Amazon FTC settlement refund eligibility: Who qualifies for up to $200

Amazon is continuing to issue refunds to eligible Prime customers as part of a $2.5 billion Federal Trade Commission settlement over allegedly deceptive subscription and cancellation practices.

The refunds are based on an FTC complaint filed against Amazon in 2023, in which it was claimed that the e-commerce giant used "manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as 'dark patterns'" to enrol unaware consumers on the Amazon Prime membership plan, as well as made the cancellation process extremely hard.

In the September 2025 agreement, Amazon agreed to a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in compensation for consumers harmed by such practices. Amazon did not concede guilt in the deal.

Previously, the maximum amount of refund was capped at $51, but the most recent settlement increased the cap to $200. According to the FTC, "the change in this settlement agreement will ensure more consumers who were harmed by Amazon's deceptive enrollment and cancellation practices benefit from the FTC's historic settlement."

According to the agreement, automatic refunds will be distributed only to those consumers who meet certain conditions: U.S. members of the Prime program; members of the "challenged enrollment flow" or who attempted to cancel their membership via the online cancellation flow between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025; and used 20 or fewer Prime services, including Prime Music and Prime Video, in any 12-month period. Eligible consumers don't need to file a claim, which had a separate deadline.

Payments are being issued by cheque, PayPal, and Venmo through April 2027, and expire 60 days after issue. The FTC has warned it will not contact Prime users about refunds and that any communications claiming to be from the agency are fraudulent.