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 25, 2012, 7:24 pm
#1141
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Fairfield County, CT USA
Programs: AA PLT+2MM / DL DM+1MM / A3 *G / Fairmont LT Plat / Ritz Gold / SPG Gold
Posts: 4,077
Just don't play with dough you can't afford to have locked up for a little bit.
.
Dec 25, 2012, 7:28 pm
#1142
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Fairfield County, CT USA
Programs: AA PLT+2MM / DL DM+1MM / A3 *G / Fairmont LT Plat / Ritz Gold / SPG Gold
Posts: 4,077
I think this refers to the part where they select "Purchase of goods or services" instead of "Cash advance". This way, Amazon will eat the fee as a way to promote use of the service. They want you to use it for actual trade between different entities (e.g., accept it on your web site)--not to fund your new company (I guess you may do that, though, if you select cash advance)
Disclaimer: IANAL, TINLA
Disclaimer: IANAL, TINLA
It is comical to read some of these "is it legal" posts.
Dec 25, 2012, 8:18 pm
#1143
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 323
Pardon, perhaps my reply shouldn't have been directed at you--but I haven't seen it spelled out in this thread, and it didn't look like the message was getting through
Dec 26, 2012, 1:07 am
#1144
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: NYC
Posts: 398
I don't see anything illegal about it. It's basically like telling a friend "hey, I'll send you $1000 on Amazon payments. Tomorrow, you send it back to me on Amazon payments and we'll both keep the miles."
There are always tax issues when you create a company. Any profits that the company returns to owners/shareholders may be subject to corporate tax and income tax. This sounds like a lot of hassle to get some miles.
There are always tax issues when you create a company. Any profits that the company returns to owners/shareholders may be subject to corporate tax and income tax. This sounds like a lot of hassle to get some miles.
Dec 26, 2012, 8:31 am
#1145
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
Amazon is not in the business of seizing your money. They may not be prompt, but you'll get it refunded somewhere between weeks and months from now. If you keenly need the cash now, call your card company and say AZ is refunding $700; your card issuer will give you a conditional credit.
Mike
Dec 26, 2012, 5:29 pm
#1146
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Fairfield County, CT USA
Programs: AA PLT+2MM / DL DM+1MM / A3 *G / Fairmont LT Plat / Ritz Gold / SPG Gold
Posts: 4,077
(I used to be the head of the US division of a big Australian company. My colleagues often used words such as keen and fortnightly, some of which have rubbed off on me. One expression I picked up from them was "horses for courses," which gets me lots of looks of confusion from Americans.)
Now, back to the topic at hand....
Dec 26, 2012, 9:04 pm
#1147
Moderator: Manufactured Spending
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 6,580
Yes, but that doesn't mean that there is anything illegal about it. Amazon can close your account at any time, for any reason, with or without explanation.
Dec 26, 2012, 9:50 pm
#1148
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: PVG
Programs: BA, LM // HH, CP
Posts: 216
excuse my laziness to read 76 more pages, but maybe someone can just answer this quick question:
is there a list of what percent amazon would charge you depending on the card used in a transaction over 1,000 dollars?
if i'm in a pinch and need to meet a minimum spend i just wanted to know how stupid/smart this option would be =]
is there a list of what percent amazon would charge you depending on the card used in a transaction over 1,000 dollars?
if i'm in a pinch and need to meet a minimum spend i just wanted to know how stupid/smart this option would be =]
Dec 27, 2012, 3:24 am
#1149
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Shanghai
Programs: BAEC (Gold), PC (Plat), HH (Gold), MR (Gold)
Posts: 2,729
excuse my laziness to read 76 more pages, but maybe someone can just answer this quick question:
is there a list of what percent amazon would charge you depending on the card used in a transaction over 1,000 dollars?
if i'm in a pinch and need to meet a minimum spend i just wanted to know how stupid/smart this option would be =]
is there a list of what percent amazon would charge you depending on the card used in a transaction over 1,000 dollars?
if i'm in a pinch and need to meet a minimum spend i just wanted to know how stupid/smart this option would be =]
Answer.
Dec 27, 2012, 10:51 am
#1151
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Programs: Hilton Gold, SPG & IHG Plat, & every airline program that I can join
Posts: 2,279
The limit in a month is $1000. It will not let you pay more than that, you will have the payment fail if over the limit.
JudyJFLA
JudyJFLA
Dec 27, 2012, 7:54 pm
#1153
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA, BA, CX, DL, EK, F9, GA, HA, IB, JL, KE, LH, MH, NH, OS, PG, QR, RJ, SA, TG, UA, VN, WN, ZH
Posts: 927