Shopping on Amazon can be convenient, especially when you are stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. You can get anything from frozen pizza to light bulbs delivered to your door at the click of a button.
An Amazon Prime membership is even more convenient. Perks include not just faster shipping but also access to free e-books, music, file storage and more, as we detail in “These Are the 9 Best Benefits of Amazon Prime.”
While the convenience is great, the cost of membership may give you pause. In 2018, the online retailer raised the price of an annual Prime membership from $ 99 to $ 119 per year. For monthly subscribers, the cost went from $ 10.99 to $ 12.99 per month.
If you want to pay less but still enjoy the convenience of Amazon Prime, there are a few ways to get a free membership.
1. Get a free trial
If you want to try Amazon Prime to see if it’s worth paying for a membership, sign up for a free 30-day trial. Just remember to cancel the trial before the 30 days is up if you decide you don’t want to pay for a membership.
Keep in mind that you can’t use a checking account, prepaid credit card or a gift card to sign up for your trial: Your Amazon account must have a credit card.
However, you can use different email addresses to get multiple free trials, at least according to a 2018 Vice report. Again, remember to cancel each trial before it ends to avoid being charged for a membership.
If you’re a college student, you can sign up for a free Prime Student trial, which lasts six months. A Prime Student membership also costs less than a regular Prime membership if you decide to continue after your trial ends — $ 6.49 per month.
2. Use free Amazon gift cards
If you keep your Amazon membership after the free trial ends, consider paying for it with Amazon gift cards. There are various ways to get Amazon gift cards for free. Check out the options in “5 Ways You Can Score Free Amazon Gift Cards.”
3. Use credit card rewards
If you have a cash-back credit card, you could use your accumulated cash back to pay for a Prime membership — which kind of feels like you are getting Prime for free.
If you sign up for the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, you will earn 5% cash back on purchases at Amazon and Whole Foods Market; 2% at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores; and 1% everywhere else. If you spend $ 2,400 in a year at the 5% cash-back rate, you will earn enough cash back to cover the cost of a one-year annual membership.
If you’re in the market for a new card, stop by the Money Talks News Solutions Center and use our free credit card comparison tool.
4. Switch cellphone plans
Looking to switch cellphone carriers? Some wireless providers offer Amazon Prime as a perk for signing up for select plans.
For example, Metro by T-Mobile gives customers Amazon Prime for free with select plans. Sprint customers who sign up for the Unlimited Premium plan will also get Amazon Prime — as well as Hulu and other perks — for free.
For more help finding the right plan for you, check out Money Talks News’ free cellphone and wireless plan comparison tool.
5. Share an account using Amazon Household
If someone in your household has an Amazon Prime membership, you can ask them to share it with you via Amazon Household.
Each of you keeps your own Amazon account, but the two accounts — or more, if you have kids — are linked, giving you access to select Prime benefits. They include:
- Prime Shipping
- Prime Video
- Prime Reading
- Amazon Photos
- Amazon First Reads
- Discounts and exclusives
Keep in mind that using the Amazon Household feature means sharing payment methods.
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