Amazon Prime Features That Make Worthwhile [2024]

Amazon Prime -As Amazon.com evolves into an online retailer, the company continues to reward its most loyal fans, Amazon Prime members.

An Amazon Prime membership costs $99 per year, or you can buy it monthly for $10.00 per month, but that might make sense for frequent users looking for free shipping, video streaming, and other rewards. (There’s also a $49-a-year program for college students.) If you doubt whether you should try Amazon Prime, look at this roundup of some benefits.

1. Free Shipping Within Two Days

Yesterday, paying for shipping was like waiting a week for a package to arrive. Perhaps one of the maxima appreciated benefits of Amazon Prime is free two-day shipping on over 20 million Amazon items nationwide, without Alaska and Hawaii. It could be an essential holiday crutch, especially for last-minute shoppers.

Of course, there are exceptions to the two-day delivery. More oversized items like a treadmill may take longer but are still eligible for free shipping. Amazon Prime might be worth it if you make many small purchases for less than $49. It is the magic number that gives non-Prime members free shipping.

Non-Prime Amazon shipping is calculated based on shipping and item. Although it depends on your request, here is an example. Based on an estimate on the site for a non-Prime member purchasing a book and DVD totalling just under $20, two-day shipping is $14.97; Two-day delivery is free with Amazon Prime.

If you have an extended holiday shopping list, fast and free delivery as an Amazon Prime member can come in handy. Even if you purchased and shipped items from a physical store, you can quickly pay more than the $99 Prime rate with UPS, depending on the size and weight of your shipment and quantity.

2. I Ship Same Day, Even Hourly

You forgot someone on your Christmas gift shopping list and needed to send a present right away. Amazon Prime also offers free same-day delivery for those who live in the 27 metro areas where the service is provided.

To do this, Amazon Prime members necessity order items worth more than $35. If your order is less than $35, you can still get same-day delivery, but you will pay $5.99 per order. Just aspect for the Prime Free Same-Day logo as you scroll to see what’s eligible. If you place an order earlier than the cut-off time, usually midday, you will receive your order before 9 pm.

3. Video Streaming

When everyone in your house is away for the holidays, you need a good hobby. Being an Amazon Prime member gives you free access to thousands of streaming TV shows and movies.

You can find Prime cinemas and TV shows in the Prime Video group online or on the home screen of the Amazon Video app. New titles are added frequently. For example, HBO TV series is now accessible to Prime subscribers. Fan choices like The Wire and The Sopranos are now available to Prime members. Amazon Prime also creates its programming, like the Golden Globe-winning comedy Transparent. Note that titles are sometimes remove as well.

According to Consumer Reports, in 2015, Amazon Prime was estimated to have more than 17,000 movies and TV shows, compared to just 10,000 streaming titles on Netflix. However, the site noted that Netflix offered more HD titles than Amazon Prime. A standard Netflix plan costs $9.99 per month, or just under $120 per year for the normal procedure, compared to $99 per year for Amazon Prime.

4. Amazon Prime Music

If you’re looking for Christmas jingles or something other than holiday tunes, music streaming could be the answer for you. Although music lovers have many options for streaming music, they can also get a good selection of songs through Amazon Prime Music.

Prime members get an ad-free access to over a million songs, albums, and personalized playlists. As with streaming videos, the Prime Music catalogue is constantly updated and available on any Amazon-enabled device.

At the moment, the selection doesn’t exactly compete with other popular subscriptions like Spotify, which claims to have more than 30 million songs. However, a Spotify Premium subscription costs $9.99 per month, which costs more per year than the $99 Prime plan.

5. Unlimited Photo Storage

For photography enthusiasts, this feature could be handy. By using Amazon’s cloud storage, Prime members can archive unlimited photos for free. If you take many pictures while on vacation, you have the option to save them.

Prime subscribers can upload pictures from their web browser or use Amazon’s free mobile app. Storage is protected, photo backups are automatic (if desired), and users can access photos anywhere. This feature has a bonus: Amazon Photo offers 5GB of free storage space for non-photo files like videos. External solid drives for storing images can cost the price of a Prime membership or more, so it’s something to consider when looking for storage options.

6. Lending Library For Kindle Owners And Kindle First

If you want to kick back by the fire with a good read or two this holiday season, these Kindle plans offer registered Amazon Prime readers free and fast access to books. According to DealNews.com, a consumer savings site, the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library offers Prime members more than 500,000 books, including many bestsellers.

A Prime member can borrow one free e-book every month. Although Amazon Prime members are restricted to one payment per month, they don’t have to worry about return reminders since there are no due dates.

Kindle First gives Prime members “first days” to download one of six editors’ picks for free or at a discount a month before they go on sale. Non-Prime users can sign up for the Kindle First newsletter and download one new title per month at a discounted price one month before it sells.

These features can offer significant savings given the rising cost of e-books. According to the Wall Street Journal, titles from the top five publishers cost an average of $10.81 in Kindle bookstores.

7. Amazon Elements

Another exclusive offer for Prime members is Amazon Elements, the company’s line of essentials. According to its statements, the brand is advertise to families, and the currently available product – baby wipes – is developed based on customer feedback.

Unless you’re looking for new baby wipes that promise durability and softness, you might not be keen on this benefit. However, a press release from the company suggests that more products will be released in the future.

8. First Early Access

For bargain shoppers who like to be on the front lines, Prime members get 30-minute early access to lightning deals on Amazon and special offers on MyHabit.com, another Amazon site that offers up to 60% off designer labels for family and home. With daily events.

If you like making deals and having quick fingers, the Prime Early Access feature can make Prime membership worthwhile and help you with your holiday shopping. Of course, it is vital to recall that there is always a risk involved in selling.

9. First Pantry

Prime members have entree to Prime Pantry, Amazon’s virtual store for those wanting grocery delivery for some of their holiday staples. The program bills itself as a way to buy things on demand rather than in bulk. Members can stock a “pantry” with groceries and household items in everyday packaging for a flat shipping fee. They start at $5.99 per box.

A grocery delivery alternative like Peapod requires a minimum purchase of $60, with delivery fees ranging from $6.95 to $9.95. So if you need less, then Prime Pantry might be a good option. Before you rush to stock your pantry, know that all orders ship by ground, meaning there’s no two-day (or free) delivery.

10. Amazon Mother

Amazon Mom, now called Amazon Family, offers services for parents of small children. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll get 20% off a diaper subscription and a one-time discount of 15% off other items on your baby list. For non-members, it is 10%.

Subscriptions can help you during the holidays by keeping your diaper supply full when you’re busy with hosiery and not stocking up on diapers. However, subscribing and saving are not limited to Amazon Prime members and Amazon family members. To receive the diaper discount, you must opt-in at checkout for the Subscribe & Save option, which allows you to choose the amount and frequency of deliveries (monthly to semi-annually).

For example, if you’re not sign up for Amazon Family, a box of Huggies might cost you $42 instead of $33.60. Coupon deals ranging from baby to household items are also available for Amazon family members.

11. Allocation of Membership

Two adults also four children can share a subscription using the Amazon Household feature. However, as part of this agreement, the two adults on the account also share each other’s payment methods, which is somewhat to keep in mind when setting up your Amazon Household.

The Member Sharing feature offers Prime members more than free shipping. Anyone can easily create a Christmas wish list and buy gifts from a beloved Prime account with this sharing option. You’ll have access to Prime Instant Video, the Lending Library for Kindle owners, Prime Early Access, and subscription and savings offers.