What Happened?
Hopper is paying $35 million to settle FTC claims that it charged travelers fees they never agreed to. The Hopper settlement money is meant for refunds.
You cannot file a claim, because there is no claim form. Anyone telling you otherwise is running a scam.
The company runs a travel booking app for flights, hotels, and rental cars, best known for predicting whether a fare will rise or fall and telling you to book now or wait. It’s Canadian, operating in the US through its Massachusetts subsidiary.
Roughly 35 million people used Hopper in 2024, booking about $7.5 billion in travel, according to app-industry estimates. Hopper said that in 2022, more than 60% of users added at least one paid extra when booking — price freezes, flexible cancellation, and similar products. Those add-ons are what this case is about.
Hopper also powers booking tools inside other companies’ apps, including Uber, Expedia, Capital One, and RBC. Those partnerships aren’t part of this case.
The FTC announced the settlement on July 2, 2026. It says Hopper promised “no hidden fees” while adding two charges of its own: a “Tip” and a “VIP Support” fee.
The Tip Fee and the VIP Support Fee
Both were charged on flights, rental cars, and hotel bookings.
The “Tip” fee. Presented as optional, but switched on for you already, according to the FTC. The agency says that even after 2023, Hopper still wasn’t making clear the tip could be turned off.
The “VIP Support” fee. A customer service upgrade, also pre-selected. One traveler quoted in the FTC’s complaint said they never meant to buy it and felt it had been slipped in at the bottom of the final screen.
Until mid-2023, according to the FTC, the final screen showed a “total price” and a Swipe to Book button. That total left out both fees.
The FTC also says Hopper oversold Price Freeze, the product that lets you lock in a fare or room rate for a set period. The protection was capped at a dollar limit, and it only worked if the booking was still available. The agency says neither limit was made clear.
Do I Need to File a Hopper Settlement Claim?
No. There is nothing to fill out and nowhere to sign up.
In more than 80% of its cases, the FTC gets a customer list from the company: names, contact details, and how much each person paid. It mails refunds straight from that list. A claims process only happens when the list doesn’t exist or is too patchy to use.
Every Hopper user has an account, an email address, and a payment record attached to each booking. That’s the data the FTC’s direct-refund process runs on.
If a claim process is ever opened, it will be announced at ftc.gov/refunds. That page is the only place worth checking.
When Will Refunds Be Paid?
Not soon, and there’s no announced date.
The order is still a proposal. Two FTC commissioners voted to file it in federal court in Massachusetts. It carries no force of law until a district judge approves and signs it.
After that, the FTC can’t pay anyone until the legal work is finished and Hopper has handed over the money. The agency aims to send payments within six months of receiving both the funds and the customer data. None of that has happened yet.
Watch Out for Fake Claim Sites
Fake claim sites appear in the gap between a settlement making the news and refunds actually arriving, and that gap will be long here.
- The FTC will never ask you to pay to get a refund. No processing fee, no “release fee,” no taxes owed up front.
- The FTC will not call, text, or email you demanding money or threatening you.
- No legitimate refund requires your Social Security number.
- Be careful what you search. Fake “Hopper settlement claim” sites go up within days of a settlement being announced, and they can show up high in search results.
- Report impersonators at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Any site offering a claim form is fake by definition.
What You Can Do Right Now
Three things are worth doing today.
Find your old bookings. Search your email for Hopper receipts and look at the itemized charges. If you see a Tip or VIP Support line you don’t remember agreeing to, screenshot it. If the FTC ever needs consumers to verify amounts, you’ll have it.
Dispute recent charges directly. A refund program is separate from your own right to complain. If you were charged one of these fees recently, contact Hopper’s support, and consider a card chargeback if they won’t help. That’s a faster path than waiting on a federal distribution.
Keep the email address you booked with active. Any refund will go to whatever contact details Hopper has on file for you.
Who Was Affected?
Anyone who was charged a Tip or VIP Support fee through Hopper’s own apps, or who bought Price Freeze.
The settlement covers only Hopper’s own app, not the booking tools it powers inside other companies’ products.
The FTC hasn’t published eligibility rules, dollar amounts, or a date range. It sets those later, once the court signs off and it starts building the refund plan.
What Hopper Says
Hopper settled without admitting or denying the allegations.
The company called the FTC’s claims narrow and outdated, tied to display practices it used during the pandemic and stopped in mid-2023. It said the FTC raised no issues with its current app or website, and that no other investigations are open. It settled to avoid years of litigation, it said, not because the claims had merit.
These allegations have not been proven in court.
The FTC Is Going After Junk Fees
This is one of the first enforcement actions under the FTC’s Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule, the junk-fee rule that took effect in May 2025. For short-term lodging bookings made after May 12, 2025, the FTC says Hopper broke that rule as well as the FTC Act.
The FTC has brought similar cases against Match, StubHub, Dave, and Fortnite, all over pre-checked boxes and charges buried below the fold.
Official Information
Case: FTC v. Hopper (USA), Inc., filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. FTC matter number 232-3086.
Defendants: Hopper Inc. (Canada) and Hopper (USA) Inc. (Massachusetts).
Where updates will appear: ftc.gov/refunds lists every active FTC refund program. If Hopper refunds start, they appear there.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I claim money from the Hopper settlement?
You can’t, because no claim process exists. The FTC usually mails refunds directly using the company’s customer records, without any form. If that changes, it will be announced at ftc.gov/refunds.
How much will I get from the Hopper settlement?
Unknown. The FTC hasn’t published eligibility rules or per-person amounts, and won’t until the court approves the order and the refund plan is built.
When will Hopper refunds be paid?
There’s no date. A judge has to approve the order first, then Hopper pays, then the FTC builds a distribution plan. The FTC aims to send payments within six months of getting the money and the customer data.
What fees did Hopper charge?
A “Tip” fee and a “VIP Support” fee, both of which the FTC says were pre-selected and hidden below the fold on the booking screen, and neither of which was in the advertised total price.
Does this cover Hopper bookings I made through Uber or Expedia?
No. The settlement covers Hopper’s own apps only, not the booking tools it powers inside other companies’ products.
Is the Hopper settlement final?
Not yet. It’s a proposed order, and it only has the force of law once a district court judge approves and signs it.