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It’s common knowledge that a Prime membership gets you free two-day shipping. But there are Amazon Prime perks that make the service more worthwhile—and considering the cost of a yearly membership, you're doing yourself a disservice if you aren't taking advantage of all of them. Below, we've listed some of the perks you should be using as an Amazon Prime member. Arguably, these incentives alone aren't worth the cost of a membership, but chances are at least one of them will come in handy.
Amazon has had more than its fair share of debacles over the years. Still, as of April 2024, there were more than 200 million Prime members around the world. If you're one of them, these perks are worth checking out—especially ahead of Prime Day 2024, the two-day sales events in July and October when Prime members have exclusive access to savings on Amazon. This year, Prime Big Deal Days will start on October 8 at 3 am Eastern time.
Updated September 2024: We've ensured coverage is up to date.
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What’s Amazon Prime, and How Much Does It Cost?
Amazon Prime is a premium membership to Amazon.com. If you're a brand-new member, you can try it free for 30 days. This trial automatically renews, so set a reminder on your phone to reassess and make sure you cancel, if that's your plan.
Amazon Prime costs $139 per year. You can pay $15 per month instead, but that raises the cost of the membership to $180 per year. You'll save more money by paying once. Students with a valid .edu email address can get Prime Student, which is $69 annually or $7 per month, and there's a longer six-month free trial before you have to start paying.
Finally, some customers are eligible for discounted Prime memberships, which was recently renamed to Prime Access. If you verify that you receive qualifying SNAP benefits or other government assistance, you can get Amazon Prime for $7 per month.
Basic Benefits
Prime members are eligible for free next-day shipping on millions of items and free two-day shipping on millions more. Depending on where you live, you may also be eligible for free same-day delivery or free Amazon Locker pickup. Other Amazon-owned stores also offer free shipping to Prime members, including ShopBop, Woot, and Zappos.
Prime members get free (and commercial-free) Prime Music streaming, which pulls playlists and podcasts from a selection of 100 million songs and serves them ad-free. Members are also eligible for discounted subscriptions to Amazon Music Unlimited, a separate pick-and-play service like Apple Music or Spotify that offers on-demand access to 70 million songs. Normally it costs $11 per month, but Prime members can get it for $10 monthly.
Prime Video is also included with your membership. There are some killer originals, like Fallout and The Boys in addition to other movies and shows. Purchased separately, Prime Video costs $9 per month. Note that these plans are with commercials. If you're a Prime member and you want to go ad-free, it'll cost another $3 per month.
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Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn't talk about Amazon’s members-only event, Prime Day. The annual "holiday" has outperformed both Black Friday and Cyber Monday in years past, but not every Prime Day deal is actually a bargain. The WIRED Gear team always covers the event to make good deals easier to find—our coverage is unique in that we only write about deals on products we have personally tested and can verify are great buys rather than flooding our posts with questionable random brands. This year, Prime Day part two—officially dubbed Prime Big Deal Days—will start on October 8 at 3 am Eastern time. There was also a Prime Day sale in July. Early Prime Day deals are usually available in the days leading up to the sale, and we'll have the best for you here.
Amazon Day
Overwhelmed by the sheer number of boxes at your door? (Honestly, as a product reviewer, same.) Amazon Day lets you schedule all of your deliveries to arrive on a certain day of the week. Rather than dealing with a box or two at a time on multiple days, you can get one package with all of your orders on whichever day you prefer. If you use Amazon Day, you aren't locked in. That means if you're ordering something you need quickly, you can still opt for the fastest shipping method. Amazon Day is a good way to cut back on cardboard (and your carbon footprint).
Exclusive Deals
Even outside of Prime Day, Amazon Prime members are eligible for special members-only discounts. That might mean a few bucks off your portable charger purchase, a 20 percent–off coupon to use on dog food, or better prices on new Amazon devices. Individual discounts vary, but we see these sorts of promotions pretty frequently—and, as with Prime Day, not all of them are good.
Early-Access Lightning Deals
Both during and outside of special events like Prime Day and Black Friday, Prime members get early access to select Lightning Deals. You will be able to shop 30 minutes before other customers. Whether Lightning Deals are worth your money is another discussion entirely, but it's a perk worth checking out.
No-Rush Rewards
If you don't need your order to arrive right away, sometimes at checkout you'll see the option for free No-Rush Shipping. Usually, choosing No-Rush Shipping gets you a free $1 digital credit to use on things like ebooks, digital games, movies, and the like. The rewards sometimes expire after a certain duration. I've used No-Rush credits to get as much as $10 off digital games on release day. Since video game discounts are rare, especially right after release, this can be lucrative if you time it correctly (and don't mind waiting for your purchases to arrive).
Grubhub+
Amazon Prime members get free access to Grubhub+, which includes free delivery on orders over $12, plus an assortment of Prime-exclusive discounts at various restaurants throughout the year.
