Amazon account is closed
We have been getting reports of people having their Amazon account shut down. This is something that happens from time to time but it seems to be a bit more than normal right now. A large Amazon gift card balance is what you used to have. I think that has been known for a while but the account shut downs have added a new twist. I will share some of the data points, what to avoid going forward, and a way to hopefully avoid all of this.
What leads to the account being shut down?
The issue of gift card abuse is cited in most of the reports I have seen. That doesn't tell us a lot on its own. We know that things have led to Amazon shutting down in the past.
You can put a lot of Amazon gift cards on your balance.
It's best to keep this under a few hundred dollars.
You can use your Amazon account balance to purchase discounted or regular priced gift cards.
It is not clear why Amazon does not block this as an option like they do with gift cards.
You can use your account balance for a lot of lightning deals. It is thought that Amazon doesn't like this.
You can add your Amazon account balance to your Visa or Mastercard gift cards.
The last one is new. It was thought that if you loaded your Amazon account balance withdebit cards it wouldn't be a problem. Some people found a way to use Amazon's gift cards as a substitute for their own. A lot of buyer groups source heavily from Amazon, which is why people want a large balance. This was a way to get bonus points. It seems like it is no longer a safe option.
Amazon is a bit dirty.
When an Amazon account is shut down, they take your balance. The money you deposited into their account is held by them without repercussions for years. You can usually get it back, but it can take as long as 6 months. It is crazy that this is allowed. I don't know how this hasn't been a class action lawsuit already or why some protections haven't been put into place for the consumer yet. Carrying a balance for more than you can afford to lose is not a good idea.
Going forward, what should you do?
If you are using Amazon to buy groups or resell them, I feel like you should not use gift cards or reload your balance. Focus on using a card with minimum spend left for a welcome offer, or one with a spending bonus. You can get a 5% back on every purchase with a Chase Amazon card. It is not under Chase 5/24 right now.
Final thoughts on the shut down of the Amazon account.
You would think that Amazon would want you to carry a lot of money with you since they know you will have to use it at their site. That isn't the case for some reason. They don't like using your account balance or gift cards on certain purchases so be aware of that. The fact that they hold your money for months is just throwing salt in the wound. If you use a credit card with a good earn rate, you can use it at Amazon. If you open yourself up, you will be able to shut down your Amazon account.
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