It was recently confirmed that the cost of Amazon Prime would rise from $119 to $139 per year, or from $12.99 to $14.99 per month. This is Amazon’s first price increase in nearly four years, with changes taking effect on February 18 for new subscribers.
Many of us probably don’t want to pay any more for Prime than we already do. Fortunately, there are a few workarounds to consider. Here are our few ways to avoid the Amazon Prime price increase in 2022.
Let’s start with something simple. If you don’t already have an Amazon Prime account and want to get Prime this year, make sure you sign up before the deadline.
New Amazon Prime subscribers will have to pay $14.99 per month or $139 per year beginning February 18, 2022. Sign up for a 30-day free trial and then a yearly membership before then, and you’ll only have to pay $119, which has been the going rate for the past four years. This applies to those who pay on a monthly basis. You can change it up and pay for a year of Prime now to save nearly $60 over the course of the year.
Existing Amazon Prime members will begin paying the new prices on March 25, 2022. If you are from the United States, there is a simple hack you can use to pay $119 instead of $139 for at least one more year.
This method entails purchasing one year of Prime for $119 right now while the price is still locked in, and then cancelling your Prime membership before your auto-renewal date. Once your membership has fully expired, simply activate the gifted Prime membership and you’re good to go for another year of Amazon Prime for $119. I’ve also broken these steps down below to keep things as simple as possible.
- Now is the time to give yourself a Prime Membership for $119.
- Make a note to cancel your existing Prime membership.
- Cancel your membership manually one day before it expires (preventing auto-renewal)
- Wait for your membership to expire.
- Activate your “gifted” Prime membership.
If you’re a student, or if you live with a generous student who will graciously share their account, you can save even more money on Amazon Prime with Amazon Prime Student. (A.edu email address is required.)
Prime Student costs $59 per year and includes all of the benefits of a Prime membership (free two-day shipping, Prime Video, etc.) as well as a few extra perks. New members can sign up for a 6-month free trial and then pay $6.49/month or $59/year after the trial period expires.