Amazon Fresh
Amazon Fresh lets you order groceries via Amazon and get them delivered to your door. It's not available in all areas, but it is a different way to shop if you're trying to avoid in-person trips. You also get a selection of products from Whole Foods available through Amazon Fresh. Somewhat confusingly, there are similarly named physical Amazon Fresh grocery stores in some cities.
Since Amazon bought Whole Foods several years back, you can usually find picks from Whole Foods store brands within Amazon's grocery services. It might make a good way to try something new or stock up on items you already like.
Amazon Household
For families, Amazon Household is a good way to share benefits between multiple people. You can share membership perks with two adults, four teens, and four adults. Parents can use Amazon Household to approve teens' orders or set up parental controls on kids' content.
Amazon First Reads
Each month, Prime members can check out Amazon First Reads. That's two Kindle books from the selection for free. Nonmembers can get their two books for $2 apiece. As a reminder, you can read Kindle books even if you don't have a Kindle device, thanks to the free app available for phones and computers. We also have a buying guide to help you pick the right Kindle.
Prime Reading
In addition to First Reads, Prime members get access to tons of Kindle books via Prime Reading. There are more than a thousand items to choose from. Aside from books, you can access audiobooks and magazines, plus comics via Comixology. WIRED editor Michael Calore mentioned Prime Reading as one of his quarantine lifesavers in this Gadget Lab podcast episode.
Prime Gaming
Every month, Prime members are eligible for various rewards via Prime Gaming (formerly known as Twitch Prime). This includes in-game loot in a variety of popular games, free game downloads, free downloadable content (DLC) and expansions, and more. You also get a free Twitch subscription—which sounds like you can watch Twitch for free, but “Twitch subs” are actually subscriptions to individual Twitch streamers, and they normally cost money. With the free subscription you get from Amazon Prime, you can support channels you enjoy—creators make some money off the subscription, but it won't cost you anything extra.
$10 off Game Preorders
This discount used to be much better, but it's still worth looking into if you are in the market for a new video game. Occasionally, Prime members can receive $10 off when they preorder a game. Eligible titles show up here when they're available. Some video games also have free Release Date Delivery—just look for that shipping option when preordering a game.
Prime Try Before You Buy
Buying clothes online can be an arduous process. Prime Try Before You Buy (formerly Prime Wardrobe) offers a selection of items you can try on at home before committing. Pick out what you want and you'll get it for a week. If it's a winner, you can keep it. If it's not a perfect fit, you can return the items for free. I prefer to use this method when pieces are already discounted, since the price you'll pay if you decide to keep something is whatever the price was at checkout.
Unlimited Online Photo Storage
Prime members get access to unlimited full-resolution photo storage, and 5 gigabytes of video storage as well. You can store, print, and share photos using the Amazon Photos app and back everything up to the cloud. If your account ever loses Prime status, you'll need to pay at least $2 per month to keep storing your photos and videos, so this shouldn't be your primary backup method. You might want to consider using one of these options as well.
Discounted Amazon Kids+
Amazon Kids+ (formerly FreeTime Unlimited) is Amazon's content service for kids. The service is compatible with several iOS, Android, and Amazon devices, like Fire Tablets. It essentially provides a bevy of parental controls while giving kiddos access to age-appropriate shows, books, games, and the like. Kids+ costs $8 per month, but Prime members can snag the subscription for $6 per month (or $79 and $48 per year, respectively).
Additional Perks for Specific Customers
Expecting a new addition to your family? Select Prime members can claim a free Baby Registry Welcome Box by creating a registry that has at least 10 unique items and $10 worth of purchases (by themselves or others). Learn more here.
Select wireless carriers have special cell phone plans for Prime members. Members also get 10 percent back as a credit each month. These plans aren't for everyone—and your current provider may be cheaper—but they could be a good option for those seeking prepaid, inexpensive phone service.
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Prime RX offers select customers discounts on prescription medication. It's a prescription savings card that can be used at pharmacies nationwide, including Amazon Pharmacy. These savings programs are nothing new—one similar program is GoodRx—and one may argue that giving Amazon information about your medications adds another layer to privacy concerns. However, the benefit is free if you do decide to use it, and it may be worth checking out if you pay a lot out-of-pocket for prescription medication.
Amazon Key offers select Prime members in-garage delivery. If you live in an eligible area, and you're interested, you'll need to purchase and install a smart garage kit. Amazon Key previously offered in-home delivery, but it's currently on pause. (Of course, this also comes with a slew of privacy concerns.)
There are three different Amazon credit cards, two of them with Amazon Prime rewards. These come in the form of rewards back for Prime members on select purchases or at select retailers. You don't need to get an Amazon credit card; we encourage you to read through all of the available information and carefully consider it before deciding whether or not to get one.
