This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure for more information.
This post contains some affiliate links (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! See full disclosure here.
Is Amazon Prime Worth It? Amazon Prime Benefits You May Not Know About!
Like this article? Click here to Pin it for later!
I’ve been an Amazon Prime Member for many years now and each time it comes time to renew I usually don’t even hesitate. BUT now that they’ve raised their prices, is it still worth it?
For myself, yes it is but I use MANY of the benefits they offer so it may be different for you. I count all the benefits I’m getting and it just pays for itself over and over again but if you’re only using one or two benefits then it may not be worth it for you.
Keep reading to find out if Amazon Prime is still worth it and if you’re making the most out of your membership.
Is Amazon Prime STILL Worth it for you?
UPDATED 2022: Amazon Prime is now $139 a year if you pay in full or $14.99 a month if you pay monthly. Obviously, you get a much better deal if you pay yearly which is what I do. $139 a year equals $11.58 a month (in case you didn’t want to do the math) so you’re saving a little over $3 a month this way.
HOW TO GET AMAZON PRIME AT A DISCOUNT
Try it out first to see if you will really use all the benefits. Try an Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial!
Are you a student? Students get a discount on Amazon Prime. Right now you can try the Prime Student 6-month Trial.
Do you have an EBT card or Medicaid card? You can qualify for a discounted rate of just $5.99 a month. Check out Try Prime Discounted Monthly Offering.
Now let’s break down all the benefits of Amazon Prime and see what you’re actually getting for your money and whether it’s worth it for you!
AMAZON PRIME BENEFITS
PRIME OFFERS FREE 2-DAY SHIPPING
Ok, so the main reason I joined Amazon Prime initially was to get Free 2 Day Shipping on my orders. I order a lot from Amazon and to be able to get FREE 2-Day Shipping for the price of shipping maybe one or two items without Prime was worth it for me.
If I order even two things that normally would cost me $6 and up to ship then my membership already paid for itself.
Plus you get your order in two days or less in most cases.
Don’t need a rush shipment? Choose No-Rush Shipping and get a reward!
SAVINGS TIP: Sign up for a Capital One Shopping. Capital One Shopping tracks the prices of some of the largest online retailers and will help you find the best deal! When shopping on Amazon it will let you know if it finds a better deal elsewhere! Sign up for FREE HERE!
I try and use this option often and I have gotten a few digital credits by choosing No Rush Shipping on some of my orders.
How do you choose Free No-Rush shipping?
Just choose the option for FREE No-Rush Shipping at checkout to get your order within 6 business days, and Amazon will either apply a discount immediately to your current order or automatically apply a reward to your account once your order ships. The discount changes often so just read what they are offering at the time.
AMAZON PRIME OFFERS FREE MUSIC
Amazon Prime Music is a benefit of your Prime Membership, Amazon has a growing selection of 2 million songs, always ad-free and on-demand. You can cancel other music subscriptions and just use this one.
If you love music then this is a great benefit and you don’t have to pay for another service it’s included! They have an upgraded music plan called Amazon Music Unlimited which will give you more albums and features but at a cost.
FREE BOOKS AND MAGAZINES WITH PRIME
Your Prime Membership gives you Free Books and Magazines! All you need is the FREE Kindle Reading App (or a Kindle E-reader or Fire Tablet).
To see what books are included in any given month make sure you’re logged in to your Amazon account and your Prime membership is current, then go to www.amazon.com/primereading to start browsing.
When you find a book, comic, or magazine that you want to read, simply click “Read for Free,” and the item will be available for download. Or click “Read and Listen for Free” for the titles that have Audible companions.
Plus they also have an Amazon First Reads benefit. Amazon Prime members get a sneak peek at certain books before they’re released to the general public. Amazon First Reads allows Prime members to download one free book each month from a selection of six editors’ picks.
New titles are announced at the start of each month and publicized in the weekly Prime newsletter so make sure you are signed up for that so you can grab your free book!
PRIME OFFERS FREE AUDIOBOOKS FROM AUDIBLE
How did I not know this? I love Audiobooks but Audible only allowed me to download a book a month. I started streaming free Audiobooks using Libby (Check out how to get free audiobooks for more info on how I do that) so that I could listen to more.
Then I discovered that you can stream a selection of FREE Audiobooks if you’re a Prime member! It’s not every book but they have a good selection.
All you need is the Audible App!
