Who’s eligible for a refund from Amazon?

You might have heard that, last week, Amazon agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle the FTC’s charges that it enrolled millions of people in Prime subscriptions without their consent – and then made it hard for those unwilling Prime subscribers to cancel. Since $1.5 billion of that amount goes back to consumers, you might be wondering: who gets it? How? And what do I need to do?

Last question, first: right now, do nothing. The refunds are automatic and will go out by December 25, 2025.

Now for the answers to those other questions. If you meet all three of these requirements, you may be eligible for an automatic refund of your Prime membership fees, up to $51:

1. You’re a US-based Amazon Prime customer.
2. You signed up for a Prime membership between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025 through one of the enrollment flows the FTC challenged in its case OR you unsuccessfully tried to cancel your Amazon Prime membership between those same dates.
3. You used less than three Prime benefits, such as watching a Prime video or listening to Amazon Music, in any 12-month period after you enrolled in Prime.

One more important thing. Scammers often use the names of well-known companies and big FTC settlements to contact people to “help” with your account or refund. How do you know it’s a scam? Because the FTC will never contact you about this refund. And no one from the FTC or Amazon will ask you for money to get a refund. And only scammers say they can get you special access or a guaranteed refund.

If you get an unexpected call, text, or email from someone who claims to be the FTC or Amazon, it’s probably a scam. Tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. And learn more about these refunds at ftc.gov/Amazon.