Amazon Prime review: 1 Month Free!

If you’re considering whether to spend your hard-earned cash on Amazon Prime, we’ve got you covered. As a former Prime member of seven years (until 2023), I can provide a detailed assessment of the pros and cons of this service.

First, let’s dive into what you’ll get with a Prime membership. In addition to free two-day shipping on eligible items, you’ll also have access to a plethora of other benefits, including streaming of movies, TV shows, and music, unlimited photo storage, and exclusive deals and discounts.

But is it worth the investment? That depends on your individual needs and preferences. If you frequently shop on Amazon and take advantage of the free two-day shipping, then the membership fee may pay for itself in no time. Plus, the added perks of streaming and discounts sweeten the deal. However, if you don’t shop on Amazon very often or already have other streaming services, the cost may not be justifiable.

Overall, Amazon Prime can be a valuable investment for some and not for others. It’s important to weigh the benefits against your personal usage and decide whether it’s worth it for you.

What is Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime is a membership program offered by the online retail giant that gives members access to a ton of exclusive benefits that regular customers don’t have access to, or would have to pay extra for. And let me tell you, the list of extras is pretty extensive!

With a Prime membership, you can enjoy free two-day shipping on eligible items, unlimited streaming of movies, TV shows, and music, unlimited photo storage, and exclusive discounts and deals. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

In any case, whether or not Amazon Prime is worth it depends on your individual needs and usage. If you frequently shop on Amazon and take advantage of the free two-day shipping, then a membership might be a no-brainer for you. But if you don’t shop on Amazon often, or already have other streaming services, then the cost might not be justifiable.

Overall, Amazon Prime is definitely worth considering if you’re an avid Amazon shopper, but make sure to weigh the benefits against your own personal usage before making a decision.

How much does Amazon Prime cost?

First off, you can try Amazon Prime for free for 30 days. This is a great way to test out the service and see if it’s right for you. If you time your trial for when you need free delivery or during big events like Prime Day or Black Friday, you can really make the most of it.

If you decide to sign up for an annual membership, the cost is £95 per year from September 2022 (previously £79). This might seem like a lot, but if you use two or three of the perks, it can be worth it. In the past, Amazon has offered the membership for around £59 during Prime Day and Black Friday, though this hasn’t happened in recent years.

If you don’t want to pay for the full year, you can opt for a monthly subscription for £8.99 (increased from £7.99 in September 2022). There’s also a cheaper £5.99 option for Prime Video streaming only.

Students can get a discount, with six months free and then three years at £47.49 per year. There’s also a monthly option for £4.49. To get this discount, you’ll need a valid student card.

What you get with Amazon Prime

So, what do you get with Amazon Prime? One of the biggest benefits is free next-day (and possibly same-day) delivery with no minimum spend. This can be incredibly useful if you order from Amazon frequently. Otherwise, non-Prime delivery usually costs £3.99 for media or £4.99 for everything else. You can bring these costs down to £2.99 if you get your order sent to an Amazon “pickup location.”

In addition to free delivery, Prime members also get exclusive access to flash sales like Prime Day and Black Friday, which feature big discounts on Amazon products and other items. While not every deal might be worth it, there are certainly some bargains to be found if you shop smart.

Overall, whether or not Amazon Prime is worth the cost depends on your personal needs and usage. But with free trials and flexible subscription options, it’s definitely worth giving it a try to see if it’s right for you.

Amazon Prime Perks

One of the great benefits of being an Amazon Prime member is early access to “lightning deals.” While I don’t personally check these out very often, if you’re quick, you can buy the daily deals 30 minutes earlier than everyone else, which could make all the difference if you’re after a limited item.

Another big perk of Prime membership is access to Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming service. There are some fantastic exclusive TV shows like The Boys and The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, as well as plenty of other box sets and recent and classic movies. Amazon is also producing more original movies, and recently purchased the legendary studio MGM, so we can expect to see even more films appearing exclusively on Prime.

If you’re a sports fan, you’ll also be pleased to know that Amazon is increasing the amount of sport you can watch exclusively via Prime Video. This includes the US Open and other ATP and WTA tour tennis events, as well as live Premier League football matches. If you’re only interested in the football, you can sign up for Prime for just the two weekends of matches in December, rather than paying for the full year.

Prime Music is another streaming service offered by Amazon, which is ad-free for Prime members. While it has fewer songs than Spotify, it’s a great option if you don’t want to pay extra for premium music streaming. There’s also an extra Music Unlimited service, which you can pay for separately.

For bookworms, Prime Reading offers access to thousands of e-books and magazines every month, including some big titles like the Harry Potter series. There’s also a “First Reads” program where you can pick up a free Kindle book each month from a selection of six or so titles.

Finally, if you’re worried about losing precious photos, Prime Photos offers unlimited photo storage in the cloud, as well as 5GB of storage for other file types. While this isn’t as much as you get with some other services, it’s still a useful perk of being a Prime member.

If you’re a parent, Amazon Prime’s “Amazon Family” is a great feature that can save you 20% on nappies and baby food once you’re a Prime member. Plus, Prime members also get access to Amazon Fresh grocery delivery services, where you can order food from Morrison and Co-op.

While Prime offers a lot of great features, there are some services that you’ll still need to pay extra for, such as Amazon Music Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible audiobooks, each of which cost an additional £7.99 per month. You’ll also need to pay extra for Amazon Channels, which offers extra TV channels like Starzplay and Eurosport.

Is Amazon Prime worth it?

So, is Amazon Prime worth the money? The short answer is that it depends on how much you use the services it offers. If you take advantage of the free delivery, exclusive discounts on Prime Day, and Prime Video, you’ll likely find that the £95 fee is well worth it. However, if you end up spending more money because you’re not shopping around or buying more than you normally would, it might not be worth it for you.

Remember that you can still shop on Amazon without Prime, although you may have to pay for delivery on orders under £20 (or under £10 for books). If you don’t order low-cost items from Amazon very often, it might be cheaper for you to skip the Prime membership altogether.

It’s important to consider your shopping habits and where else you like to shop. If you find that you’re shopping on Amazon more often just because of the free delivery, it might not be the best thing for your wallet.

If you’re not sure if you want to commit to a full year of Prime, you can always try the free trial or opt for a monthly subscription instead. This way, you can pick and choose when to use it based on your needs, like during Prime Day, Black Friday, or when you want to binge-watch some new box sets. Give it a try and see how it works for you!