One of my biggest ways to save money is by using Amazon Prime. Why? Because there are so many Amazon Prime benefits that I really do get to save a proverbial boat load of money. The thing is though that a lot of people don’t realize exactly how many benefits Prime has. A lot of people think that the only benefit to Prime is free 2-day shipping. Let me tell you, if that what you have been thinking, you are missing out! There are 27 different Amazon Prime secrets that you might be missing out on and each one can help you save money!
The beauty of Amazon Prime is that it really is a program that offers something for everyone. Whether the biggest draw for you is the shipping or not, I am 100% positive that you’ll find a reason to love Amazon Prime. For us, we use Amazon Prime to save money on groceries, we use it to watch tv online for free – I actually have it streaming in the background as I type this – and more. Amazon has done a truly amazing job at giving their Prime subscribers a real benefit and I’m sure that they’re not done yet. They always seem to be trying to outdo themselves which tells me that there will -hopefully – be more Prime benefits added in the future.
Amazon Prime Secrets You Might Be Missing Out On
If you’ve never been a Prime membership, the very first benefit for you (and one that is not included in the 27 Amazon Prime secrets below) is the fact that Amazon offers a free 30-day trial to Amazon Prime for those who have never had a Prime account before. This 30-day trial is long enough for you to really gauge how much benefit your family will personally receive from buying a Prime membership.
If you are wondering how getting a deal online can save me money, I have a system that I created that earns me over $225/mo in free Amazon gift cards. That combined with the other ways to earn free gift cards online that I use keep me from having to spend cash when I shop online at Amazon. In addition to that, I often shop through Rakuten too. Rakuten is a cashback site which means that they get paid a small percentage when I shop through them. They then turn around and pay me a portion of that percentage back in cash. It’s a great program and if you’re new to Rakuten, they will give you a free $10.00 gift card of your choice when you sign up for an Rakuten account and make your first qualifying $25.00 purchase.
Amazon Prime Secrets #1 – Obviously, the most well-known Amazon Prime benefit is free 2-day shipping. Prime members receive free 2-day shipping on thousands of items sold on Amazon.com. This shipping benefit can come in handy when you need an item in a hurry.
Amazon Prime Secrets #2 – Another shipping benefit that not everyone knows about is free same day shipping or one day shipping for Prime members in select areas. We currently live in one of the areas that offers it and I can tell you that it can be a lifesaver for a homeschool mom. Just yesterday I had to order craft blocks with a quickness for a project that she was doing today.
Amazon Prime Secrets #3 – Another great benefit to having an Amazon Prime account is the free online streaming of thousands of t.v. shows and movies with Prime Video. We don’t have cable so we only get to watch tv online for free and Amazon Prime Video makes it so easy! My husband loves that he can get awesome movies, I love that I get to geek out on documentaries and my Emma loves that she can watch videos for school. Okay, I may be stretching the truth on that last one, but she does love it for her own favorite t.v. shows!
Amazon Prime Secrets #4 – Another video benefit to Prime is the option to subscribe to Amazon Channels. These channel subscriptions are all priced at very affordable prices per month and allow you to keep watching any premium t.v. shows that you might currently be watching. Even better is that most of the Amazon channels offer a free 7-day trial! That is 7-days of premium t.v. and movies totally free! We currently have the Starz subscription which gives us amazing family movies for only $8.99 per month!
Amazon Prime Secrets #5 – One of the biggest ways to save money with Amazon is with Prime member exclusive pricing for certain items. These prices are usually quite a bit less than what non-Prime members pay. This savings can really add up and depending on how often you shop on Amazon, it could easily pay for your Prime membership in only a month or two!
Amazon Prime Secrets #6 – Amazon also offers Prime members exclusive Amazon coupons to help you save even more money. These coupons can be for anything from diapers to tomato sauce to your patio furniture! If you watch the Amazon coupon page, you’ll get a good idea of exactly how much money you’ll be able to save with them.
Amazon Prime Secrets #7 – Looking for a few great ways to save money on groceries? Amazon Prime has you covered with the Prime Pantry. With prices that are comparable to brick and mortar grocery stores and even more Amazon coupons , you can save a significant amount of money. There is a shipping cost of $5.99 per 50 lb Prime Pantry box, but it is easy to get this free too. When you’re placing a normal order, choose “No Rush shipping” for it. You will be given a $5.99 Prime Pantry credit to cover shipping.
Amazon Prime Secrets #7 – If you’ve got a little on in diapers, on formula or a child that you buy toys and games for, you’ll love the benefit of being an Amazon Family member! Amazon Family members save up to 20% on everyday items for kids! This includes diapers, clothing, wipes, formula, toys, games and more! That 20% savings will really add up!
Amazon Prime Secrets #8 – Have a Kindle? Prime members can borrow free books with the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library! Each Prime member can download one free book per month! Keep it as long as you’d like and return it when you’re done! It’s like bringing the public library to your fingertips! Don’t have a Kindle? You can download the Kindle reading app totally free! It works on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and more!
Amazon Prime Secrets #9 – In addition to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, Amazon Prime members have access to Kindle First. Each month, Amazon lists two books that haven’t been released yet. Take your pick between the two and download the Kindle book for free! Don’t have a Kindle? You can download the Kindle reading app totally free! It works on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and more! Want to read unlimited books for free? You should check out the Kindle Unlimited program. You can download thousands of books totally free every month including my own book, Six Dollar Family!
