Amazon Prime gives its users free access for a short duration of time. Although its only for a couple of months, having free Amazon Prime will help you save some money. Amazon Prime is one of the most used shopping subscriptions found in the internet today.
You can estimate that at least four out of five households in the U.S. subscribe to Amazon Prime. Besides, the app comprises of other features namely, Prime Reading, Prime Video and Whole Foods discounts, which will help you save some cash on shipping costs. If you’re a frequent customer on Amazon, they have a two-day shipping plan that’s completely free and you can use to your advantage when shopping for your items.
Amazon Prime is also a pretty expensive app. They charge $119 for yearly membership, or $12.99 for a monthly plan. You cannot avoid paying the charges because they are fixed. However, there are some ways for you to get discounts especially if your crafty and willing to work for it.
Ways of Getting Free Membership for Amazon Prime
There are different ways of getting free Amazon Prime but only for a certain period of time. Although the free access will be for only a couple of months, it will help you save some of the money on your budget.
1. Sign up for a 30-day free trial period on Amazon Prime
Every new member is eligible for a 30-day free trial period on Amazon Prime. However, you can only access this free trial period if you have an account, so don’t misuse it.
Once you’ve registered for the free trial, you’ll be able to use most of features on Amazon including the Kindle Lending Library, Prime Music, Prime Video as well as a free two-day shipping. Make sure you use all the services they offer so that you have a feel of how they operate and whether you’d like to use them in future.
Don’t forget to include a “cancel Amazon membership” reminder to your calendar for when the 30 days are over. This will prevent you from getting charged if you no longer want to use Amazon Prime.
Related: How to Watch Netflix for Free
2. Join Amazon Student
If you’re still in college, there’s a free trial Amazon Prime Student membership for 6 months. When the free trial is over, you’ll need to pay half the amount that’s normally charged which will only cost you $6.49 monthly or $59 yearly. The membership can be used for four years and then your subscription will be renewed automatically for regular membership.
Students don’t necessarily need to sign up using their school email addresses. However, you’ll need to provide one so that Amazon can verify that you’re a student.
Are Prime and Prime Student different?
No. Note that if you’re using the Amazon Prime Student free trial you might not be able to use some of its features like the Kindle Lending Library which you can use to borrow different Kindle books for free. However, once you transition to the paid version of Amazon Prime, you’ll be able to access them.
How to get a refund for Prime Student (if necessary)
If you don’t want to continue using Amazon Prime Student, you can just ask for a refund. You’ll have to contact customer service representative so that they can assist you with the refund process. This might require you to call Amazon or chat with them through their online support system.
How to cancel your free trial on Prime Student or Amazon Prime
Cancelling your membership is pretty easy and you can do it whenever you want by logging into you Amazon account and going to “Your Account”. Select “Prime” which is found on the top part of this section. Finally, when you get to the Amazon Prime’s main page, click on “Manage Membership” followed by “End Membership.”
Once your membership on Amazon Prime Student is cancelled, your six-month free trial will be withdrawn. You’ll still be able to pay for the membership whenever you want one, but you have to qualified for one.
3. Go for a Sprint Smartphone Subscription
If your cell phone plan is a Sprint Unlimited Premium one, you’re eligible for a free subscription provided by Sprint for Amazon Prime. If you already have an existing Sprint plan, you’ll still be able to get a subscription for Amazon Prime. However, you’ll be required to pay $12.99 each month, which is the same amount for membership on Amazon Prime.
This a great way of combining two bills so that you don’t have end up paying for a subscription on Amazon Prime separately, which will cost you even more. Paying a monthly fee of $12.99 means that you’ll be paying $155.88 yearly, which is more by $36.88 every year than what it would cost you for a membership on Amazon Prime per year.
4. Join a Metro by T-Mobile phone plan
After signing up for a cellphone plan on Metro by T-Mobile, you’ll automatically receive free subscription for Amazon Prime. For a phone plan costing $60 each month, this is a pretty great deal.
