If you have ever had an Amazon Prime membership, you may have money coming your way. A federal court just updated the terms of a major settlement, and the changes work in your favor.
Here is the background. Back in 2023, the Federal Trade Commission accused Amazon of signing millions of customers up for Prime without their clear knowledge, and then making it very hard to cancel. Amazon settled the case in September 2025 for $2.5 billion. One billion went to the government as a civil penalty. The remaining $1.5 billion was set aside to pay back consumers.
Who Qualifies Now
The original settlement only covered Prime members who used fewer than 10 Prime benefits during a single year. The refund was capped at $51.
The revised order changes both of those things. The maximum refund is now $200. And the eligibility window has opened up: if you used between 11 and 20 Prime benefits in a one-year period, you now qualify too.
Payments to this newly eligible group start automatically on October 1, 2026. No claim forms. No paperwork. Nothing to fill out or submit. Your money arrives by Venmo, PayPal, or mailed check.
Could You Get Even More?
If you already received a payment under the original settlement, there is a chance you will get additional money. Here is how it works: if total payments made under the settlement do not reach a required threshold by February 2027, Amazon will automatically send an extra $149 to everyone who previously received a refund. That would bring the total up to the full $200. Those extra payments, if they are triggered, would go out by April 2027.
What the FTC Said
Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the updated order is meant to make sure more consumers who were harmed by Amazon’s deceptive enrollment and cancellation practices benefit from the settlement.
As of this month, Amazon has already paid out more than $845 million of the $1.5 billion consumer fund. The revised terms are designed to push that number higher and put money back in more people’s pockets.
If you are eligible, you do not need to do a thing. Just watch for a payment in the mail or through your Venmo or PayPal account starting this fall.
