Amazon Prime Day is officially here. The subscriber-only sale means that you’re going to need to have a Prime membership to shop all the best deals during the summer savings event, but there’s more to the program than just cashing in on deals from major brands.
What is Amazon Prime?
Amazon Prime is the company’s loyalty membership. You’ll have to pay to sign up, but it includes quite a few perks from no-cost delivery, extra savings, access to movies and more that we’ll dive into below.
How much does a Prime membership cost?
If you’re not already an Amazon Prime member, there are quite a few different ways you can sign up. The best possible value is to redeem the free 30-day trial that Amazon offers first-time subscribers. Though, if you’ve already used that in the past, there are some other options to get restarted.
As the default option, Prime memberships start at $15 per month. You can drop the price slightly by paying for all 12 months at once with a $139 yearly fee. That drops each month down under $12 per month. Students with an active .edu email also have the ability to save with a 50% price cut that brings each month down to less than $8.
There isn’t a better time to lock in your membership, especially because we have everything you need to know about Prime Day all summed up now.
What perks does Amazon Prime include?
Saving money with a Prime membership
Amazon likes to lock many of the best deals it offers, especially on Prime Day, behind its membership program. Sometimes it’s getting an extra 20% off an already-discounted item, and other times it’s being able to take advantage of a deal in the first place. But regardless, having a Prime membership means getting the best available prices.
This is the perk that is going to come in handy the most once July 16 rolls around and ushers in all the Prime Day 2024 deals. If you want to participate in the summer savings event, you’re going to need to have an Amazon membership.
Free 2-day shipping
On top of just being able to save on everything under the sun, you’ll also be able to get just about anything Amazon sells delivered at no extra cost. Two-day shipping is a staple of the service and is included with your membership, so essentials, last-minute gifts and anything else you buy shows up at your front door in no time.
Amazon also has some additional options like public delivery lockers for picking up your packages from grocery stores and more. All the different delivery options give you a little extra flexibility in shopping the Prime Day 2024 deals.
Grocery benefits
Speaking of grocery stores, Amazon Prime members also get some added savings on groceries. And not just ones you order online either. Both Whole Foods and the online Amazon Fresh storefront have exclusive Prime member deals, like 10% off hundreds of groceries and offers on reoccurring essentials.
Enjoy movies, TV shows and games
Amazon Prime memberships also get access to a wealth of digital media too. Movies and TV shows that are part of Prime Video are easy highlights to talk about first, but there’s also digital content from Twitch, ebooks, audiobooks and tons of other ways to enjoy your favorite media.
And even more
Amazon Prime memberships come with tons of other perks too. The retailer carries more than just home goods, tech and toys, and allows you to save on prescriptions at 60,000 pharmacies, including Walgreens, CVS and Amazon’s own in-house pharmacy. There’s cloud storage for photos — even at their original, full resolutions — as well as no-cost GrubHub+ upgrades and more.
Do you need a Prime membership to shop Prime Day?
Yes. Just about all the deals that drop on July 16 and July 17 are going to be exclusively available to Prime members. There may be some offers that are open to everyone, but the vast majority of savings will require an Amazon Prime membership.
Bottom line
A Prime membership comes in handy throughout the whole year, but it’s particularly essential for Prime Day. If you don’t already have an account and just want to sign up for a free trial, it’s best to time the promotion so you have it live during the summer savings event.