If you're an Amazon Prime member, you're probably aware of all the great features and benefits of your membership – free two-day shipping, access to Prime Video and Prime Music, etc.
But are you aware of all the lesser-known money-saving features that Amazon has to offer? Keep reading to learn about 14 lesser-known Amazon Prime features that can help you save money.
1. Become An Amazon Prime Member
Amazon Prime is a paid membership service offered by Amazon.com that gives users access to free two-day shipping, streaming video and music, and other benefits for a monthly or yearly fee.
As an Amazon Prime member, you also get access to exclusive deals and discounts on select items. Amazon offers a 30-day free trial of Prime, so you can try it out before committing to the yearly fee.
Prime is definitely worth the investment if you're an avid Amazon shopper. It pays for itself if you make 15 or more orders per year, and you'll enjoy all the other benefits of being a member.
How much is an Amazon Prime Membership?
Amazon Prime is a subscription service offered by Amazon.com. With an Amazon Prime membership, customers have access to free two-day shipping on eligible items, streaming of movies and TV shows, convenient online shopping, and more.
- Prime membership is $139, or $14.99 per month.
- Customers who receive government assistance such as EBT or Medicaid pay $6.99 per month.
Prime Student Membership
If you're a student, you can sign up for Amazon Prime Student, which offers all of the same benefits of Amazon Prime at a discounted rate. Amazon Prime Student costs $69 annually or $7.49 monthly, making it a great option for budget-conscious students.
Plus, there is a 6-month free trial, and you can cancel at any time, so there's no commitment required. If you're looking for a way to save money on Amazon shopping, Amazon Prime Student is definitely worth checking out.
2. Get Faster Delivery With Prime Now
Amazon Prime Now is an Amazon Prime perk that offers free two-hour delivery on select items. You can also get one-hour delivery for an additional fee.
Amazon Prime Now is available in select markets. To see if it's available in your area, go to the Amazon website and enter your zip code. Once signed in to your Amazon Prime members account, you can browse the selection of items eligible for Prime Now delivery.
3. Save Money With The Amazon Family Program
Having a baby is a joyous occasion but can also be expensive. The costs can quickly add up between diapers, baby food, and all the other essentials. However, there are a few ways to save money on baby supplies. Amazon Family is one such program.
By signing up for Amazon Family and setting up five monthly deliveries, you can get a 20% discount on items like diapers and baby food.
Plus, if you create a baby registry on Amazon, you'll receive a free Welcome Box and a 15% registry completion discount. So take advantage of these programs to help reduce the cost of raising a baby.
4. Entertain And Educate With Amazon Kids Plus
Amazon Kids Plus is a monthly subscription service that gives children access to a wide range of books, audiobooks, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games. There are more than 20,000 titles within these categories, all tailored to children between the ages of 3 and 12.
The service costs $4.99 per month for non-Prime members and $2.99 per month for Prime members, making it an affordable way to keep kids entertained and engaged.
In addition to the content itself, Amazon Kids Plus also includes parental controls. If you're looking for a comprehensive and affordable way to keep your kids entertained, Amazon Kids Plus is worth considering.
5. Prime Music
Amazon offers two music streaming services: Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited. If you are a Prime member, Amazon Music Unlimited costs $7.99 per month (or $79 for a year). If you are not a Prime member, the service costs $9.99 per month.
Music Unlimited
With Music Unlimited, you have access to millions of songs and ad-free listening. Plus, you can download songs and albums offline and listen anywhere.
Prime Music
With Prime Music, you have access to millions of songs, but there are ads between tracks and you cannot download songs for offline listening. If you're not sure which service is right for you, try both!
6. Prime Video
There are currently plenty of video streaming and on-demand services available for your entertainment needs as we discussed in our post on “How to Save Money with These Alternatives to Cable TV.” Amazon Prime Video is a big name when it comes to instant video streaming services.
With Prime Video, you can conveniently watch that critically acclaimed movie that all your co-workers are talking about in the office. Prime video offers you easy access to cable networks such as Showtime, HBO and Starz.
It’s a great option if you’re looking to cut the cord or minimize the number of active streaming service subscriptions.
Complimentary with your Prime membership, you will gain full access to hundreds of Hollywood Blockbusters, TV shows, and exclusive Amazon Original Series.
Most of the content your household enjoys on Netflix or Hulu is also available on Prime Video.
