13 secret Amazon Prime membership benefits you might not even know about
Ready, set, save — if you have Amazon Prime benefits, that is.
Amazon Prime Day is one of the biggest shopping “holidays” of the year (sometimes bigger than Black Friday or Cyber Monday), and so is Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, which is less than a week away.
RELATED: Shop early October Prime Day deals to save before Prime Day Big Deal Days
Amazon Prime Big Deal Deals, also known as October Prime, falls on Tuesday, October 8 to Wednesday, October 9 but to participate, you have to be a Prime member.
It’s common knowledge that Amazon Prime gets you some basic benefits, but there are plenty of other perks that come with the membership price that make it worth it altogether.
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is one of the most popular subscription services out there.
First launched in 2005, Amazon Prime is a paid membership program for Amazon that offers benefits and discounts for shopping, entertainment and more.
It’s available to Amazon customers in various countries and gives its over 230 million members worldwide access to services otherwise unavailable to other Amazon customers or available at a premium — such as free two-day shipping, music, TV and movie streaming, and exclusive discounts.
Amazon Prime membership cost
A membership for Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month, or $139 per year if you pay annually.
Suppose you are a student or a government assistant recipient. In that case, you are eligible to get the exact same benefits and perks of Amazon Prime at just half the cost under either the Prime Access or Prime Student affordable membership options.
Young adults from 18-24 and college students are eligible for Prime Student.
The special membership includes:
- Discounts on textbooks
- Free access to Prime Video, Prime Music, and Prime Gaming
- Exclusive discounts and early access to Lightening Deals
- Fast, free delivery and Grubhub+
They can try the service with a six-month trial before paying $7.49 per month, or $69 per year annually. Qualifying government assistance recipients can try Prime Access for 30 days and then pay $6.99 monthly.
To sign up for Amazon Prime and start your 30-day free trial, visit amazon.com/amazonprime.
Amazon Prime Day
This year’s Amazon Prime Day event will take place from October 8 through October 9 — but you have to be a member if you want to score the deals.
Prime Day is a members-exclusive event and one of the biggest perks of paying for a membership.
Amazon Prime benefits
Many people join Amazon Prime for its core benefit: free and fast delivery.
But there are plenty of other perks and benefits one gets from being a Prime member that you might not know about, and you’re not doing yourself any favors by not taking advantage of them.
Here are some of the lesser-known Prime benefits that you should know about:
Prime Video
It’s a common misconception that Prime Video is only for video on demand but that isn’t true for Prime members, who get access to 25,000 free movies, TV shows, and originals.
Every week titles are uploaded to the site, including Rotten Tomato favorites, and there’s even the option to watch live TV. Can you rent or buy movies whenever you want, too? Absolutely. But there’s really no need because there’s already such a large catalog to choose from.
Thursday Night Football
Another perk of being a Prime member is that you can watch Thursday night football through Prime Video.
For sports fans who’ve cut the cord (and let’s be real, that’s most of us), it’s a great — and cost-effective — way to keep up with your favorite teams. There’s also TNF exclusive content, and sports stations to enjoy.
Try Before You Buy
Prime Try Before You Buy is a Prime-exclusive program that allows you to try things on before you buy them — kind of like shopping at the mall without the crowds and the fuss.
Try on clothing, shoes and accessories before spending money on them to see if the style and size is right for you.
You have seven days to try the items on at home and Amazon will only charge you for the items you decide to keep.
Amazon Photos
Being a Prime member allows you to have access to unlimited photo storage with Amazon Photos. Prime members get unlimited full-resolution photo storage, plus 5 GB of video storage.
The Amazon Photos app allows you to securely store, print and share your favorite photos as well as keep them on devices like Fire TV, Echo Show and Amazon Fire tablets. Once you add your pics to Amazon Photos, they can be deleted from your device to free up space and you can rest easy knowing they’re not gone forever.
Prime Reading
Prime Reading gives members unlimited access to a rotating catalog of over 3,000 ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, comics and more.
In addition, Prime members get access to Amazon First Reads, which grants members early access to a newly released book available to download for free every month. The choices are a curated selection of editor’s picks.
Prime Gaming
A perk for gamers everywhere: Prime members get access to free games and in-game content at Prime Gaming every month.
Not only that, but Prime Gaming gives you access to a free monthly channel subscription on Twitch.tv as well as access to Luna, Amazon’s cloud gaming service, which offers a rotating selection of free games each month.
Amazon Household
Have a household full of people who could benefit from Prime? Amazon Household allows you to share your membership among two adults, four teens and four kids under the age of 13. This allows up to six people to share and utilize the benefits of Prime with their own login.
Benefits shared include free Prime delivery, Prime Video streaming access, free books with Prime Reading and Amazon First Reads, Amazon photos and album sharing, early access to lightning deals, as well as digital content, including eBooks, audiobooks, apps, and games.
Amazon Music
Prime members get ad-free access to songs, playlists and popular podcasts through Amazon Music without paying for a separate music or podcast subscription.
Members can also get a subscription for Amazon Music Unlimited at a discounted price. This subscription is similar to Apple Music and Spotify, offering on-demand access to 70 million songs. It costs $11 per month for non-members, but Prime members can get it for $10 per month.
Grubhub+
A Grubhub+ membership is typically $9.99 per month — but Prime members get a one-year membership trial, granting unlimited $0 delivery fees on all eligible orders over $12.
Amazon Day
Get so many Amazon packages that it overwhelms you? One perk of being a Prime member is having your own Amazon Day.
Customers can choose to have all their items delivered on the same day each week by making Amazon Day Delivery their preferred delivery option. You can also choose your delivery day every time you checkout.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to use your Amazon Day. If you need something ASAP, you still have the choice to choose to the fastest delivery option.
Amazon Fresh
Amazon Fresh lets Prime members order groceries through Amazon and get them delivered right to your door.
However, Amazon Fresh isn’t available everywhere. But for those who do have the option, there are also select products from Whole Foods available through Amazon Fresh since Amazon owns the grocery store chain.
Prime Visa
Prime Visa is a no-fee card that offers 5% back on Amazon and Whole Foods Market purchases.
Cardmembers also earn 2% back on local transit and commuting — including ride share — as well as restaurants and gas stations and earn 1% back on all other purchases.
RxPass
Prime members can sign up for RxPass from Amazon Pharmacy, which allows members to get all eligible medications in one monthly subscription for just $5 a month.
Amazon will also deliver your prescriptions, packaging them securely and discreetly.