Just log into your Audible App and look for Channels-Audiobook Collections. Right now I am listening to No Excuses by Brian Tracy!
FREE MOVIES AND AMAZON CHANNELS COME WITH PRIME
Use it to Replace Cable or NetFlix or to just add more choices to your current lineup. The TV Series and Movies included in Prime are endless.
You can stream movies on your smart TV, laptop, tablet, or phone. Or add a Fire TV or Fire Stick to an older TV to stream.
I actually just got rid of my cable box in my bedroom and swapped it out for Fire TV and an HD Antenna for local broadcast channels! Why did I not do this before?
I was paying $10 a month to rent the cable box and I hardly watched it (only before bed). The Antenna and Fire TV cost me less than $75 and my TV actually looks super clear and better than cable and I no longer have that monthly cable box rental fee! It will more than pay for itself in less than 8 months.
Related: How I get Free Gift Cards Each Month (Including Amazon)!
YOU CAN SHARE YOUR PRIME MEMBERSHIP WITH HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS FOR FREE
Yup, you can share it with other members of your household!
By creating an Amazon Household account, you can share access to select benefits: Fast & FREE Prime Shipping options, Prime Video, Prime Photos online storage, Prime Early Access, and Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.
They can also access digital content in your Family Library: eBooks, apps, games, and audiobooks.
Plus both adults can manage Kindle FreeTime child profiles and children in the Household can enjoy the benefits of digital content sharing.
As of the time of writing this you are able to share your Prime membership with one adult, four teens, and four children.
Keep in mind that the other person will need to have an Amazon account to link to and at this time it does require you to share “wallets” in order to share all the benefits. I’ll be writing a more in-depth article on how to exactly share your account so stay tuned.
FREE PHOTO & VIDEO STORAGE
Prime Photos offers free UNLIMTED online photo storage and 5 GB for video to Prime members. If you need more storage for video you can upgrade for as low as $1.99 a month.
TIP! Even if you’re not a Prime member Amazon gives you a total of 5GB of storage for video and photos combined.
PRIME ONLY DISCOUNTS
Amazon Prime also gives you access to early access deals and other discounts throughout the year. I grabbed my Amazon Echo during their Black Friday sale and a couple tablets on Prime Day for dirt cheap. they even offer Prime Exclusive cell phone deals.
PRIME TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!
Amazon allows Prime members to try before you buy! You can choose from many brands for women, men, kids, and baby across clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories. Just filter for “try before you buy” items and choose up to 6 items and you’ll get 7 days to decide if you want to keep or return them.
You will only be charged for what you keep. Returns are free and easy, If you’ve never returned anything to Amazon you’ll be amazed at all the ways you can return things. They have several drop-off locations including select Kohl’s stores. I choose Kohl’s because you can return items without having to box them back up!
I just recently got to try out this service and loved it! I was going on vacation and needed some bathing suits last minute so I ordered them from the Amazon try before you buy program. I loved two of them and hated one so I returned that one to my local Kohl’s right before I left for vacation and everything went smoothly.
DISCOUNTS AT WHOLE FOODS MARKET
You can get exclusive Prime member discounts on many items at Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh stores.
You can check out their weekly deals and place orders for delivery or pickup as well here.
GET CASHBACK WHEN SHOPPING ON AMAZON FOR EXTRA SAVINGS
Sign up for a cashback website such as Rakuten and get cash back when you shop at Amazon as well as thousands of other stores. Just be sure to check which categories apply as most of the time it will be Amazon devices that get cashback. Either way, I love Rakuten for all of my online shopping.
Plus get a $30 bonus using my referral link here. Oh, and did I mention it was free? You can check out my Rakuten review for more information on how it works.
Now since different cashback websites give different amounts back and in different categories, I recommend you check out other cashback websites from my list here to see what departments on Amazon they are offering cashback on or use a browser extension like Capital One Shopping to make sure you’re getting the best price.
If you think this all sounds great to you like it does to me then Try Amazon Prime for 30-Days Free. Students try the Prime Student 6-month Trial and EBT and Medicaid cardholders Try Prime Discounted Monthly Offering.
Want to come back to this article later? Click here to Pin it!
Are you an Amazon member? What is your favorite benefit? Leave a comment on this article!
I have amazon and I love it! I didn’t know that I could share my account until now so thank you!
Your welcome!
Is all this available in Australia?
Hi Edith, Go to the Amazon Prime link in the article and see if it lets you sign up. As far as I know, it should be available almost everywhere.