Paying $139 for Amazon Prime? Don't Miss These Perks

Best known for free two-day shipping on an unlimited number of orders, Amazon Prime has steadily added perks since its introduction — including access to its enormous, ad-free music catalog. Like seemingly everything else, though, Prime is more expensive: Amazon added $20 to the price of an annual subscription earlier this year, raising it to $139. Many shoppers may be questioning whether the members-only deals and other perks justify the higher cost. This rundown of lesser-known Prime benefits can help you judge for yourself before signing up.

Did you know that qualifying government assistance beneficiaries can get a 50% discount on Amazon Prime? Find details and sign up on amazon.com.

Related: 30 Things You Should Never Buy on Amazon

Though Prime members were offered access to an ad-free catalog of only 2 million songs through Amazon Music, the world's largest retailer is drastically increasing the number of available songs in its extensive music library. Now, Prime users can enjoy Amazon Music's entire 100 million song catalog in shuffle mode with — drumroll, please — no ads. The colossal expansion is enough to make popular audio-streaming service Spotify — which has a smaller catalog of 80 million tracks — plotz.

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Prime Day, an annual event when Amazon offers exclusive deals for Prime members, has become one of the year's most anticipated shopping holidays. For 2022, Amazon added a bonus Prime Early Access Sale in October.

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Prime members can sign up for a free, one-year Grubhub+ membership, which includes unlimited free delivery from restaurants on Grubhub throughout the year. After one year, the membership auto-renews (unless users cancel the subscription to the perk) for $10 a month.

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Prime members used to get free two-hour delivery on Whole Foods orders over $35, but those days are over. In October 2021, Amazon started charging a painful $9.95 delivery fee nationwide — prompting members to sue the company. But there are still other Whole Foods benefits, including free pickup on Whole Foods orders over $35, as well as discounts like 10% off select items.

This gaming service debuted in 2020, but on an invitation-only basis as Amazon tested it further. But now it's available for everyone, and Prime members get free digital games with their Prime subscription. Each month, at least five new free games are added to the Prime Gaming library. You can also get free in-game content that would normally cost you money, along with a free subscription to a Twitch channel each month. 

Prime members are automatically registered for Amazon First Reads, allowing them to download and read select book titles a month before the release date for free or at a reduced rate.

That's right, unlimited. And there are free apps available to help upload photos to the cloud. Prime members also get 5 gigabytes of storage space for videos and other files. Members who have run out of room on other cloud storage services — or don't have a backup at all — can breathe a sigh of relief.

Prime members can get medications for common health issues for as low as $1 a month when they pay without insurance. This perk expands on Amazon Pharmacy's shopping tool, which allows Prime members to compare prices through its network of 60,000 pharmacies.

If you haven't already stumbled across it, Amazon's Prime Video service not only has thousands of TV shows and movies you can watch for free but also offers original content, including "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," currently in its first season and touted as the most expensive TV series ever made.

This program opens up Amazon Prime shipping to certain third-party retailers, allowing Prime members to complete purchases on the retailer's site and still have them fulfilled through Amazon. The upshot: Prime members aren't subject to the retailers' normal shipping charges and can instead enjoy the free shipping offered through Prime. The service is available by invitation only to select Amazon merchants, but Amazon plans to make the service more widespread in the future.

Until recently, Prime customers could get their packages delivered to their parked cars, but Amazon killed the program, which was part of Amazon Key. But if you're cool with Amazon having access to your garage, it can still deliver packages there if you have a MyQ smart garage opener — a service ostensibly offered to help customers avoid porch pirates, but one that has raised obvious issues about giving a stranger access to your home.

Even seasoned Prime members may be unaware that another adult living in the same household can be added to the membership and access many of the benefits from their own account. One catch: Payment must be made from the authorizing member's credit card. That may be no big deal if the benefits are shared with spouse or a partner, but it could get a bit dicey with, say, a roommate.

Free two-day shipping is the most talked about benefit of Amazon Prime, but members also have the option of free same-day delivery in select locations and on qualifying items with a $35 minimum order. 

Amazon gives Prime members an early crack at its limited-time "lightning deals" — though inconsistent application has led some users to express skepticism. Officially, lightning deals are good only while supplies last and could mean the difference between scoring a deal and missing out.

Prime members get a discount on Amazon Kids+, formerly Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, a service that offers books, movies, shows, apps, and games designed for kids 3 to 12, with no ads or in-app purchases. After a one-month free trial, Prime members pay $5 a month versus $8 a month for nonmembers.

Prime members get unlimited access to a rotating selection of ebooks, audio books, magazines, and even comics. Books can be read on on any device with the Kindle app.

Though opting to get your package more slowly may not seem like a perk, Amazon sweetens the deal by offering a reward or instant discount to make patience more of a virtue. 

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