Amazon has begun a new round of automatic refunds to Prime customers under its $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
Eligible consumers can receive refunds of their Prime membership fees totaling as much as $200, and they do not need to file a claim or fill out paperwork.
Payments are being sent by PayPal, Venmo or mailed check, but consumers should watch the clock: payments expire 60 days after they are issued.
Amazon has begun sending another round of payments to consumers as part of its massive settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the way it enrolled customers in Prime and handled cancellations.
The latest round began Oct. 1 and expands the number of Prime customers eligible to receive money. It also substantially increases the maximum amount an eligible consumer can receive.
Under a revised court order, eligible customers can receive refunds of Prime subscription fees totaling as much as $200. The previous maximum was $51.
The good news for consumers is that getting the money should require very little effort. Amazon is sending the new payments automatically.
Who qualifies?
The FTC says consumers must meet three requirements to qualify.
They must have been U.S. Amazon Prime customers and either signed up through one of the enrollment processes challenged by the FTC or unsuccessfully tried to cancel Prime through Amazon's online cancellation process between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.
They also must have used no more than 20 Prime benefits during any 12-month period after enrolling. Prime benefits can include services such as Prime Video and Prime Music that are offered free to Prime members.
The latest change is important because it brings another group of customers into the settlement.
The original refund program generally limited payments to consumers with relatively little use of Prime. Under the revised order, Amazon is now making automatic payments to millions of additional consumers who used between 11 and 20 Prime benefits during a one-year period. Those payments began Oct. 1.
Consumers don't have to file a claim
Perhaps the most important thing consumers need to know is what they don't have to do.
There is no new claim form to fill out.
The FTC says eligible consumers don't need to submit a claim, respond to a notice or complete additional paperwork. Amazon will automatically send the money by PayPal, Venmo or mailed check.
Consumers should pay attention when a payment arrives, however. According to the FTC, payments expire 60 days after the issue date, meaning recipients shouldn't leave a check sitting unopened or ignore a legitimate electronic payment notification.
All eligible consumers are expected to receive their refunds by April 2027.
Some consumers could get more money
Consumers who have already received money from the settlement aren't necessarily finished.
The original settlement capped individual refunds at $51. The revised order raises the maximum total refund to $200.
If the amount of settlement money accepted by consumers hasn't reached the required threshold by February 2027, Amazon will make another round of automatic payments to consumers who previously received refunds. Those consumers could receive as much as another $149, bringing their total payment to $200. That round is scheduled to begin by April 2027.
Amazon had already issued more than $845 million in settlement payments as of September, according to the FTC. The settlement requires Amazon to provide up to $1.5 billion in consumer refunds in addition to paying a $1 billion civil penalty.
Why Amazon is paying consumers
The payments stem from the FTC's case accusing Amazon of enrolling millions of consumers in Prime without their knowledge or consent and then making the service unnecessarily difficult to cancel.
The agency alleged that Amazon used manipulative website designs, sometimes called "dark patterns," to steer consumers into automatically renewing Prime subscriptions. The FTC also accused the company of deliberately complicating the cancellation process.
Amazon agreed in September 2025 to the $2.5 billion settlement, which included the $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion earmarked for consumers.
Beware of Prime refund scams
With millions of dollars now being distributed, the FTC is also warning consumers to be alert for scammers trying to take advantage of publicity surrounding the settlement.
The agency says it is not contacting consumers about Amazon refunds. Anyone who calls claiming to represent the FTC and offers to arrange a Prime refund should be treated as a scammer.
Amazon also will never require consumers to pay a fee to receive settlement money. Consumers should not provide personal or financial information to someone who contacts them promising special access to a refund.
Consumers who believe they qualify but have questions about a payment can contact the settlement administrator at admin@SubscriptionMembershipSettlement.com or 1-888-999-8094. More information is also available through the FTC's official Amazon refund page.