Amazon Prime Settlement Expands: More Eligible for Refunds Up to $200

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that more Amazon customers will qualify for payments under a settlement with the agency, also raising the maximum amount from $51 to $200.

In a Sept. 17 statement, the FTC said that the Seattle-based company “will accelerate and expand payments to eligible consumers under last year’s $2.5 billion settlement” and that this week, a federal court approved a motion filed by the FTC and Amazon to accelerate and expand the payments.

“Under the revised order, more consumers will now qualify for refunds from Amazon, the maximum payment cap has been raised from $51 to $200 total, and all future payments will be distributed automatically, eliminating the need for consumers to submit claims or additional paperwork to Amazon,” the agency added.

Amazon was originally required under a 2025 settlement to send out redress payments of up to $51 to consumers who had used fewer than 10 Amazon Prime benefits in a one-year period, according to the trade commission.

Under the new order, the judge allowed Amazon to issue automatic payments to “millions of additional consumers” who had used 11 to 20 Prime benefits in the one-year period, it added.

The FTC alleged that the minimal number of benefit claims indicated that those consumers were not aware that they had enrolled in a paid subscription plan.

Those consumers weren’t included in the earlier payment phases, and the refunds will be send out automatically starting Oct. 1., the agency said. The FTC said they will be paid through an electronic payment processor—specifically listing PayPal and Venmo—or through a mailed check.

The action does not require consumers to submit any claims, complete forms, or respond to notices, according to the agency.

Starting in February 2027, Amazon will send out additional payments to consumers who previously received refunds under the settlement. But that will only happen if the broader “consumer-accepted payments do not reach the required threshold” by that month, the FTC said.

“As part of the revised order, consumers who have accepted payments will be eligible to receive an additional $149, for a total of $200,” it said, adding that the new payments will start by April of next year in an automatic manner.

Automatic refunds were distributed to many Amazon customers already, starting in November and December of 2025, federal officials previously said. The deadline for Amazon customers to claim part of a $2.5 billion settlement, under the previous order, expired in July.

The settlement agreement between the FTC and Amazon, who at the time denied any wrongdoing, was reached in 2025. The FTC had alleged Amazon intentionally designed its website in a way that made it difficult for consumers to cancel Prime subscriptions, and that caused caused confusion around signing up for its service.

“Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers,” the company said in a statement following the announcement of the settlement agreement. “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.”

More information about the latest round of payments and what customers are eligible can be accessed on the FTC website.

“The revised order will ensure more consumers who were harmed by Amazon’s deceptive enrollment and cancellation practices benefit from the FTC’s historic settlement,” Christopher Mufarrige, the head of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the Sept. 17 statement.

Amazon did not immediately respond to an Epoch Times request for comment Sunday.