7. Prime Samples
Want to try a new shampoo, or maybe find new treats for that finicky pet? Amazon's Prime Samples has tiny versions of products exclusively for Prime members.
Don't waste money on a full-sized box of protein bars or energy drinks when you can try samples for just a few bucks to make sure you like them. You can also buy sample boxes, starting at $6.99, containing a variety of wellness or beauty products, dog food, and treat samples, to name a few.
When you purchase a sample box, you also receive a credit for a future purchase of your sampled products. Sample boxes also make great stocking stuffers or gifts for the hard to buy for person.
8. Prime Photos
We all love snapping pictures. Smartphones are now more powerful than ever with advanced cameras that allow you to snap high-resolution pics. But where do you store all those photos?
Well, you don’t have to pay for a photo storage device again, at least not with Amazon Prime. When you have hundreds of photos, and you have no idea what to do with them, don’t delete them.
Prime Photos’ Cloud is the right place for your pictures if you’re a photo enthusiast. With an Amazon Prime membership, you can back up and manage an unlimited number of photos across multiple devices after snapping your way through road trips and family functions.
When you store your photos with Amazon Photos, you will unlock some cool features. For starters, you can organize them automatically and find them easily thanks to Amazon photo’s powerful search.
The group feature will let you share your photos easily with your friends and family. Whether you are using a laptop, tablet or smartphone, there is a free app for each device.
This feature works seamlessly with Amazon’s photo-printing service- Amazon Prints. You can use your vacation photos to create photo books, calendars, and wall décor.
9. Prime Reading
If you enjoy spending your free time curling with a good read or two, take advantage of Prime Reading (formerly Kindle Lending Library) to expand your reading palate even more.
Get access to a rotating selection of thousands of fiction and non-fiction bestsellers, comics, children’s books, magazines and other periodicals at no extra cost.
Next time you are considering your favorite magazine, see whether it’s available on Prime Reading first. If you don’t own a Kindle, You can download the Kindle app on your hand-held device for free.
10. Rewards Card
Amazon offers a variety of credit cards that can be used to earn rewards on everyday purchases. Whether you're looking for cash back on food, gas, or something else, there's an Amazon credit card that's right for you. Here's a closer look at some of the best options.
| Amazon Rewards Visa Card | Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card | |
| Welcome Bonus | $50 Amazon Gift Card | $100 Amazon Gift Card |
| Rewards At Amazon.com | 3% Back | 5% Back |
| Rewards At Whole Foods | 3% Back | 5% Back |
| Rewards at Restaurants, gas stations and drugstores | 2% Back | 2% Back |
| Rewards On All Other Purchases | 1% Back | 1% Back |
| Bonus Rewards At Amazon.com | – | 10% Back Or More |
11. Amazon Prime Members Enjoy No-Rush Shipping
Receive a reward or discount when you select FREE No-Rush Shipping on your order at checkout. If you can wait six days for your order, then try FREE No-Rush Shipping. Instead of receiving quick delivery, you’ll earn rewards for future purchases or an immediate discount.
Use the rewards to receive eBooks, movies, groceries, Prime Pantry essentials, and just about anything else. Once you choose No-Rush shipping your rewards will be automatically added to your account.
12. Prime Wardrobe
Don't waste time and money running from store to store trying to find the perfect outfit. I know what you're thinking, “but I have to try clothes on to make sure they fit.” Prime Wardrobe has you covered, try clothing on at home for FREE.
You can order up to 8 Prime Wardrobe outfits to try on at home. Amazon gives you seven days to decide which clothes you want to keep. Send back the clothes you don't want in a resealable box with a prepaid label.
You only have to pay for the clothes you keep. Prime Wardrobe even lets you order clothing for men, women, children, and babies.
13. Membership Sharing
With Amazon Prime, two is better than one. This Amazon Household concept makes perfect sense. If you and your partner both have Prime memberships, you can merge your accounts into a single household account to streamline your costs.
This way, you can both connect and share Amazon Prime benefits with the whole family. You can link a Household with two adults, up to 4 teens/children profiles.
Besides free Prime delivery, you can additionally share digital content like music, e-books and audiobooks that one of you has already purchased, sounds cool right?
14. Save Money On Amazon Lightning Deals
Lightning Deals are promotions that are offered in limited quantities for a short time. The deals can be accessed on the Today's Deals or Prime Day pages.
