Yesterday, Amazon made the announcement that the Amazon Prime cost would be going up (at least for those in the US). This hike will see the annual Amazon Prime cost going from $99 to $119. Here is what you need to know about this cost hike and how you can save now.
A little piece of note – it was mentioned earlier this month that Amazon Prime has over 100 million members! Of course, they are not all in the US and they are not all paying the full price but still quite a number!
Amazon Prime Cost Going Up
The Dates to Know
Starting May 11, the new Amazon Prime cost will be $119 for those signing up. For those who are already Amazon Prime members, that cost hike will not go into affect until June 16. If you have a renewal date after June 16, you will see the $119 cost for your Amazon Prime renewal.
Both of those dates are well before the now-annual Amazon Prime Day in July.
Don’t forget – you can get $15 back if you are a new Amazon Prime subscriber through TopCashBack! That means you could get it as low as $84 right now!
How To Save Now on the New Amazon Prime Cost
Gift Yourself Amazon Prime Now To Lock In at $99
There is a workaround that worked last time and should be good for those of you with renewal dates after June 16.
Step 1 – First thing, turn off your auto-renewal option (here) in your Amazon Prime account.
Step 2 – Next, buy an Amazon Prime gift membership (here). With this, you can set yourself as the recipient for your gift membership. The cost is currently $99 and will be that until May 11.
Step 2a – Do not click the link in that gift e-mail when it arrives! You will want to let that Amazon Prime gift membership just sit until after your current Prime membership has ended.
Step 3 – After your Amazon Prime membership has ended, go ahead and click the link in your Amazon Prime gift membership to activate that for the next year.
Step 3a – You can also set the delivery date for your Amazon Prime gift membership after your Prime membership is to lapse.
Why You May Not Want to Do the Gift Workaround
Do keep these points in mind before you shut off your auto-renewal:
- The Amazon Prime gift membership is not eligible for promotional offers
- If you currently have the grandfathered benefits of sharing Prime shipping with members at other addressed, you will lose that (you need to have already set that up and you cannot change those settings if you want to keep this active)
- We actually use this for 3 family members and this is definitely a nice thing to keep for family members that do not mind not getting things like video
Is Amazon Prime Worth It at $119?
Check out Amazon’s 47 Ways to Save with Prime (they are really stretching this! But this is what they call it!)
There are a lot of Amazon Prime members that are really upset about this price hike – and I do not completely blame them. A lot of it will depend on how you use Amazon Prime.
I am an Amazon Prime member even though I am not currently in the US (which eliminates a lot of the Prime Video content) and will continue to be so. If I was in the US, it would certainly be a no-brainer.
Shipping Costs
Yes, the shipping is a huge part of it but Amazon has really improved that and it has been a huge cost saver for me! While we were in Arizona, I was able to order things I needed for trips (unexpected things) that I could not even find in town and had those items delivered the same day at no extra charge! If you are in an area covered by Prime same day delivery, that can be a huge time saver!
Extra Benefits
Not only that, but if you are an Amazon Prime member with the Prime card, you get 5% back. You also get things like unlimited Prime Photo storage which could be a nice cost-saver if you are paying for storage elsewhere.
Get 5% back with the Amazon credit card and Amazon Prime
Now, it will essentially cost $10 per month. If you used to subscribe to Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video has gotten very good with the amount of content offered. If you use that a lot, you are paying Netflix prices but getting a ton of other benefits thrown in.
Still Worth It For Me
Finally, I make enough/save enough with Prime Day and early access Prime deals for resale or gifts that the $119 price will pay for itself. Not only that, when things do not arrive on time with Prime, I am normally given either a month extension of Amazon Prime or a few dollars as Amazon credit. In a year, that will easily make up that $20 difference.
Also, don’t forget about the little deals that come out like the recent $50 off Kindle Paperwhite for some Prime members!
