Amazon has begun sending money to customers as part of a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over how Prime subscriptions were marketed and canceled. The package — $1.5 billion set aside for refunds and a $1 billion civil penalty — resolves the FTC’s accusation that some Amazon sign-up and cancellation flows nudged people into recurring Prime fees and made it hard to quit.
Who is getting paid (and who needs to act)
There are two tracks to getting money.
- Automatic refunds: If you were enrolled in Prime through one of the FTC’s so‑called “challenged enrollment flows” (examples include certain checkout and shipping-selection screens, the single-page checkout, or some Prime Video prompts) and you used three or fewer Prime benefits in a 12‑month period between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025, Amazon has been sending automatic payments to eligible accounts. Those payouts started rolling in late 2025 and continued into early 2026.
- Claim-based refunds: If you signed up through a challenged flow in that same six-year window and used Prime benefits more than three but fewer than 10 times in a 12‑month period, you may need to file a claim to get money. Amazon began mailing and emailing claim notices in January 2026; those notices tell you whether you must submit a form.
- Don’t click links in unsolicited texts or calls about the settlement; use the official settlement website in your browser.
- If you receive a paper check, cash or accept it promptly — some checks have expiration or acceptance windows.
- Keep records: save any claim emails, the claim ID/PIN and the mailing date of the notice in case you need to follow up.
Payments are capped at $51 per person and generally reflect the membership fees you actually paid (trial months that charged less will result in smaller refunds).
How to file a claim — the practical steps
1. Wait for an official notice. If you’re eligible to file, Amazon will email you or mail a claim form. Notices were postmarked by January 23 for the first wave; the claim form contains a claim ID and a PIN you will need.
2. Follow the instructions on the settlement website or the mailed form. You can submit electronically via the settlement site, by email, or by first-class mail (postage prepaid).
3. Meet the deadline. The court order gives recipients 180 days after the notice is mailed to submit a claim. For notices postmarked Jan. 23, that window works out to roughly mid‑July (some communications have listed July 21 as the final date for that wave). If your notice has a different postmark, use the 180‑day clock on that form.
4. Choose how you want to get paid. The settlement allows refunds via PayPal, Venmo or mailed checks; claimants can specify a preference on the form.
Amazon says it will review each submitted claim (the settlement notes a roughly 30‑day review period) and issue payments soon after approval. For people who already got automatic refunds, you don’t need to submit anything.
If you want the official landing pages, check the settlement site at SubscriptionMembershipSettlement.com or the FTC’s Amazon page at ftc.gov/Amazon.
Watch out for scammers
The FTC is explicit: the agency will not call, text or email to demand fees to release settlement money. Amazon likewise will not ask you to pay anyone to get your refund. If someone contacts you claiming they can speed up or guarantee a payment in exchange for money or personal financial information, it’s almost certainly a scam — report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
The settlement administrator also lists a contact email for legitimate questions about claims: [email protected].
Why this matters beyond a few dozen dollars
Individually the payouts are small — topped at $51 — but the case is one of the FTC’s larger actions against “dark patterns” in the subscription economy. Regulators hope the combination of consumer redress and a heavy penalty will make companies rethink how they design signups, defaults and cancellation screens. The same anxieties about confusing eligibility and sudden changes have popped up elsewhere in telecom and subscription services, such as when T‑Mobile customers reported changes in DashPass eligibility. And as major platforms add more conversational AI and personalized interfaces, regulators are paying attention to how those tools might steer users toward recurring charges — a concern that threads into debates around new AI features like those being tested in mapping and navigation tools where conversational assistants are growing.
A few quick tips
Amazon neither admitted nor denied the FTC’s allegations as part of the settlement; the company said the agreement lets it move forward without further litigation.
If you think you were affected but haven’t received a notice, monitor the settlement website and the FTC page, and be patient: regulators expect additional waves of notices and payments over the coming year for people who file claims.