Amazon has started sending money back to eligible Prime subscribers as part of a massive $2.5 billion agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Of that total, $1.5 billion is going directly into the pockets of U.S. customers.
The payments settle claims that Amazon used “dark patterns” to trick people into signing up for Prime and made the cancellation process unnecessarily difficult. While Amazon denies any wrongdoing, the company agreed to the settlement to avoid a long legal battle and move forward. Payments started going out in early November and will continue through December 24, 2025.
To qualify, you must be a U.S. customer who signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025. However, simply having an account isn’t enough. You are eligible only if you used three or fewer Prime benefits (like Prime Video or free shipping) within any 12 months after signing up.
Additionally, you qualify if you started the cancellation process during that time but didn’t finish it—perhaps because the steps were too confusing or the site persuaded you to stay.
Amazon is handling most of this automatically. If you are eligible based on the “challenged enrollment flow” criteria, the company will send an email offering a payout via PayPal or Venmo. You must act quickly; the digital claim link is valid for only 15 days.
If you miss the email or prefer a physical check, you don’t need to do anything. Amazon will automatically mail a check to your default shipping address if you don’t claim the digital payment. Once the check arrives, you have 60 days to cash it. Users should check their email spam folders carefully over the next month to ensure they don’t miss the notification.
