA 1K, 1.3mm
Posts: 918
Dec 12, 2012 | 7:42 am
#1050
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: CVG
Programs: Hyatt Giraffe
Posts: 1,686
lol..... so I tried to do a payment last night while I was tired and fat fingered the expiration on my discover. Tried to do it a few times and got payments failed and discover account locked after the 3rd try.
So this morning, discover calls, and we are trying to get everything squared away. Rep also says "oh btw, I've noticed you haven't used your card in a long time....." I'm bracing for the cancellation or stern notice but she goes on to say "just wanted to ask why you picked your card today, is it for the rewards?" After affirming that she continues "ok just so you know you are signed up for 5% cashback this quarter for department stores and online purchases, so anything you do through Amazon or Paypal will get you cash back this quarter".
Why thank you ma'am!
So this morning, discover calls, and we are trying to get everything squared away. Rep also says "oh btw, I've noticed you haven't used your card in a long time....." I'm bracing for the cancellation or stern notice but she goes on to say "just wanted to ask why you picked your card today, is it for the rewards?" After affirming that she continues "ok just so you know you are signed up for 5% cashback this quarter for department stores and online purchases, so anything you do through Amazon or Paypal will get you cash back this quarter".
Why thank you ma'am!