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- Amazon is paying out $1.5 billion to some Prime subscribers.
- The payments come after Amazon and the FTC reached a settlement over Prime sign-ups last month.
- Here’s who is eligible for a payment and how to get it.
Amazon is paying out $1.5 billion to customers as part of a settlement over its Prime subscription.
Last month, Amazon and the Federal Trade Commission agreed to the settlement, worth $2.5 billion in total. The FTC alleged in 2023 complaint that Amazon “knowingly duped” people into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subcriptions and “complicated the cancellation process.” Amazon said at the time of the settlement that the company and its executives “have always followed the law.”
The federal claims came after a 2022 Business Insider investigation showed that Amazon executives knew how confusing the cancellation process was but didn’t fix it.
If you signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025, you might be able to get up to $51, according to the terms of the settlement. Customers who tried unsuccessfully to cancel their Prime subscription during that time or accepted an offer to keep their subscription when they tried to cancel it are also eligible for a payment.
How exactly you get your money, though, will depend on how you used Prime.
Prime members who used “no more than 3 Prime benefits” in their first year of enrollment and signed up through what the settlement calls a “challenged enrollment flow” will receive an automatic payment from Amazon. Those “flows” include multiple points at which Amazon prompted customers to sign up for Prime, such as the Prime Video enrollment page, the single page checkout, the shipping selection page, or the Universal Prime page on Amazon’s website.
“Right now, do nothing,” an FTC summary of the settlement reads. “The refunds are automatic and will go out by December 25, 2025.”
Amazon will also consider claims from Prime customers who “used no more than 10” Prime benefits in their first year. While those payments can total up to $51 each, Amazon will pay out claims after providing automatic refunds and may pay out less than the maximum, according to the settlement.
In its statement after the settlement, Amazon said it’s transparent about its sign-up and cancellation process for Prime.
“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,” Amazon said when it reached the settlement with the FTC. “We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years.”
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