For the first time since 2018, Amazon announced it will be raising the subscription fees for all Prime members. However, you don’t have to start paying the new price just yet. Here’s everything you need to know about the Amazon Prime price increase, and how you can lock in your current rate or cancel your membership.
How Much Will an Amazon Prime Membership Cost Now?
Currently, a Prime membership costs $119 a year, but Amazon is raising the price to $139, while monthly subscriptions will go from $12.99 to $14.99. For new subscribers, the price hike will take effect on February 18, 2022, while existing subscribers won’t see an increase until their membership renews after March 25.
The price hike means you will soon have to pay an extra $20 a year or $2 a month for your Prime membership. So, if you have been debating whether or not to become an Amazon Prime member, now might be the best time to subscribe.
How to Avoid the Amazon Prime Price Hike
To avoid the Amazon Prime price hike, existing subscribers can just change their monthly subscription to a yearly subscription before March 25, 2022. Or you can buy a one-year Prime gift membership by Friday, February 18, 2022, to lock in the current price for another year.
How to Switch a Monthly Prime Subscription to Annual
If you currently have a monthly Amazon Prime membership, you can change it to an annual subscription now, and you won’t have to pay the increased price until next year. To do this, go to amazon.com/gp/primecentral, click Prime Plan at the top, and select the yearly plan.
Switching from a monthly Prime subscription to an annual subscription will automatically save you $40 a year. And, since you are also saving $20 by locking in the old Prime subscription fee, taking this simple step could save you more than $60 in total.
If you already have an annual plan, or you are not a Prime member yet, you still have time to buy a Prime gift card to avoid the price hike. Here’s how:
How to Buy a Prime Gift Membership
To buy a Prime gift membership, go to amazon.com/giftprime and select Add Prime to Cart. Then go to your cart, select Proceed to Checkout, and enter your shipping information. Once you complete the order, you will receive an email with instructions on how to set up your membership.
You can purchase a Prime gift membership even if you already have a subscription. Since the Prime gift membership does not expire, you can wait until your subscription ends and then use it to get two years at the current price.
Read More: How to send gifts to anyone on Amazon
Or you can always cancel your current subscription at any time and switch to the Prime gift membership right away. Here’s how:
How to Cancel Your Amazon Prime Membership
To cancel your Amazon Prime membership, go to amazon.com/gp/primecentral and click Manage Membership. Then select End membership. Finally, you can choose whether to keep your Prime benefits until your subscription ends or cancel them.
Before you cancel your Prime membership, it’s important to know what benefits you will be missing out on.
What Do You Get with an Amazon Prime Membership?
In addition to getting exclusive offers and free two-day or same-day shipping on millions of items, Prime Members can also stream thousands of movies and TV shows on Prime Video, listen to over 2 million songs on Prime Music, and store unlimited pictures with Amazon Photos.
To see what else Prime members get, check out this full list of benefits from Amazon.