On November 19, 2025, Amazon has begun automatically compensating customers according to a settlement agreement to resolve the antitrust lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Amazon Prime subscriptions in the United States. If you are eligible to receive cash compensation from this total settlement amounting to up to $2.5 billion, you should check your email inbox now.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in late September that a settlement agreement had been reached regarding an antitrust lawsuit filed against Amazon in 2023. The lawsuit accused Amazon of enticing millions of consumers to sign up for their Prime membership service and then making it difficult for customers to cancel their membership.
As per the settlement agreement, the e-commerce giant will pay a total of $2.5 billion in compensation. However, not all of the compensation will go to customers. The Federal Trade Commission stated that $1 billion will be used for civil penalties, while the remaining $1.5 billion will be refunded to consumers.
To qualify for this money, you must meet three conditions:
1. You must be a U.S. Prime member.
2. You must have registered as a Prime member through the “challenged enrollment flow” described in the settlement agreement, or you have attempted to cancel your Prime membership but were unsuccessful – both situations must have occurred between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.
3. After becoming a Prime member, you must have used fewer than three of the Prime benefits (such as Prime Music or Prime Video) during any one-year subscription period.
According to the court’s ruling, Amazon customers who meet all three conditions are eligible for cash compensation, with a maximum of $51 per person. The specific amount of compensation will be calculated based on the total amount of Prime membership fees paid by each customer during the subscription period.
While Amazon does not admit any wrongdoing, it has agreed to make some changes to its website, including adding a prominent button for customers to easily cancel their Prime membership and other adjustments.
The Federal Trade Commission has confirmed that Amazon has started automatically paying compensation to affected customers.
Emails from Amazon will ask you to accept the refund within 15 days to have the funds deposited into your PayPal or Venmo account.
The Federal Trade Commission recommends that if you prefer to receive a paper check, you should disregard Amazon’s email notification, and the company will then automatically mail the check to the default shipping address on your Prime account. The Federal Trade Commission advises cashing the check within 60 days of receiving it.
If you have not received payment yet, there is no need to worry. The Federal Trade Commission stated that the refund payment process will continue until December 24.
The Federal Trade Commission also indicated that a claims process will be launched next year for eligible Prime customers, but further details regarding this process have not yet been disclosed.