In September 2025, Amazon agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in lieu of going to trial over allegations of deceptive practices related to Amazon Prime subscriptions. Of that number, $1 billion will be paid to the government as fines and fees.
The other $1.5 billion is set aside for the approximately 35 million affected customers, potentially getting you $51 in refunds.
How much are people getting paid
The refunds are capped at $51 and you must meet specific criteria to qualify for the settlement.
How to qualify for a refund
Amazon will release the refunds in two waves. The first wave is an automatic refund.
To qualify you must have signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025. This includes signing up via the Universal Prime Decision Page, Shipping Option Select Page, Prime Video enrollment flow or Single Page Checkout.
Additionally, you must have only used Prime benefits three or fewer times within 12 months of signing up.
If you meet those criteria, Amazon will automatically issue your refund within 90 days of the settlement.
How to check if your eligible
For those who don't automatically qualify for the refund but still signed up during the 2019 to 2025 period, you might qualify for the second round of refunds.
Amazon will send a claims form to customers who signed up through challenged enrollment flows and only used up to 10 Prime benefits in any 12-month period. The claims form will be distributed 30 days after the automatic refunds period.
One you receive the form you have 180 days to complete and submit the claims form. Amazon will review your claim and issue refunds within 30 days of approval.
A third refund wave may occur
If after the first two waves of refunds Amazon has refunded less than $1 billion, the company has to expand eligibility to more customers.
Check your email regularly for potential communications about Amazon refunds. Even if you don't qualify for the first two waves, it may get expanded.
How we got here
In late September of 2025, a lawsuit leftover from the Biden administration kicked off with the FTC suing Amazon over the the tech giant's Prime subscription program. The trial was supposed to last a month but Amazon settled with the government agency within the same week.
The FTC claimed that Amazon tricked millions into signing up for a Prime membership and then made it confusing to cancel that subscription.
In August, the FTC filed a complaint that Amazon "knowingly duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime. Specifically, Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as “dark patterns” to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically-renewing Prime subscriptions."
Amazon refuted the FTC's claims and was keen to note that there is "no admission of guilt" with the settlement.
"We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world," Amazon spokesperson Mark Blafkin said in a statement in September. "We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years."
The company has said it will comply with the law and it was better to resolve the case than go through a lengthy trial.
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