Amazon Prime: Everything You Need To Know

Amazon Prime launched in 2005 as a way for customers to get their products quicker without paying for incredibly overpriced overnight or two-day shipping. Of course, now, that has become the norm, and a lot of places offer it for free (some if you spend a certain amount). However, in the nearly 19 years since Prime launched, a lot has changed. It now offers more than just unlimited next-day and two-day shipping.

We’re going to go over everything you need to know about Amazon Prime in 2024. And help you decide if you should spend your money on Amazon Prime or not.

What is Amazon Prime?

As mentioned before, Amazon launched Prime in the US in February of 2005. It was originally meant to give customers unlimited two-day shipping on a ton of items that Amazon sold. It was $79 when it debuted in 2005, which seemed pretty pricey since the majority of us did not rely on Amazon to buy basically everything as we did in 2023.

Since 2015, we’ve seen a few price increases, though it hasn’t increased all that much. It’s now $119, with the first increase coming in 2014 to $99 and the second in 2018 to $119, despite shipping costs having skyrocketed for Amazon in the 16 years since Prime first debuted.

Amazon has also expanded Prime to offer much more than just unlimited next-day and two-day shipping. It comes with a number of other perks now, like Prime Video, Twitch Prime, Same Day shipping, Whole Foods discounts, and more. But we’ll talk more about Amazon Prime perks later.

As of 2023, Amazon has said that there are over 200 million Prime subscribers worldwide. The pandemic in 2020 helped really boost that number, too. People everywhere rely on Amazon to deliver the most needed products.

How much is it?

As mentioned, Amazon Prime is $139 per year. That comes out to about $11.58 per month, the same as most streaming services. Amazon does offer a monthly plan for Prime, though it is a bit more expensive, and we’d recommend going with the yearly option.

If you opt to pay monthly, it’ll be $14.99 per month. That comes out to $179.88 per year versus the $139 price if you were to pay yearly.

Is there a student discount?

Yes.

Amazon does offer Prime Student, which will cost students $69.99 per year. Or they can opt to go monthly at $7.49 per month. Like with the regular Amazon Prime price, it is also much cheaper to just pay it yearly than per month.

There are also some added benefits for Amazon Prime Student, including a longer free trial. Prime Student is six months long, versus a Prime free trial being only 30 days. Amazon also allows students to rent textbooks much cheaper than other places like Chegg. Amazon touts up to 90% off, but that will depend on what textbooks are needed.

Any student is eligible for Amazon Prime Student as long as they have a school email address – that is what is used to confirm you are a student. That also means it is only for college students and not high school students, unfortunately. But whether you’re working on your Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate, you can still get Prime Student.

What benefits come with Prime?

For most, the biggest reason to sign up for Prime is going to be the free shipping. And seeing as Amazon sells just about everything you could want or need, that is a big reason to sign up. But Amazon has added a ton of perks in recent years, making Prime a lot more attractive. Here are some of the perks available for Prime members.

Free same-day, overnight & two-day shipping

As mentioned, you can get free delivery as soon as the same day. This will depend on where you live and what product(s) you are trying to purchase. But if you order by noon, it can arrive the same day, which is incredible. It is much more convenient than running to your local Walmart.

Almost everything on Amazon can be delivered within two days. There are some exceptions, particularly things that are not shipped and sold by Amazon.com but rather shipped by third parties that sell on Amazon’s website.

Prime Now

A really popular service that Amazon has launched in a few cities, is Prime Now. Essentially, you can get stuff delivered to your door within two hours of ordering it. Amazon also offers this service for groceries in certain cities. Surprisingly, this is not available everywhere that has Whole Foods.

The cities where Prime Now is available are still pretty small. So you’ll want to check and see if you live in a city that has it or not.

Amazon Prime Video

One of the bigger perks of Prime is probably Prime Video. Which is Amazon’s own streaming service, and has thousands of hours of movies and TV shows. They are available on your smartphone, tablet, smart TV, gaming console, and other devices. There are also a ton of exclusive TV shows and movies available on Amazon Prime Video. And it’s available for free with Amazon Prime.

Now if you want just Prime Video, you can get it separately and not get Prime as a whole. It’ll cost you $8.99 per month. And at that price, you might as well just get Prime as it’s only $12 more for the entire year.

Amazon Music Unlimited

Amazon also has a streaming music service, which you can sign up for or get free with Prime. You can stream Prime Music free, which has a smaller catalog of music available for Prime members, about two million songs. It is also ad-free.

There is also Amazon Music Unlimited, which has 50 million songs, but Prime members do still get a discount on Music Unlimited – even though it’s not free. You can sign up for Music Unlimited here. It’ll cost Prime members $7.99 per month versus $9.99 per month for non-Prime members.

