Overview
- Amazon began sending automatic refunds on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, to millions of U.S. Prime customers covered by the $2.5 billion Federal Trade Commission settlement.
- A federal judge broadened who qualifies by adding customers who used 11–20 Prime benefits in a 12-month period and raised the individual maximum payout from $51 to $200.
- Payments require no claim forms and will be delivered through Venmo, PayPal, or mailed checks to the address linked to a customer’s Amazon account, with recipients required to redeem funds within 60 days.
- Customers who already received the original $51 will be automatically topped up up to $200 as needed, with a new disbursement round beginning Oct. 1 and additional supplemental payments scheduled by April 2027 to fully use the $1.5 billion redress pool.
- The FTC warns it will not contact people about refunds and urges recipients to ignore callers or messages that request personal data or fees because scammers are likely to impersonate the agency.