More Amazon Prime customers may qualify for FTC settlement refunds

Alex Halverson September 18, 2026 - 7:44 am Amazon is expanding eligibility for refunds to more Prime members after having paid out over $845 cardinal under its FTC settlement. Three days into a proceeding last year, Amazon and the Federal Trade Commission reached a colony in which the e‑commerce giant agreed to pay $2.5 cardinal to settle claims it tricked customers into $139 Prime memberships. The colony included a $1 cardinal civil penalty and $1.5 cardinal in refunds. In a Sept. 11 associated filing between the FTC and Amazon, the company said it has finished the first two phases of its reimbursement process. Initially, Amazon issued automatic payments up to $51 to Prime subscribers who enrolled between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, and had used Prime benefits no more than three times a year. Amazon also opened a claims process for those who tried to cancel their Prime membership during those six years. Since less than $1 cardinal of the allocated refunds has been issued, Amazon is now expanding eligibility to customers who used Prime no more than four times a year and will continue broadening the pool until the settlement terms are satisfied. Because payments depend on customers accepting the refunds, if the total reimbursed funds do not reach $1 cardinal by February 2027, Amazon will provide additional payments to those who have already received funds, capping those amounts at $149 for a combined total of $200. The FTC claimed in its lawsuit, which was filed during the Biden administration, that Amazon engaged in deceptive Prime enrollment practices” and made it laborious to cancel Prime subscriptions. Amazon denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement last year that the company and its leaders “have ever followed the law.” As part of the settlement, the FTC said Amazon will be required to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose the terms of Prime memberships and make them easier to cancel. Amazon responded that many of the changes outlined by the FTC were implemented years ago and that it will not need to make further adjustments. One defense raised by Amazon’s lawyers in opening statements during the trial was that the FTC has not been clear how Amazon could meet federal requirements.