Free shipping with no minimum purchase requirement was once the best-known Amazon Prime perk by far. But the benefits of a Prime membership have evolved to include so much more — from unlimited photo storage to free music, movies and books.
If you’re on the fence about paying for Prime, consider the following benefits. If you are already a Prime member, make sure you’re taking advantage of the following benefits.
We consider them the best Prime has to offer, partly because they are “free.” Unlike a growing number of Prime perks, they won’t cost you anything in addition to your membership fee.
1. Prime Reload
A debit card isn’t the safest way to pay for online purchases, as we explain in “9 Things You Should Never Pay For With a Debit Card.” But if you trust Amazon, you might want to look into Prime Reload.
This Prime benefit gives members a 2% reward for using a designated debit card to reload Amazon gift cards.
The reward generally is added to the gift card balance at the time that you reload the gift card. So, if you add $ 100 to a gift card, you would get a total of $ 102.
2. Prime Reading
Read as much as you want, whenever you want with Prime Reading. This feature gives Prime members access to more than 1,000 digital books, magazines and comics to read at no added cost.
You don’t need a Kindle, which is Amazon’s line of e-readers, to take advantage of Prime Reading. You can download Amazon’s free Kindle app to your computer or smartphone as use it as an e-reader, as we detail in “This Trick Lets You Read E-Books Without an E-Reader.”
Just note that Prime Reading is not the same as Kindle Unlimited, a subscription service that gives you access to more than 1 million titles but costs extra. The usual price is $ 9.99 per month, although a free 30-day trial is available.
3. Free photo and video storage
Your Prime membership gives you access to unlimited, full-resolution online photo storage through Amazon Photos. You also get 5 GB of video storage for free.
Additionally, you can share your unlimited photo storage with up to five people — even if they aren’t Prime members.
4. Prime Wardrobe
It’s hard to try on clothes when you’re shopping on the internet, and Amazon knows this. Prime Wardrobe allows Prime members to try on clothing before paying for it.
And it’s not only clothes. You select up to eight pieces — including shoes and accessories — for you and your family. Amazon ships them to you and gives you up to seven days to try on everything.
You only pay for the pieces you decide to keep. You send the rest back in the resealable box you received, using the prepaid shipping label that came in it.
5. Prime Video
Prime Video offers access to thousands of movies and TV shows for your streaming pleasure, all included in your membership. (Nonmembers pay $ 8.99 a month for this feature.)
Just note that not everything available through Prime Video is included in the price of Prime. Some titles you must rent or buy. You can also buy add-on subscriptions to premium channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz and many others.
6. Amazon Household
If you like the benefits of Amazon Prime, you can share the love. The Amazon Household feature allows you to share certain Prime perks with other members of your household.
You can also share digital content — like e-books, audiobooks, games and apps — so that you don’t have to buy multiple copies for different devices.
7. Prime Music
With your Amazon Prime membership comes access to more than 2 million songs and thousands of playlists and stations through Prime Music. You get unlimited song skips and the option for offline playback.
Just note that Prime Music is not the same as Amazon Music Unlimited, a subscription service that boasts 70 million songs but costs extra. The usual price is $ 7.99 a month for Prime members, though a free 30-day trial is available
8. Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day features discounts galore that are only available to Prime members. Think of it like a midyear Black Friday sale.
Despite being postponed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Day 2020 offered more than 1 million deals worldwide. Prime members saved more than $ 1.4 billion during the two-day event, according to Amazon.
9. Extra savings opportunities
Beyond Prime Day, Amazon Prime membership gives you access to additional discounts and the chance to access certain discounts before nonmembers. Examples include:
- Amazon Family: This feature gives Prime members access to additional savings of up to 20% on items such as diapers and baby food, among other exclusive deals.
- Prime Early Access: This feature gives Prime members access to certain Lightning Deals 30 minutes before nonmembers. Lightning Deals, which can be found on Amazon’s “Today’s Deals” page, are promotions that are available only for a brief time period and in a limited quantity.
- Whole Foods Market: Prime members have access to additional savings at Whole Foods, which Amazon has owned since 2017. The exclusive discounts include member-only deals — and an extra 10% off sale items.
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