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11 Amazon Prime Perks You Probably Don't Know About

by Chelsey B. Coombs on October 06, 2016

Most people sign up for Amazon Prime for the free shipping, and that $99 is worth it if you make at least 25 purchases that year. Amazon Instant Video has also added a ton of value to Prime, especially with all the original and new content that’s being added all the time. But there are still lots of perks that most people don’t know about.

11 Amazon Prime Perks You Probably Don't Know About

Free 2-Hour and Same Day Delivery

Amazon Prime members in major cities, like New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Baltimore, among others, can get free two-hour delivery on thousands of items through the Amazon Prime Now app (free on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play). And in those same cities and more, you can get free same day delivery (by 9PM) of even more items. Just check to see if Free Same Day is an option upon checkout. 

Prime Reading

With Prime Reading you have access to a selection of books, magazines, comics and Kindle Singles (short stories from authors including Stephen King and more). 

Kindle Lending Library

With Kindle Lending Library, Amazon offers Prime subscribers that own a Kindle have the chance to borrow one Kindle book per month—on their Kindle device. Just make sure you return the book to the library after you’re done with it so you can get a new one the next month.

Kindle First (Free Book of the Month)

Here’s another opportunity to get a free book with Prime: on the first of each month, Amazon releases a list of six books that have yet to be published. With Kindle First, you get to choose one of the books and read it for free using the Kindle app, before everyone else. Although John Grisham’s or J.K. Rowling’s newest books probably won’t be Kindle First picks, there is a high-quality selection in a variety of genres each month.

Amazon Family (Discount on Baby Products)

Also included in your Prime subscription is a membership to Amazon Family, which is super helpful for people who are expecting or already have little ones at home. If you’ve got Prime, you’ll be able to save 20 percent on diaper subscriptions, along with coupons and baby registry rewards. After creating a registry, Amazon sends you coupons for a free parenting eBook, as well as 25 percent off baby apparel, maternity items and prenatal vitamins. Right now, there’s even a free welcome box with samples of products like baby wipes, formula and baby shampoo. And you’ll automatically save 35 percent on any subscribe and save purchases.

Amazon Household (Prime Benefits Sharing)

If there are two adults living in your household, you can create an Amazon Household in order to share all of your Amazon Prime benefits with another person. 

Prime Music

There are a ton of streaming services out there to choose from, but if you’ve got Prime, you’re already subscribing to one. There are over a million songs, including those by Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Madonna. Their personalized radio stations are also ad-free. You can listen on PC, Mac, Fire, iOS or Android devices, and even download the songs to your device for internet-less situations.

Video Add-On Subscriptions

When you're an Amazon Prime customer, you can purchase add-on subscriptions to premium channels like Showtime ($8.99 per month) and Starz ($8.99 per month) at a discount. And if you have a Fire TV or Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote, you can use voice search to find shows and movies.   

Twitch Prime

Twitch Prime will appeal to anyone who plays video games. The service lets you watch video streams ad-free on Twitch and offers free characters, skins and other bonuses in some of your favorite games.

Video Game Pre-orders and Discounts

Another Prime benefit that is great for gamers — Amazon is offering 20 percent off physical copies of games during the pre-order period and the two weeks after the game’s release. Plus, if you pre-order the game, Amazon guarantees free delivery on release day, so you won’t have to worry about your friends sharing spoilers.

Prime Photos (Free Storage)

Since our photos live digitally these days, they’re always at the mercy of your device. Fortunately, Prime members are able to store unlimited photos in the cloud. All you have to do is upload through their mobile app or through a web browser. You won’t have to worry about your kids’ photos disappearing anymore.

Updated: 10/6/2016 with information on Prime Reading

[Image credit: Amazon boxes via Julie Clopper / Shutterstock.com


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Discussion loading

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From David Lackey on January 21, 2016 :: 12:40 pm


Does not work on apps like Kindle for iPad.

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From Michael Crisci on January 21, 2016 :: 12:47 pm


I have an iPad and a Kindle app and CANNOT use the lending library. Tried for days for an answer from Amazon.

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From Suzanne Kantra on January 21, 2016 :: 1:39 pm


Thanks David and Michael. You are correct. You have to borrow books from a Kindle device first. I’ve corrected in the text above.

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From Fonda Rush on January 21, 2016 :: 12:56 pm


It’s DownTON Abbey. No second “w”. (And, I don’t even watch it.)

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From Debra Coker on January 24, 2016 :: 6:59 pm


Amazon offers free shipping on orders over $35 without having to pay the hefty Prime fee.  I’m patient enough to wait a couple of extra days for my shipment.

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From J.t. Wells on February 23, 2016 :: 2:40 pm


Seems as though,Amazon offers free shipping ONLY on orders over $45 without having to pay the hefty Prime fee. Regularly, I’m patient enough to wait a couple of extra days for my shipment.

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From JMF on April 20, 2016 :: 1:05 pm


The link under Prime Music “ton of streaming services” goes to the wrong place—it goes to a list of free amazon games.

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From Timothy Morgan on October 06, 2016 :: 6:03 pm


Another article indicates that one can read the free materials on Android.  Having a family that has trashed at least a couple of Kindles, and owning a tablet that runs on Windows 10, I’d be very interested to know whether reading may (now or someday) be possible on a Windows device (or a Windows device running an Android subplatform such as BlueStacks.

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From Suzanne Kantra on October 07, 2016 :: 6:37 pm


Kindle Lending Library is only for Kindle owners, but Prime Reading and Kindle First books are for any device. Here are the directions on how to download the app to your or computer (https://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/kcp-landing-page/ref=kcp_short_kindleapps). For Android devices, just download the Kindle app from the Google Play store. Then select Prime Reading or Kindle First book you want to read and select the device you want to send it to. You can sync the books in your library with any device linked to your Amazon account. Hope this helps.

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From dagere on October 07, 2016 :: 7:05 am


nice

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From Patricia A Raines on August 16, 2018 :: 6:50 pm


Is Amazon Prime good for free shipping on all online sales or just items from Amazon?

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From Josh Kirschner on August 17, 2018 :: 9:43 am


Free shipping with Prime works for both items sold by Amazon and items sold by third-party sellers that are shipped by Amazon (many sellers use Amazon’s warehouses to store merchandise and fulfill orders). Third parties who do their own shipping would not be covered for free shipping under Amazon Prime. It will clearly indicate when you are ordering whether an item is covered or not, and you can also screen your searches on Amazon to only show items eligible for Prime free shipping.

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