Amazon expands Prime refunds to $200 under FTC pact

Amazon is issuing additional and higher refunds to customers under a revised Federal Trade Commission order stemming from a 2.5 billion dollar settlement. Maximum payouts will rise from 51 dollars to 200 dollars per customer, and distributions will continue through April 2027. Amazon has already paid approximately 845 million dollars in refunds under the pact.

The lawsuit alleged that Amazon enrolled millions of consumers into Prime subscriptions without notice or consent and made cancellation excessively difficult. The settlement requires Amazon to allocate 1.5 billion dollars for customer refunds and pay a 1 billion dollar civil penalty, while also ceasing unlawful enrollment and cancellation practices. Amazon did not admit to any wrongdoing.

To qualify, recipients must be United States Prime customers who enrolled through specific checkout or video pages, or who unsuccessfully tried to cancel between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025. In addition, users must have used no more than 20 Prime benefits in any 12-month period. Customers who previously received a 51 dollar payment may receive an additional disbursement of up to 149 dollars.

No claim form is required to participate. Amazon will distribute refunds automatically via PayPal, Venmo, or mailed checks. The FTC cautioned that payments expire 60 days after issuance and warned that the agency does not contact consumers directly to distribute funds.