Amazon Prime has become a well loved member of our family, so the most recent news that they are INCREASING the price of their annual membership is just not sitting well with me. Keep in mind that I have NO intention of leaving, as there are so many great benefits, but frankly, it SUCKS that they are increasing this by $20 a year. However, I feel that the benefits do outweigh the costs, so this will continue to be a staple in our household. There is a GREAT way for you to circumvent this price increase, however; I have yet to decide how many extra years I will be doing, but there is a way for you to continue/purchase your membership for the original $119 (+tax) cost. On the last increase I purchased 3 years ahead of time, and only had to pay the “increased” rate this last year.
For those of you who are not familiar with Amazon Prime, Prime offers free two day (and SAME DAY on some items) delivery on MILLIONS of items sold my Amazon (including delivery on Sundays!). There are also thousands of movies and TV shows available to watch for free, and you get access to flash deals earlier than non-Prime members. One of my favorite benefits is the UNLIMITED photo storage, as I take a LOT of photos. This is all included for the cost of your membership, as well as tons more Amazon Prime benefits. You can even sign up for a 30 Day Free Trial HERE as well! I am also able to shop for family; we have several family member’s payment methods and shipping addresses in our account so that they can purchase items via our Prime membership.
Beginning on February 18 for new members, and March 26 for renewing members, all new subscriptions will cost $139 annually. Now for those of you who DO have Amazon Prime, if your Prime subscription renews on March 1st or beyond, you will get the new $139 price. However, if you purchase the Gift of Prime, you can purchase a one year Prime membership for the CURRENT rate of $119. You WILL be able to use any gift card balance on your account to pay for the Gift of Prime (YAY!), AND if you want to, you can just add the $119 to your Amazon balance instead of a Prime membership if you decide that 10 years is too much to “stockpile” on Prime memberships LOL.
If you decide to get the Gift of Prime to avoid the increased membership fees, all you need to do is to CANCEL your existing subscription, which will simply end the auto-renew feature. Your membership will continue through to the expiration date. Once your membership has ended, just use the link in your Gift of Prime email to activate a new year, purchased at the $119 price. Again, if you decide that you don’t want to use the $119 for a membership, you will be able to convert it to an Amazon gift card balance to use for purchasing. Get yours HERE:
