Time is running out to cash in on Amazon’s billion-dollar settlement. Here’s how

Customers have less than a month to file a claim for a share of Amazon’s historic $2.5 billion settlement.

The Seattle-based online retailer settled last year with the Federal Trade Commission over claims that it tricked customers into signing up for its Prime membership and made it difficult to unenroll from the plan. The result was $1 billion that Amazon must pay in civil penalties — the largest such fine in the agency’s history — on top of another $1.5 billion to be doled out to eligible customers.

Most eligible customers should have received an automatic refund from Amazon in November or December 2025. But affected customers who haven’t received theirs can still file a claim. Here’s what you need to know.

How do I know if I’m eligible?

Customers must meet three requirements to be eligible for a payment from the settlement fund.

The first is simple: You must be an Amazon Prime customer in the United States. But you must have also either signed up for the Prime subscription through a “challenged enrollment flow” or tried and failed to cancel your membership between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.

The “challenged enrollment flow” refers to sign-up pathways that the government determined deceptive or confusing — places like the shipping selection page or single-page checkout.

You also must have used at most 10 Amazon Prime Benefits in any 12-month period during which you were enrolled. Those include the free shipping and faster delivery rates the program is famous for, as well as other Amazon products offered to Prime subscribers for free such as Prime Video, Prime Music and Kindle Books.

You are not eligible to file a claim if you already received an automatic refund from Amazon.

When is the deadline to file a claim?

Customers can submit claims until July 27.

How do I do that?

Visit the settlement website to file a claim online.

You will be asked to either submit your claim ID and PIN number that you received with a settlement notice via email or mail, or to instead enter the personal information associated with your Amazon account, including an email address or phone number.

When — and how much — will I get paid?

Amazon expects to send payments for approved claims by September 2026. Amazon has 30 days to review each claim.

Refunds will be sent via check, PayPal or Venmo.

Customers can receive up to $51 for membership fees paid during the settlement timeline. The refund represents membership fees up to that amount, minus any refunds or credits already issued, according to the settlement website.