Amazon Prime is refunding $2.5 billion to some 35 million customers - here’s who qualifies and how to get paid.
The Jeff Bezos-owned retail giant was accused of misleading users by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC said Amazon had essentially tricked people into signing up for Prime and then made it difficult to cancel.
Amazon says it didn’t break any laws, but agreed to pay to settle the case and move on.
"Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers,” Amazon wrote in a statement shared in September. “We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership.”
Advert
Only certain Amazon customers can get money - disappointing, I know.
If you signed up for a Prime membership between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, however, you might just be in luck.
You need to have either tried but failed to cancel your Prime membership, or signed up through one of Amazon’s 'challenged enrollment flow' pages, including the Universal Prime Decision Page, the Shipping Option Select Page, Prime Video enrollment flow, or the Single Page Checkout, the court order states.
There will be two rounds of payments. The first one is automatic, so you can sit back and watch your refund roll in via PayPal or Venmo.
If you don’t accept it within 15 days, Amazon will mail you a check.
This applies only if you used Prime benefits three or fewer times in any year of your membership.
Payments will be sent between November 12 and December 24.
The second wave, you'll need to claim for by filling out a form.
“If consumers are eligible to submit a claim but were not eligible for automatic payments, they will be notified between December 24th and January 23, 2026,” Amazon spokesman Mark Blafkin told NBC News.
In this case, you qualify if you used Prime benefits 10 or fewer times in a year.
You have until July 23, 2026 to submit your claim.
How much will Amazon Prime customers get paid?
It's the question on everybody's minds - how much are we talking here?
The exact amount you get back depends on how much you paid for Prime while you were signed up.
The maximum payout is $51.
I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at that, in this economy!