If you find something you want you can sign up to watch your deal 24 hours before it begins. On Prime Day deals are only available to Prime members. When the lightning deals are available to everyone, they are still available to Prime members 30 minutes before non-prime members.
15. Reload Gift Card
Prime members earn a 2% bonus each time they reload a gift card from a designated debit card. Your gift card can be used to make 1-click purchases on Amazon. Control your budget by only shopping with your gift card, with no chance of overspending.
16. Frequent Amazon Shoppers Can Save With Subscribe & Save
Save up to 15% by letting Amazon keep track of the things you regularly use with Subscribe & Save. I save 15% every month by having dishwasher pods, toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, laundry detergent, dog food, and vitamins delivered regularly.
Amazon sends me an email every month before my products ship asking me if I want the shipment or if I want to skip all or part of my order.
I save money, and I have less stuff to drag home from the grocery store. You even get the option to clip instant coupons to save even more.
17. Saving Money With Amazon Warehouse
Although shopping for bargains at the local flea market or garage sale can be a lot of fun, sometimes it's just easier (and cheaper) to buy what you need online. And if you're looking for the best deals on used items, there's no better place to start than the Amazon Warehouse.
The Amazon Warehouse is full of returned, overstocked, and open-box items that have been deeply discounted. Whether you're looking for electronics, books, kitchenware, or just about anything else, the Amazon Warehouse is sure to have what you need – and at a price that can't be beaten.
So next time you're in the market for a great deal, be sure to check out the Amazon Warehouse first. You won't be disappointed.
18. Clip Coupons
One of the great things about Amazon is that they offer so many ways to save money on your purchases. One way to do this is by “clipping” digital Amazon coupons. These are like traditional coupons, but they’re applied to your purchase automatically when you check out.
To get started, just go to the Amazon Coupons page and browse through the offers. When you find one that you want to use, just click “Clip Coupon” and it will be added to your account. Then, when you go to checkout for your next purchase, the discount will be applied automatically.
It’s a great way to save money on your Amazon purchases, and it’s easy to get started.
19. Free Gift Cards For Used Electronics
With the Amazon Trade-In Program, you can swap out used electronics for Amazon gift cards. The Trade-In Program is available for many different types of electronics, including
- smartphones
- tablets
- laptops
- and more.
To get started, simply search for the type of device you want to trade in on Amazon.com. Then, Amazon will provide you with an estimate of the trade-in value. If you're happy with the offer, you can print out a shipping label and send in your device.
Once your device is received and inspected, Amazon will issue a gift card for the trade-in value. The Amazon Trade-In Program is a great way to declutter your home and earn some extra Amazon credit at the same time.
20. Save Money With The Amazon Assistant Browser Extension
The Amazon Assistant browser extension is a handy tool that can help you save time and money when shopping online. The extension allows you to see prices from Amazon.com while you browse other websites, so you can be sure you're getting the best deal.
Additionally, the Amazon Assistant can track your order history and provide recommendations for products you might like. It's a great way to make sure you're always getting the best possible price on your purchases. Installation is quick and easy, so why not give it a try?
21. Amazon Sales You Don’t Want To Miss
Amazon Prime Day, Amazon Black Friday Sale, Amazon Cyber Monday Sale are all amazing times to save money by shopping the Amazon sales. Make sure you are a member of Amazon Prime to get the most savings.
Amazon Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day is usually in mid-July and has amazing deals on all types of items including tech, kitchen appliances, clothing, toys, and more.
Black Friday
The Black Friday sale at Amazon is also not to be missed with huge discounts on holiday gifts and decor.
Cyber Monday
And finally, the Cyber Monday sale is a great time to snag deals on electronics and tech gadgets. Be sure to keep an eye out for these great sales and save yourself some money!
Conclusion
Unfortunately, only a small portion of shoppers know how to save money on Amazon. Most of us focus on getting the best deal without putting much thought into how to take advantage of the Amazon Prime membership.
Even if you’re getting the best deal on a product when you buy it on Amazon, there are still many money-saving features as highlighted in this Amazon Prime review. Amazon Prime keeps adding more and more features to give members real value for their money.
We are entering the holiday season and now is the best time to make good use of your Amazon Prime membership. You can take advantage of the FREE 30-day trial period to decide whether to subscribe to the service or not.
Do you have an Amazon Prime membership? Let us know in the comments below.