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
Jan 3, 2013, 8:47 am
#1291
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Born and raised in South Carolina, now in New York City.
Posts: 534
Not suspended on my or SO. Able to edit accts.
Always done me>SO (withdraw) and 2 weeks later SO>3rd party (to pay legit monthly bill). Totally coloring within lines, so did not expect any issues this AM, but does confirm it is selective Fang activity and not system wide shutdown.
Always done me>SO (withdraw) and 2 weeks later SO>3rd party (to pay legit monthly bill). Totally coloring within lines, so did not expect any issues this AM, but does confirm it is selective Fang activity and not system wide shutdown.
Jan 3, 2013, 8:47 am
#1292
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Ala what the Mint and AMEX did early in 2011 with the great gift card shut down? Would be a nice way for AP to avoid the millions of dollars in expenses associated with having to refund customer money. A cardinal-worthy decision, if Fang at AP thought it through.
Have initiated withdrawls thoughout the jungle.
Have initiated withdrawls thoughout the jungle.
Jan 3, 2013, 8:54 am
#1295
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 639
Not suspended on my or SO. Able to edit accts.
Always done me>SO (withdraw) and 2 weeks later SO>3rd party (to pay legit monthly bill). Totally coloring within lines, so did not expect any issues this AM, but does confirm it is selective Fang activity and not system wide shutdown.
Always done me>SO (withdraw) and 2 weeks later SO>3rd party (to pay legit monthly bill). Totally coloring within lines, so did not expect any issues this AM, but does confirm it is selective Fang activity and not system wide shutdown.
Jan 3, 2013, 8:56 am
#1296
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Anaheim Hills, CA
Programs: UA 1K, 1.3mm
Posts: 918
Jan 3, 2013, 8:57 am
#1297
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: UA Gold, AA Gold, Hyatt Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Hertz Pres Circle, etc etc
Posts: 382
Guess it is possible I was down at some point, but I was fine yesterday and also as of half hour ago.
Jan 3, 2013, 9:01 am
#1298
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Born and raised in South Carolina, now in New York City.
Posts: 534
Jan 3, 2013, 9:06 am
#1299
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Jan 3, 2013, 9:14 am
#1300
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: SkyMiles Gold, AA Plat, UA Gold
Posts: 92
Actually seems very flukey to me. There was a brief period that everyone got the same notice, then was back to normal. Any reports of things being different for people at the same time? We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
Jan 3, 2013, 9:21 am
#1303
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: RDU
Programs: A few
Posts: 5,499
I'm taking it as a warning shot. After it opened up again, sent my wife her $1k for this month duties (lol) and immediately logged in to her account and withdrew it. To hell with pretending to have a real account. $1k in and out as quick as humanly possible until it is permanently shut down.
Withdrawal only showing initiated as normal so a little nervy but reckon it will be ok - for now!
Withdrawal only showing initiated as normal so a little nervy but reckon it will be ok - for now!
Jan 3, 2013, 9:25 am
#1304
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Born and raised in South Carolina, now in New York City.
Posts: 534
Jan 3, 2013, 9:35 am
#1305
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Born and raised in South Carolina, now in New York City.
Posts: 534
I'm taking it as a warning shot. After it opened up again, sent my wife her $1k for this month duties (lol) and immediately logged in to her account and withdrew it. To hell with pretending to have a real account. $1k in and out as quick as humanly possible until it is permanently shut down.