The 9 Best Benefits of Amazon Prime (2023)
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At the time of this writing, Mother’s Day is days away. A lot of us still have time, and others of us are super pressed! Whether you shop year-round or take advantage of the biggest sales of the year, Amazon has something for you. Most people think of Amazon as a retail conglomerate, but Amazon Prime offers so many more benefits beyond shopping. Here are nine of the best benefits of Amazon Prime.
How much does Amazon Prime cost?
Before we get into benefits, let’s get cost out of the way. Amazon Prime has two different prices, one for students and one for the general public. At the time of this publication:
Amazon Prime Membership
Monthly – $14.99/month
If you happen to be a recipient of certain government benefits, you may be eligible to get your Prime Membership at a 50% discount (get the details here).
(If you’d like to take a 30-day trial run at Amazon Prime, check this out.)
Amazon Prime Student Membership
Monthly- $7.49/month
Annually – $69/year
(Students can try Prime for 6-Month FREE here.)
Regardless of which membership you choose, I highly recommend the annual membership. It works out to roughly 12 months for the price of nine.
What benefits are included with Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime comes loaded will a plethora of benefits for shopping, media, and more. Here are the major categories:
1. Prime Delivery
The original benefit of Amazon Prime is Prime Delivery. Amazon Prime members receive a great discount on expedited shipping, with speeds as fast as same-day for free.
- Two-Day Shipping – FREE
- One-Day Shipping – FREE
- Same-Day Delivery – FREE on qualifying orders over $25, where available, or $2.99 per order
- Release-Date Delivery (qualified items) – FREE
- Amazon Day Delivery, No-Rush, and Standard Shipping – FREE
Someone in our household probably places an Amazon order several times a month, if not once a week. Let’s say each package normally has a shipping fee of $5 at standard speed. If we order four packages a month, not only has Prime paid for itself, but we’ve also gotten our packages faster.
2. Prime Video
Our second most frequently used Amazon Prime benefit is Prime Video. Prime Video is Amazon’s streaming video service. Like its competitors, Prime Video has a wide selection of movies and television shows. You can find new theater releases to rent, purchase, or stream for free, in some cases. Amazon also has a host of indy films, Emmy-winning Amazon Original series, and more.
Unlike a lot of the competition, Prime also offers the ability to subscribe to other premium streaming services, like Starz, Showtime, NBA League Pass, etc., right within the app. My husband loves to grab his favorite action films from Prime Video, while I am partial to the classic content available on the FreeVee channel. Oh, and let’s not forget Thursday Night Football is live with exclusive coverage within Prime Video.
3. Prime Reading
If you’re an avid reader, Prime Reading is right up your alley. Prime Reading gives you unlimited access to a rotating catalog of ebooks and audiobooks. You also get access to Amazon’s First Reads program, where you get a free pre-release copy of an editor’s pick each month.
Not only is Prime Reading a great way to keep a fresh rotation of new reads and authors in your queue, but it’s also a great way to pick up your favorite magazines and comic books. I have always loved magazines, but many of my favorites have either died or gone digital. Also, I stopped being able to justify subscribing, for a number of reasons. Prime Reading is like a built-in subscription to magazines like Vogue, Allure, Sports Illustrated, Real Simple, Time, and more.
4. Prime Music
Amazon currently has three different tiers of music programs: Amazon Music Free, Amazon Music Prime, and Amazon Music Unlimited. Music Prime is the mid-tier option of the three.
A step up from Amazon Music Free, Amazon Prime Music opens your access to 2 million songs with personalized stations and playlists. Unlike Free, you get unlimited ad-free plays and offline access.
Amazon Music Prime: Included with your Amazon Prime membership at no extra cost.
- 2 million songs
- Personalized Stations and thousands of playlists
- SD only
- Ad-free unlimited plays
- Play on one device at a time.*
Now, this is not to be confused with Amazon Music Unlimited, which opens up your access to a few more enhancements, but Prime Music is still nothing to snub your nose at.
5. Prime Gaming
Prime Gaming is a great benefit for the computer gamers in your life. You get access to free games that you can download and keep forever, plus power-ups for online games each month. Even if you aren’t into games, you can still take advantage of the Twitch integration for Amazon, which features upgrades and one free channel per month. Pretty nifty.
6. Amazon Photos
If you’re like most of us, your devices are probably brimming with photos and videos. The memory on your phone might run out soon, but your cloud storage doesn’t have to. That’s because Amazon Prime members receive unlimited full-resolution photo storage and 5 GB of video storage for free on Amazon.
Also, Amazon offers a photo product service, and Prime members receive fast free shipping on items ordered. This is perfect for those holiday cards and photo gifts you send out every year.
7. Prime Wardrobe & Personal Styling
Regarding online clothes shopping, fast fashion seems to be all the rage…and enraging consumers. With numerous retailers closing physical stores and struggling to balance inventory, finding great clothes in person seems more daunting than ever. On the other hand, some online retailers have been scamming customers taking advantage of this new opportunity. Amazon is making this process easier than ever with Prime Wardrobe.
With Amazon Prime Wardrobe, you can choose up to six eligible items to try before you buy. Amazon will send you your items, let you try them on, and send them back in their easy returnable packaging. You only get charged for the items you keep.
8. Amazon Prescriptions
9. Prime Days and Member Deals
Amazon offers many opportunities for savings throughout the year. In addition to the two Prime Days exclusive to members, there are lightning deals and other sales that happen on a daily basis. You can also leverage your membership to get discounts at other retailers like Zappos.com.
If you shop online at any frequency, I cannot recommend Amazon Prime enough. Between shipping, video, and deals for our entire family, our subscription has more than paid for itself.