Finally, there’s Amazon Music HD. This is like Music Unlimited, but higher quality. It’s going to give you CD-quality music, but streaming. And it costs $14.99 per month. There’s no discount for Prime members, though. You can sign up for Amazon Music HD here.

Twitch Prime

Amazon bought Twitch in 2014 to compete with Google and its YouTube Gaming platform, though only one still exists in 2023. Anyways, Amazon decided to bring Twitch into its Prime perks. So with Twitch Prime, gamers are able to get free games and in-game items each month. With Twitch Prime, you can also sign up for one free Twitch premium streamer a month. This allows users to support their favorite Twitch streamers and get access to exclusive features.

Free Kindle & Audible Content

With Prime, members are able to borrow a selection of free Kindle ebooks, magazines, and much more with their subscription. You will also get a free Kindle book every month from a pre-selected list. Now, you may not be getting the New York Times Bestsellers every month, but they are still free books. Prime members can also access a number of podcasts and audiobooks from Audible for free.

Amazon Photos

With Google Photos ditching its unlimited storage option, this is going to become a big deal for Prime members. As Amazon offers unlimited storage for Amazon Photos, and you can also get 5GB of storage for videos with Prime. So you can back up all of your photos to Amazon Photos at no extra charge.

Whole Foods

Amazon bought Whole Foods in 2017 and essentially turned it into a place where you can pick up your Amazon packages instead of them piling up in front of your home. Prime members can get special discounts at Whole Foods, which regular shoppers won’t get. You can also order groceries from Whole Foods and pick it up within an hour, but you will need to buy at least $35 worth of groceries.

Some locations will do grocery delivery as well.

Amazon Rewards Visa Card Cash Back

Perhaps not for everyone, but Amazon does also have a credit card for Prime members. The Amazon Rewards Visa Card will give Prime members up to 5% cash back on purchases from Amazon or Whole Foods. And you’ll get 2% cash back at drug stores, gas stations, and restaurants. And finally, there is up to 1% cash back everywhere else.

Of course, not every Prime member is able to get this credit card, as it will depend on your credit score. But this is one of the better cash-back cards out there, mainly if you shop on Amazon quite often.

Alexa & Early Deals

Prime members can also get exclusive deals from Alexa. Just ask Alexa, “What are your deals?” and she’ll list them off. You can then purchase them with your voice, making it super easy to take advantage of these sales.

Amazon also offers early deals for Prime members, particularly around Prime Day and Black Friday. Amazon is able to make these shopping holidays last closer to a month rather than a day or two. Because of these early deals. And you get early access to Lightning deals. Those deals typically last around six hours (or until stock is out), but Prime members can get access to them 30 minutes early.

Can I share Prime with others?

Yes. You can share your Prime benefits with up to one other person.

However, if you are using a Prime Student account, you cannot share this with anyone.

This means that you could share your Prime benefits with another person and split the cost, making it just $60 per year per person instead of $120.

What is Prime Day?

This is another perk of Amazon Prime, actually, and that’s Prime Day.

Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015. It started out as a one-day event in July to rival Black Friday, and for the most part, only Prime members could participate. Since then, it has grown to be almost a week-long event. Some might even say a month-long event, with the many “Early Prime Day” deals that Amazon does leading up to the big day.

In 2024, Amazon has announced that Prime Day will happen on July 16 and July 17. That’s a week later than usual, but we still expect to see plenty of great deals for Prime Day.

Prime Day did start out as a bit of a joke. In the first two years, the stock was so limited on the good products that they sold out quickly. And a lot of people were left with buying things like toilet paper. However, after 2020, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. These days, you can get a lot more things on sale on Prime Day, including some great discounts on smart TVs, smartphones, and much more.

Other retailers also do their own Prime Day events around Amazon’s big day. To help cash in on all of that spending. Walmart and Best Buy, in particular, do Prime Day events.

Now, you can actually take part in Prime Day without being a Prime member. But not everything will be available to you. Many deals are for “Prime Members only”.

Is Amazon Prime worth the price?

With its extensive array of benefits, Amazon Prime is undeniably worth the $139 annual fee, amounting to less than $12 per month. This makes it competitively priced with popular streaming services like Netflix and Max while offering a far greater value proposition.

In addition to Amazon Prime Video, which boasts an impressive library of movies and TV shows, Prime members enjoy free next-day and two-day shipping on millions of items. This perk alone can be a significant cost-saver for frequent Amazon shoppers, as it eliminates shipping fees and often delivers packages even sooner than expected.

Even if you only utilize a few of Prime’s numerous perks, such as free shipping or Prime Video, the service’s value at $139 per year is undeniable. Amazon strategically offers a wide range of benefits, knowing that most members will primarily utilize a few key features. This business model ensures customer satisfaction while maintaining profitability for the company.

You can sign up for Amazon Prime by clicking here.