As a member of Amazon Prime, you get a convenient and well-publicized perk: free two-day shipping on almost any item on Amazon.
The 18 best perks you get with an Amazon Prime membership (AMZN)
Amazon Prime is much more than just free two-day shipping.
But the $99-per-year membership actually gets you a lot more than expedited shipping. In fact, signing up for Prime unlocks features like Amazon's vast digital library of music, movies, television, and books; one-hour restaurant delivery; and unlimited cloud storage for your photos.
And starting soon, Prime members will
Here are 18 of the coolest benefits of Amazon Prime:
1. Free two-day shipping
Most things you buy on Amazon are eligible for free two-day shipping, but there are a few exceptions:
- Some items that are fulfilled by Amazon Marketplace sellers
- Magazine subscriptions
- Personalized gift cards
US territories, possessions, or protectorates (except for Puerto Rico)
2. Amazon Restaurants
For a $20 minimum order, you can get restaurant food delivered in less an hour in Manhattan, Orlando, Los Angeles, and 17 other metro areas.
3. Prime Photos
A Prime membership also gives you access to Prime Photos, Amazon's cloud storage feature. Members get unlimited storage for photos, plus 5 GB for videos and documents.
4. A discount on Amazon Music Unlimited
Prime members can get Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon's music streaming service, for $7.99 per month. Non-members have to pay $9.99.
5. Free same-day delivery
For orders over $35, same-day shipping is available in more than 5,000 cities in the US. Prime members can check if their ZIP code qualifies here.
If you place an order before noon, the item should arrive by 9 p.m. An order placed in the evening will show up the next day.
6. Amazon Elements
Amazon has its own line of high-end organic products, and Prime members get exclusive access to them. Called Amazon Elements, the line includes vitamins and baby wipes. Amazon says its goal is to make the products with openness and transparency.
7. Twitch Prime
8. Prime Now
If same-day delivery isn't quite fast enough, you can use Prime Now, which will deliver qualifying items within two hours. The service is available in 32 US metro areas, and you can order everything from an Amazon Echo to groceries.
If you need an item within an hour, you can get that in select cities for $7.99 extra.
9. Prime Video
Prime Video offers unlimited streaming of certain movies and TV shows in Amazon's library. The service comes free with Prime, but you can also subscribe to Prime Video as a standalone service.
10. Amazon Households
If you cohabitate with your significant other, you can share the benefits of Prime with them. Amazon Household can include up to six members, and you'll each split the cost.
11. Amazon Dash
Dash buttons let you quickly reorder things like groceries and household and beauty products. The buttons cost $4.99 each, but Amazon will give that back to you in credit after you place your first order.
12, 13, and 14. Kindle Owners' Lending Library, Prime Reading, and Kindle First
Prime membership brings with it several discounts and perks that harken back to Amazon's early days as a bookseller:
— The Kindle Owners' Lending Library can save you lots of money on e-books. Amazon says its library includes "hundreds of thousands of titles," and there's no due date, which means you can download the books and keep them indefinitely on your Kindle or Fire tablet.
— Along the same lines is Prime Reading, which functions more like a standard electronic library. Prime members can borrow books and magazines and read them on Amazon devices or in the Kindle app. With Prime Reading, you can keep up to 10 titles at a time. If you want a new one, you just return one you borrowed.
— Kindle First lets you download one of six books Amazon's editors highlight each month. The book will either be free or discounted and will be available a full month before the release date.
15. Prime Early Access
With Early Access, Prime members get to see and order products listed in Amazon's flash-sale Lightning Deals 30 minutes before non-Prime customers.
16. Outfit Compare
The Outfit Compare lets you upload two different outfits and get an opinion on which one looks better. The feature is free and available in Amazon's mobile app, but only Prime members can use it.
17. Prime Pantry
18. Discounts at Whole Foods
Bonus: Prime Wardrobe
With Prime Wardrobe, you can pick three or more items from Amazon, have them shipped to your house, and then ship back any items that don't fit or you don't want, all with no return shipping charges. You only pay for the items you end up keeping, and if those you keep total $200 or more, you'll get $20 off your total purchase. The program is currently invite-only, but Prime members can sign up to be notified when it becomes available for everyone.
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