Amazon has announced that the annual cost of Prime membership will be increasing from $119 to $139. This is only the third time that Amazon has ever increased the price of Prime, with the last increase being 4 years ago when the price went from $99 to $119 and the first increase being 4 years before that when it went from $79 to $99. The price increase will go into effect on February 18th for new members, so if you were thinking of signing up for Prime membership, better do it before then to get your first year at the cheaper price. The renewal price for current members will increase on March 25th. The monthly cost for Prime will increase from $12.99 to $14.99 per month on the same dates.
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Back in the 2005/6 timeframe, the 79.00 was a good deal. Even at 99, I was OK with it. Nowadays, I’ve been using Prime for the Holidays. Then I use the Walmart 98/yr delivery service.
On a minor plus side, Prime membership is eligible for the 5% Amazon credit ($6.95 at the new price) if paid for using the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card. On the very negative side, $119 to $139 is an almost 17% price increase. That said, my renewal is this month, so I suppose I have another year to decide whether or not Prime is still a decent value at the new price.
Good tip on using the Rewards Visa to pay for membership. Thank!
Apparently, “The Rings of Power” must really be made out of gold!
$20 jump in one year??? Getting to the point of “Not Worth It”. I can’t tell you the last time I received a Prime delivery within a couple days. Typically, 4-6 for me now. And I’m tired of them blaming it on Covid. I’ve started shopping local and mainly use Amazon for information only. Plus, Amazon music isn’t much to get excited about unless you pay more for premium. There are a few original shows worth watching (Lord of The Rings of course) but at that price, Amazon’s video catalog is pretty sparse, the old stale series outnumber the newer/original offerings.
FYI, if Prime is getting too expensive for some, look into “Amazon Household” it allows Prime Benefits to be shared with two adults (who could share the subscription costs). *DISCLAIMER* Before anybody goes on a “Moral Tirade” against me, I read the Fine Print and nowhere does it implicitly say the 2 adults must be living at the same address. Link to Amazon Houshold (if it’s ok with Elias):
https://www.amazon.com/myh/households
Fine print or not, not having two adults at the same address in an Amazon household means that both addresses get Alexa notifications, so you either suffer getting someone else’s or you get none. Hardly ideal.
***UPDATE***
I will have to “soften” my critical analysis of Amazon’s Price Increase as I just read, they have secured the rights to produce a new BLADE RUNNER 2099 series. According to DEADLINE, Ridley Scott is producing, and it’s being fast tracked by Amazon as a priority. Truth be told, I was going to hang onto to Prime only until after The Lord of The Rings since it’s about 7 months away then dump it. But now it looks like Amazon is GETTING SERIOUS producing big budget programming to compete with Netflix and every other Streaming Studio so maybe the cost increase is justified.
I stopped being a Prime member when Jeff became political during the 2020 election. I seldom buy from them any more, but when I do I select the free shipping that is days away and they almost always ship it early. 140.00 to watch Prime video. Hell, Youtube TV is cheaper than that, with DVR.
In case you didn’t know, you can subscribe to Prime Video on its own for $8.99/month.
I also realized I was comparing a monthly rate with a yearly rate. Don’t you recon the monthly rates will go up, too?
Snarky comment to follow!
Bezos has accomplished so much at least from a financial basis and Amazon is arguably the most ground-breaking company of the last thirty years. But at times he is amazingly tone deaf. A humble bridge in Holland is being destroyed to accomodate his new choo-choo train, I mean, yacht, and the same day that news is broken, he announces a price hike for Prime?
I’m no fan of Bezos, but just for the record it’s only being partly dismantled (the middle span), it will then be put back together again, and the total cost is being paid for by Bezos personally. Although it is an historic bridge, it has already been through a major renovation a few years back, so it’s not as if it’s original structure is being compromised.
Also, I believe it’s the shipbuilder that is technically paying for it because they built the ship knowing it has no way out in one piece and decided that dismantling and reassembling the bridge was better than finishing the build somewhere else. Funny how “Shipbuilder dismantles bridge” turns into sensational headlines like “Bezos destroys bridge.”
Getting harder and harder to justify the annual subscription especially when none of my deliveries seem to come in two days anymore. And not for nothing, but has an Amazon made enough money all pandemic long?
Not surprised, when you offer discounted price to some, others must pay more.
at least its chepaer than netflix
The subscription model is everywhere now. My thinking is most people won’t be aware they’re paying significantly more due to auto-renewal. By the time they become aware of it, the companies will have made millions. Once they quit, the companies will offer a sweet heart deal, then the customer will pay close to about what the services are actually worth or a tiny bit more.
The new deal expires (silently to most), and again people pay out millions before they realize what’s happening.
Here’s a little advice…if you get subscriptions through Google, install the opinion rewards app. Quick surveys add up. It’s not much but in about the last 3 months Ive gotten enough Google credits to cover my peacock subscription and half of HBO Max. Seems to pay off more if you travel through busy business districts. I do a lot of driving for work.
Cost increases are eventually passed onto the consumer. It’s how capitalism works.
If my membership renews in november 2022, does it make sense to get a gift membership now and sit on it until later in the year? Should I think of it as a $120 investment with a $20 return after 9 months?