Amazon announced that it is raising the price of its Prime subscription by $20 next month. After the Amazon Prime price increase, the annual subscription will go up to $119 from $99. The new price goes into effect for new subscribers on May 11, although current members will still be able to renew at the current price until June 15. However, there is a way to lock in your subscription before the Amazon Prime price increase, at least temporarily.
Amazon Prime price increase for most subscribers
The company announced the Amazon Prime price increase on Thursday night, and the prices will be going up on most of the plans. New student subscribers will pay $59 per year starting on May 11, while the current price for that plan is $49 per year. The price increase doesn’t affect subscribers who pay on a month-by-month basis, so their price will continue to be $12.99 a month. Student subscribers on the month-by-month plan will also still pay $6.49 a month.
It should come as little surprise that monthly subscribers aren’t affected by this latest Amazon Prime price increase. The company raised the prices for the monthly plans earlier this year, when it bumped the price up from $10.99 to $12.99 per month. The monthly student price also went up at that time, from $5.49 to $6.49 per month.
Even with the price increase on the annual plan, it’s still a much better deal than the monthly subscription price, although the monthly plans are good options for those who only want to subscribe a few months out of the year, like during heavy shopping periods. Analysts raved about the Amazon Prime price increase in their post-earnings notes on the e-commerce giant’s report. Most expect subscribers to continue shelling out the cash even after the price goes up, and of course, a higher price means more revenue overall and higher revenue per user.
Here’s how to dodge the Amazon Prime price increase… for now
If you don’t mind paying for a year or more of Prime in advance, there is a way to get around the price increase. All you have to do is buy yourself a gift subscription to Prime before the price goes up. Then, after your subscription runs out, use the gift subscription you bought. There are a couple things you should know before trying this out, however.
The gift subscription arrives in the form of a link that you can save in your email for future use. You’ll have to turn off auto-renew on your current Prime subscription and then let it run out so that you don’t have an active subscription. After your current subscription runs out, open the email with the gift link inside and click on it to get your next year of Prime.
Apparently, a few people tried this tactic with the last Amazon Prime price increase a few years ago and have verified that it does work. To buy a gift subscription to Amazon Prime, just click here.
