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Thinking about joining Amazon Prime? It’s a one-stop-shopping destination for electronics, apparel, beauty and personal care products, groceries, pet supplies, travel gear, furniture, fitness essentials, pharmaceuticals, home improvement items, office supplies, movies, books, video games and free shipping on most items.
If you’re still not sure about pricing, exclusive perks and how to sign up, check below for everything you need to know before joining Amazon Prime.
How Much Does Amazon Prime Cost?
A membership to Amazon Prime currently costs $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year. The price will soon increase to $14.99 for the monthly membership and $139 for the yearly cost, Amazon announced Thursday (Feb. 2). Amazon attributed the price jump, which is scheduled for Feb. 18, to rising operational costs and their newly announced NFL deal to broadcast Thursday Night Football.
How to Get a Free Trial to Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime’s price hike is the company’s first increase in four years but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to save a few bucks. Right now, new members can enjoy a free 30-day trial to Amazon Prime. The membership will increase to the regular price after the free trial ends but there are a couple of clever ways to lock in your rate, according to CNBC.
What Do You Get with a Prime Membership?
With a Prime membership you’ll get exclusive deals and discounts, plus early access to Amazon’s Lightning Deals and Prime Day, free two-hour delivery on groceries and prescription drugs from Amazon Pharmacy, free video games and in-game items along with a free Twitch channel courtesy of Prime Gaming.
Aside from discounts and free delivery, one of the best things about Amazon Prime is that you get access to Prime Video where you can stream thousands of free movies and shows included in your membership along with in-theater rentals, hard-to-find shows and films, and Amazon Prime Originals such as Wheel of Time, Rooster, Harlem, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Phat Tuesdays, Good Omens, Book of Love, Being the Ricardos, Coming 2 America, The Boys, The Tender Bar and the upcoming Lord of the Rings series.
For music lovers, Prime members get free access to more than two million ad-free songs via Amazon Music. The streaming platform houses over 70 million songs and podcast episodes.
More Ways to Save
Having multiple subscriptions can get pricey so it’s always great to find more ways to save. Amazon Prime is just $6 a month for eligible EBT/Medicaid recipients (after a free 30-day trial). That means you’ll get all the benefits of Amazon Prime but at half the price. Amazon also accepts SNAP and EBT benefits for eligible groceries.
Another money-saving membership plan, Prime Student is $6.50 a month for everything in the regularly-price membership, plus special discounts on textbooks and e-textbook rentals. Prime Student offers Amazon Music and Prime Video Channels for $0.99 and a free two-month trial to Kindle Unlimited to read millions of titles on any device.
Now that you’re all caught up, the only thing left to do is join. Click here to start your Amazon Prime Membership.
