Amazon Prime and is it worth the cost?

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Amazon Prime may be one of the pricier subscription services out there, but it comes with a long list of perks, as well as the proverbial free two-day shipping. To determine if this price is good value for you, consider membership benefits and potential savings.

Below is a complete breakdown of Amazon Prime costs and benefits to help you understand how much value you can get from the service.

What is the price of Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime costs $139 per year or $14.99 per month. While the latter option seems like a great way to avoid the hefty $139 fee, it increases the annual cost to $179.88.

There are some discounts: Prime Student members pay just $7.49 a month, and EBT and Medicaid cardholders are eligible for Prime benefits for $6.99 a month for up to four years.

What benefits does Prime include?

Amazon Prime membership offers a wide range of benefits – from free, fast delivery to video and music streaming to exclusive discounts.

Save on delivery

If you're an avid online shopper, you probably want fast and free shipping on your purchases. Amazon Prime offers many options for free and fast delivery.

One of the newest delivery options allows you to try a free one-year Grubhub+ membership. Starting July 6, 2022, Prime members in the US can sign up for Grubhub+ for free and get unlimited $0 delivery from hundreds of thousands of restaurants on Grubhub for a year.

In addition to restaurant delivery, millions of items are available with free two-day or one-day shipping through Prime. In some cities, some orders over $35 may even qualify for free same-day delivery.

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If you buy groceries online, you can also take advantage of free two-hour delivery from Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods Market if you meet your local free shipping threshold. Free shipping on orders of $35 or more when you shop at Amazon Pantry, which offers affordable groceries and household items.

Additionally, Amazon Prime offers “free release date” delivery on eligible new video games, books, music, movies, and more.

Without Prime, you'll need to spend at least $25 to qualify for free shipping, which can take up to eight days. If you spend less or want your purchases shipped faster, you can expect $5-10 shipping. These fees can add up quickly, and Amazon Prime can help you avoid them.

Discover shopping deals

In addition to saving on shipping, Prime members also save on shopping.

Store at Whole Foods Market. Prime members can get up to 50% off weekly savings at Whole Foods and an additional 10% off storewide sales.

Take advantage of Prime Day deals. Prime members get exclusive access to Amazon's annual Prime Day event, which offers deep discounts on a variety of products, including Amazon-owned devices like Fire tablets and TVs, Kindle e-readers, Echo speakers and monitors, and more. This year's Prime Day will take place from July 12-13.

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Get deals faster. If you're a Prime member, you'll get 30 minutes early access to Lightning Deals on Amazon.com with Prime Early Access.

Shop with Alexa. As a Prime member, you'll get additional discounts on select offers when you shop with Alexa.

Check out Amazon Home's deals. Prime members can save up to 20% off diapers and 15% off qualifying products from Baby Registry.

Shopping for clothes may no longer require walking to a mall. Prime Wardrobe allows members to try on clothes, shoes and accessories from the comfort of their own home and pay only for what they want to keep.

Earn 2% cash back with your debit card. Prime members get 2% back when topping up their Amazon Gift Card balance with an eligible debit card.

Enjoy streaming and gaming

Amazon Prime also offers many entertainment benefits. Arguably the most popular is Prime Video, which allows users to stream thousands of movies and TV shows. Subscriptions cost $8.99 per month, but Prime memberships are free. You can also sign up for Prime Video channels including HBO, Starz and Showtime for $4.99 to $14.99 per month.

Amazon's music streaming service, Prime Music, is also included in a Prime membership. You can also upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited, which provides access to millions of songs with no ads and unlimited skips. Prime members can get the service for $8.99 per month (as opposed to $9.99 per month for those without a membership).

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Families with children may be interested in Amazon's other streaming service, Amazon Kids+. Prime members can use this subscription to give kids access to kid-friendly books, movies, games and other content on compatible devices for $4.99 per month ($7.99 for non-Prime members).

For gamers, Prime Gaming is included with Amazon Prime membership and offers monthly free games, in-game content and a subscription to the Twitch channel of their choice.

Additionally, Prime members get free, unlimited photo storage through Amazon Photos, a service that allows users to save, print, and share their photos.

Buy books cheap

If reading is your hobby, you know how expensive it is. Fortunately, Amazon Prime can also help you save on books.

Prime Reading gives you free access to eBooks, comics, audiobooks, and more. Additionally, Amazon First Reads Prime members will be able to download one free book from six Editors' Picks each month before publishing.

Additionally, Prime members can subscribe to select four-month magazines for $0.99.

Amazon Prime also offers members their own book subscription box, offering a selection of children's books every month, every two or three months. According to Amazon, each box costs $19.99, saving Prime members up to 40% off the list price.

Maximize the rewards and value of your Amazon purchases

To get the most out of your membership, make sure you understand all the benefits it offers. Some of these can be easily overlooked, resulting in savings. You can also take the extra step of maximizing your membership and the value of each purchase by using one of the top credit cards for shopping on Amazon.

For example, the Amazon Prime Store Card and the premium Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card are designed for Amazon shoppers.

The Amazon Prime Store Card offers Prime members 5% cash back on all Amazon.com purchases. If you're not a Prime member, you'll get a version of the card that doesn't include spending rewards.

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card is another option designed for customers with Prime membership. It offers 5% cash back on Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, but can also be used outside of Amazon to give you extra cash back. Cardholders earn 2% cash back and 1% cash back on all other purchases at restaurants, gas stations, and pharmacies. Additional benefits of the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card include no annual fee, travel and road protection, and Visa Signature perks.

Other credit cards may also offer enhanced rewards for Amazon purchases. For example, cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ sometimes include Amazon purchases in the rewards cashback category. Another example is the Citi card – with an eligible card, you have the option to use Citi Flex Pay to fund large purchases on Amazon with an equal monthly payment plan.

Conclusion: Is Amazon Prime worth it?

If you're frequently shopping on Amazon to save on potential fees to justify high membership fees, Amazon Prime may be worth your time. Consider the benefits and how much value they add. Prime memberships aren't cheap and may not make sense for everyone, but for the right type of buyer, it could be an excellent deal.

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