Amazon Prime Secrets #10 – This is probably my favorite benefit of being a Prime member. Amazon Prime Now offers free 2-hour shipping on tons of items! Simply hop onto the Prime Now website or download the Prime Now app and shop! Check out and 2 hours later it’s at your door! You will have to pay for a $5.00 tip for your driver, but the fact that you can use Amazon gift cards totally makes up for that! A lot of the time I only pay for the tip! New Prime Now customers currently get $10.00 off of their first delivery!
Amazon Prime Secrets #11 – Love music? You’ll love the Amazon Prime benefit of Amazon Music Unlimited! Listen to all of your favorite music from your favorite artists! This service is really legit! So much so that Amazon Music Unlimited is the only place online that you can stream Garth Brooks music. I know that won’t matter to most, but I personally am a huge Garth fan! Even better is that Amazon offers a free 30-day trial to Amazon Music Unlimited for both Prime and non-Prime members!
Amazon Prime Secrets #12 – Up next is the Prime benefit of free Amazon Prime photo storage! This alone is worth more than $12.00/mo! Store thousands of family photos on Amazon’s cloud for free! I personally use mine as a backup so that no matter what happens to my computer, I still have my family pics!
Amazon Prime Secrets #13 – If you’ve got a home service you need done such as a home repair or deep cleaning, don’t pay for expensive ranking services. Instead, opt for Amazon Home Services! You’ll get access to reliable service providers that will do the job right!
Amazon Prime Secrets #14 – Did you know that college students get free Amazon Prime for 6 months with Amazon Student? They sure do! The freebie is provided by Sprint and is for college students only. You will need a .edu email address to sign up for it. This Amazon Prime benefit is invaluable to the college student who is just striking out on their own.
Amazon Prime Secrets #15 – Already an Amazon Prime member? You can score $5.00 FREE Amazon Gift Card for every person that you refer to Amazon Prime! Your credits are given after they place their first $5.00 (or more) order and are valid for 1-year after they qualify. This could be a fantastic way for you to save money!
Amazon Prime Secrets #16 – Know those lightning deals that we all love so much? Amazon Prime members get early access to lighting deals! This means that at Christmas when you’re searching for a hard to find item that you get first crack at it! I can’t tell you how many times this has saved my bacon during the holidays!
Amazon Prime Secrets #17 – Did you know that Amazon has their own brand? Yes they do and it is exclusive to Prime Members! Amazon Elements products currently include Amazon Elements supplements and baby wipes at really great prices! Since this brand is only available to Prime members, you know you’re getting the absolute best price Amazon can give you!
Amazon Prime Secrets #18 – Need to declutter and want to earn free Amazon gift cards at the same time? You need to check out the Amazon Trade-In program! Trade in items that you bought on Amazon or anywhere else for exchange for Amazon gift cards! They will let you trade in books, video games, dvd’s, electronics and more! We are currently using this program heavily at the moment to build up our Amazon gift cards to purchase a solar power system for our RV once we launch on our full-time RV journey.
Amazon Prime Secrets #19 – In addition to the regular Amazon trade-in program, you can also trade in textbooks. The Amazon textbook trade in program is great for students who are wanting to get a bit of the money they spent on college put back into their pocket! If you’re headed into college, you can use Amazon to save money on college expenses too with the Amazon textbook rental program.
Amazon Prime Secrets #20 – Another awesome benefit for those who are lucky enough to live in the areas that are currently serviced is Amazonfresh. Amazonfresh is just like doing your regular grocery shopping except you’re doing your grocery shopping on Amazon! You can order fresh produce, meat, milk and more!
Amazon Prime Secrets #21 – One big and often unknown Amazon Prime benefit is that Amazon will often refund the price difference on TV’s that you buy on Amazon but find elsewhere for less. You have to call in within 7 days of your purchase in order to have a chance at getting the difference refunded. This one isn’t a guarantee though so make sure that you’re super nice when you call in. You may just get lucky!
Amazon Prime Secrets #22 – Amazon Prime members who like games will love this benefit! You can score free Kindle or Android games and apps from Amazon Underground! Each day they also add free Apps of the day that are free too! These downloads are 100% free for Prime members!
Amazon Prime Secrets #23 – If you love to read, but don’t have time, you’ll love this Amazon Prime benefit! Prime members get free access to Audible Channels! That means you can score free audio books without paying a monthly subscription fee on top of your Prime fees!
Amazon Prime Secrets #24 – Prime members who love video games will also love the fact that they they get a free subscription to Twitch Prime with their membership! You’ll need to sign up for a Twitch account first and then connect your accounts via the Twitch Prime webpage.
Amazon Prime Secrets #25 – With that Twitch Prime membership also comes the ability to score deep exclusive discounts on boxed video games sold on Amazon! This could be a huge help at the holidays!
Amazon Prime Secrets #26 – Twitch and Prime members also get the Prime benefit of receiving free in-game rewards! This is a huge benefit to gamers and may make signing up for Amazon Prime worth it for them!
Amazon Prime Secrets #27 – Probably the most overlooked Prime benefit is the ability to choose how you pay. You can choose to pay yearly at $99.00 per year or you can choose to pay monthly at $10.99 per month. For those that are already living paycheck to paycheck, this option could mean the difference between being able to pay for Prime and not being able to. The lower payment option is more per year, but if your budget is tight, you may find that there is a Prime benefit that will allow you to drop another service that you’re paying more to have (cable tv for instance).