Last Day to Lock in Amazon Prime Rates

As I mentioned last week, Amazon is increasing their rates for both their Prime and Prime Student membership. Regular Prime is increasing from $79/year to $99/year, while Prime Student is increasing from $39/year to $49/year.

• If you do not currently have an Amazon Prime membership, the new rate will go into effect TOMORROW, Wednesday March 20, 2014. To lock in the current $79 rate, you must purchase a membership today. Or, first sign up for a trial membership to at least get free months out of your membership.
• If you currently have an Amazon Prime membership that is set to renew prior to April 17, you’ll still be locked into the current $79 rate for the remainder of the membership year.
• If you currently have an Amazon Prime membership that is set to renew on April 17 or afterwards, the annual fee will be at the increased $99 rate (although some have received emails regarding future fees giving a grace period to lock int he $79 rate)

Loophole to continue with the $79 annual fee year after year… You can currently purchase a gift membership for $79 (last day to do that is TODAY) to lock in the reduced rate for another year after your membership year expires. You can purchase as many gift memberships as you desire to continue this $79 fee for as many years as you desire! The membership year does not start until you open the email you receive and activate the membership.

Steps to do this properly:

• First, you will need to Edit your membership subscription. You can do this here. Select the “End Membership” button and on the next screen select “End Later.” The date it ends will depend on your specific account. This will allow you to keep your membership till that date, but ensure it does not auto-renew. The reason to do this is so your membership does not auto-renew at the higher fee.
• Buy an Amazon Prime Subscription Gift. When you go to checkout for this purchase you are able to select the date you want the Amazon Prime gift delivered to the recipient. Select the date after your current Amazon subscription ends. So if it ends October 28, 2014, select October 29, 2014. The only reason to select that date is it serves as a reminder to set up your Prime account again. You can set the date to send the email immediately just do not activate the membership until your current membership is over. If you have a membership while trying to active a gift membership it will convert the gift membership into a $79 gift card.

Difference between Prime vs. Student vs. Amazon Mom:

• Prime: Free two-day shipping and your membership can be shared between 5 other people. You can get a 30-day free trial here.
• Student: Must have a .edu email address (which anyone can set up at a local community college); free two-day shipping, but you CANNOT share your membership with other people. You can get a 6-month free trial here.
• Amazon Mom: An add-on to the Prime membership (although only valid for the primary member, not the additional shared members) where you can get 20% off diapers, wipes, and some other baby related items through the Subscribe & Save option. You can get a 3-month free trial here.

If you are looking to purchase an Amazon Prime subscription, you might as well sign up for the free trial first. You can always cancel the trial if you feel you are not getting the value. After the trial you will then pay the $79 rate for the year (or $39 for the Amazon student trial). For those that join through the trial route first, you can still take advantage of the ongoing $79 rate with the Subscription Gift method. When purchasing the gift you can only set a date out a year from now, but you can still purchase the gift and not activate it till the membership ends.

Going through the Loophole above will take about a minute of your time and well worth it to save $20 a year! You can purchase an Amazon Prime Subscription Gift here.