Amazon Settlement Payments: Surprising $200 Top-Up Explained
Amazon settlement payments began going out Oct. 1 to Prime members who used 11 to 20 Prime benefits in a 12-month period, the latest phase of a Federal Trade Commission case over how the company signed up and kept customers. No claim form is required, the FTC said.
Who gets Amazon settlement payments
Amazon agreed in September 2025 to pay $2.5 billion to resolve FTC claims that it enrolled shoppers in Prime without clear consent and made cancellation difficult. Customers qualify if they joined through a challenged sign-up flow or could not cancel online between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, and used no more than 20 Prime benefits in any 12-month period, according to the FTC. As of September 2026, the agency said Amazon had issued more than $845 million in refunds.
The newest round of Amazon settlement payments covers customers who used 11 to 20 benefits and had not been paid earlier. U.S. District Judge John H. Chun approved the revised order Sept. 14 on a joint motion from the FTC and Amazon.
How much customers can receive
Earlier payments were capped at $51 per person. Under the revised terms, a customer’s total can reach $200. The extra $149 is a possible top-up that would go only to people who already accepted a payment, and only if accepted payments total less than $1 billion when the fund is reconciled at the end of March 2027. Top-up payments would begin at the end of April 2027.
How and when payments arrive
Amazon settlement payments arrive by Venmo, PayPal or mailed check, based on the company’s own business records. Customers in the new group must accept their payment by March 5, 2027. The FTC says payments expire 60 days after they are issued.
The FTC warns that it will never ask anyone to pay to get a refund. Customers with questions can email admin@SubscriptionMembershipSettlement.com or call 1-888-999-8094, the agency said.
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Information on Amazon settlement payments comes from the FTC and federal court filings.