Amazon started issuing refunds to some US Prime members after a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC sued Amazon in 2023, saying the company used misleading sign-up screens and obstacles to keep people enrolled. Amazon agreed in September 2025 to pay $1 billion in civil penalties and $1.5 billion in consumer refunds without admitting wrongdoing.
The FTC began investigating Prime enrollment in 2021 and later alleged that Amazon enrolled users without clear consent. Regulators also said the company made cancellation hard through multiple steps and repeated prompts.
Amazon has said it follows the law and works to keep membership terms clear. Payments began on November 12, 2025, and will continue through December 24, 2025. Amazon notifies eligible customers by email before sending money. The FTC warns customers to ignore any messages requesting fees or additional personal data, as the refund process does not require payment.
Automatic refunds go to US customers who enrolled in Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, through what regulators call ‘challenged enrollment flows.’ These include signing up during checkout, from shipping pages, or through Prime Video prompts. Amazon and the FTC say tens of millions of accounts fall into this group. Amazon estimates that about 35 million customers may qualify.
To qualify, a customer must also have used Prime benefits no more than three times in 12 months after joining. The settlement targets people who paid for Prime but rarely used shipping, streaming, or other perks. Some customers who tried to cancel but stayed enrolled may qualify in the later claims phase.
Eligible members can receive up to $51, based on the Prime fees they paid. Amazon sends refunds through PayPal or Venmo. Recipients have 15 days to accept the transfer. If they do not receive it, Amazon will mail a check to the account's default address. Customers should cash checks within 60 days.
A second claims phase starts on December 24, 2025. Customers who do not get an automatic payment may still qualify. The FTC says Amazon will email those users and open a claims portal in 2026. Amazon must review each claim and issue any approved refund within set deadlines.
The settlement also forces changes to Prime enrollment and Prime membership cancellation. Amazon must show a clear decline button, give plain disclosures on price and renewal, and let users cancel online in the same way they signed up. The agreement arrived after a federal court blocked the FTC’s broader ‘click-to-cancel’ rule in July 2025, leaving the Amazon case as a main test of subscription reforms.
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