Once you register for the Metro by T-Mobile phone plan, you’ll receive a n activation code which you can use for free subscription on Amazon Prime. If you’re already a member of Amazon Prime, you’ll need to cancel the membership first or wait until it expires before you can reactivate it using the code you received from MetroPCS.
5. Use Your Amazon Business Prime account
Amazon Business Prime accounts don’t have the same features found in normal Amazon Prime accounts like Prime Reading, Prime Video and Amazon Fresh. If you’re only interested in the free two-day shipping provided for all your Amazon transactions, you can look into using an account with Amazon Business Prime because they offer this.
Self employed people can even write off the expenses they accrue on Amazon Business Prime as business costs. One account that is being used by three people costs $179 every year.
6. Get a Free Month Access from Amazon Prime for a Late Package
This isn’t a guaranteed method, but you can always try it out. If you a member of Amazon Prime and you receive your package later than it was scheduled to arrive, you can reach out to customer support and claim for compensation which can be given as a free Amazon Prime for one month.
If you persistent, courteous and descriptive when communicating with customer support, it will increase your chances of getting what you want. Make sure to let them know that you’ve been a loyal customer of Amazon Prime and that receiving your package later than it was scheduled to arrive inconvenienced you.
If they don’t give you free access on Amazon Prime for one month, you might be given something else like a refund for what you purchased or an Amazon gift card.
How to Get Affordable Membership for Amazon Prime
If you’re not able to get free subscription for Amazon Prime, you can as well try to get it at an affordable price.
1. Share the Charges with Friends
Since you might already be sharing Netflix and Hulu accounts with your friends, you can do as well share one Amazon account with some of your friends. Amazon has a feature that allows the use of multiple credit cards and addresses allowing multiple users to have a single package shipped to their home using free shipping.
Every user will have to include their credit card information to the Amazon wallet section of the account. You don’t have to worry about the other users being able to see your credit card number because it will be concealed. They only information that they’ll be able to see is your name, the last four numbers on the card and the expiration date.
Ensure that everyone is using their own address and card when checking out. This way you won’t be charged for someone else’s items or get a surprise package at your address.
2. Register for Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
Although there’s no free membership for Amazon Prime when you use Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, you’ll get a 5% cashback for everything you buy on Amazon. You’ll also receive a 2% cashback at drug stores, restaurants and gas stations, and a 1% cashback for every other purchase you make.
If you’re only applying for the card so that you can get cashbacks for the purchases you make on Amazon, you’ll need to spend at least $2,380 yearly on Amazon before you’re eligible for membership on Amazon Prime. Meaning you’ll have to spend $200 on a monthly basis, which may be more than what you intend to spend.
Even though you’re going to be using the card to take care of some of the costs of your membership on Amazon Prime, it will be worth it. apart from cashback bonuses, you won’t be required to pay an annual fee. Just ensure that the card is paid for in full every month so that you don’t need to be charged an interest on your balance.
Related: 16 Best Apps for Getting Cashback for All Purchases
3. Check Your American Express Card
Do you have an American Express card? If you do, you can get free membership on Amazon Prime from a special promotion. There are various offers that are done periodically, so if you’re Amazon Prime account doesn’t any special offers at the moment, you might be lucky to get one in future.
If you’d like to know if you qualify, just log into your account and look for section with “Annex Offers and Benefits”, where there are details about these special deals. Go through the fine print for any available offer for a discounted or free membership on Amazon Prime.
In general, the offers can only be activated if you apply for your Amazon Prime membership using your American Express card. But you’ll receive a statement credit that will make the transaction completely free.
You Need to Work for Free Membership on Amazon Prime
You can easily get membership on Amazon Prime for free or at a discounted price. However, it won’t be completely “free” because you’ll be using some of your time in exchange. At some point all the work and effort you put towards this might not be worth it, and it would be better to pay for the annual charges.
In addition, there already several offers available on Amazon for free services. For instance, if you don’t have membership, there are instances where they offer free standard shipping if the items are worth $25. You’ll also be able to pay for Amazon Video separately.
However, if you’re really looking for free membership for Amazon Prime, there are different ways to achieve this. You just need to put some effort into the venture.
