Millions of Amazon Prime members have already received their cut from a massive $2.5 billion settlement, but if you haven’t yet seen a dime, don’t panic — there's still time to file your claim.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused Amazon of misleading customers into signing up for Prime, then making it difficult to cancel, per the Independent.
The company, owned by Jeff Bezos, didn’t admit any wrongdoing but decided to settle the matter 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,” the company stated back in September 2025.
“We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership,” Amazon added. Still, that didn’t stop the FTC from pursuing the case — and didn’t stop Amazon from agreeing to a multi-billion dollar payout affecting millions of users.
What makes someone eligible for a payout?
Just having a Prime account doesn’t guarantee a refund. The settlement focuses on U.S.-based customers who signed up between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025 — but only if they used Prime benefits infrequently.
The first round of payments targeted customers who used their Prime benefits three times or fewer in any year during their membership.
Those payouts were sent via PayPal or Venmo between November 12 and December 24. If customers didn’t accept the digital payments, Amazon followed up by mailing checks to the addresses linked to their accounts.
Now, the second wave of potential payouts is coming — but this one isn’t automatic. Customers who used Prime benefits 10 or fewer times in any single year within the same timeframe may still be eligible to claim up to $51.
“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.
Starting January 5, the filing process officially opened for these claims. Eligible users will receive an email or letter explaining how to submit the required form.
Once notified, customers have 180 days from the date of notice to file their claim. The final deadline to submit is July 23, 2026.
The FTC warns: Watch out for refund scams
The FTC is also urging Prime customers to be careful — not all refund-related messages are legit. Scammers may try to exploit the situation by impersonating FTC agents, per FOX32.
In a warning on its website, the agency made it clear: “The FTC is not contacting people about refunds in the Amazon matter.
“If you get a call from someone who claims to be from the FTC, it’s a scam.”
So if you're contacted by anyone asking for personal information or promising to help you with a Prime refund, it's best to ignore it. Instead, follow the instructions included in the official Amazon notice and only submit your claim through verified channels.