Amazon Prime Refunds: Millions of Customers To Receive Automatic Payments Starting Next Week

Amazon will begin issuing automatic refunds to millions of additional US Prime customers by 1 October under a revised federal court order governing its $2.5 billion (£1.89 billion) settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

The new payment phase covers eligible consumers who used between 11 and 20 Prime benefits during any 12-month period of enrolment and who have not previously been issued a payment from the settlement fund.

Amazon agreed in September 2025 to settle FTC allegations that it enrolled millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and knowingly made cancellation difficult. The agreement required $1.5 billion (£1.13 billion) in consumer redress and a $1 billion (£754.69 million) civil penalty.

By September 2026, Amazon had issued more than $845 million (£637.71 million) in redress payments, according to the FTC. A federal court later approved changes intended to accelerate distribution of the remaining consumer fund, broaden eligibility and raise the maximum total payment available under the settlement.

Amazon Prime Refunds Expand to More Customers

Under the revised order, a consumer must meet three main conditions to qualify for an Amazon Prime refund. The person must be a US Prime customer, must have enrolled through one of the Prime sign-up processes challenged by the FTC or unsuccessfully attempted to cancel through Amazon's online cancellation process between 23 June 2019 and 23 June 2025, and must have used no more than 20 Prime benefits during any 12-month period following enrolment.

The FTC says Prime benefits can include Prime Music or Prime Video products offered free to Prime subscribers.

By 1 October, Amazon's claims administrator is due to begin issuing automatic payments to eligible consumers identified in Amazon's business records who used more than 10 but no more than 20 Prime benefits during any 12-month period. Customers who were previously issued a payment from the consumer fund are excluded from this particular round.

The FTC said millions of additional consumers fall within the expanded group. Eligible customers in this automatic-payment phase do not need to submit a claim form, respond to a notice or complete other paperwork.

Refunds will be sent through PayPal or Venmo, or by mailed cheque. The FTC says payments expire 60 days after their issue date, so recipients should accept an electronic payment or deposit or cash a cheque before the applicable deadline.

Amazon Prime Refunds Can Total Up to $200

The revised order increases the maximum amount an eligible consumer can receive across the settlement programme from $51 (£38.49) to $200 (£150.94). The figure is a cap, not a guaranteed $200 payment for every eligible customer.

A further payment round may take place after Amazon reconciles the consumer fund by the end of March 2027. If less than $1 billion in payments has been accepted by then, the claims administrator will issue pro-rata payments from the remaining funds to eligible consumers who used no more than 20 Prime benefits during any 12-month period and who previously accepted a settlement payment.

Those supplemental payments may be worth up to $149 (£112.45) per eligible consumer. Combined with payments issued in earlier phases, no eligible consumer can receive more than $200 in total. The revised court order says the pro-rata payments will begin by the end of April 2027.

The FTC says eligible Prime customers will receive their refunds by April 2027, although the timing and amount will depend on the payment phase for which each consumer qualifies.

Consumers should also be alert to scams surrounding the settlement. The FTC says it is not contacting people about Amazon refunds and warns that no one from Amazon will ask consumers to pay money to receive one. Anyone promising special access or a guaranteed refund in exchange for a fee is a scammer, the agency says.

Eligible customers therefore do not need to pay an intermediary to unlock a payment. For the group newly covered by the October expansion, Amazon's claims administrator is scheduled to begin issuing automatic refunds by Thursday, 1 October.