Since its launch in October 2005, Amazon Prime has bloated to over 64 million members. Sources vary on the actual number, but suffice it to say that nearly half of all U.S. households have at least one member.
From a popularity perspective there are other loyalty programs in the United States and around the world that can boast comparable numbers, but from a benefits perspective, you’ll find it hard to identify a close second.
As of today, Amazon’s website lists no less than 21 major services offered to Amazon Prime Members. Apart from one or two that are charged an additional fee, everything on that list is free. So here goes – the exhaustive list of 21 Amazon Prime Benefits for members in the United States:
- Free two-day Shipping: Offered on eligible items, this was the first perk that Amazon Prime launched. Today, this offer is still the biggest reason people take up a Prime membership.
- Free same-day Delivery: Amazon started offering this on certain eligible items for zip codes where the company had a presence nearby, and could ship out orders almost as soon as they were placed.
- Prime Now: Available in select cities and zip codes, the Prime Now service includes free two-hour delivery on grocery and other items. Amazon says 10,000 items are covered in this offer, including items at local stores based on the user’s location.
- Prime Video: This service offers unlimited streaming of movie and TV programming content. It is Amazon Prime’s basic video service, and contains a growing list of original programming.
- Video Add-on Subscriptions: Prime members can purchase subscriptions to premium content providers such as HBO, etc.
- Prime Music: Access to Prime Playlists and more than a million songs.
- Amazon Music Unlimited: Get discounts on this paid service as a Prime member. Monthly and annual plans available.
- Prime Photos: Access to Amazon Drive and storage of unlimited photos. Can share photos via Family Vault.
- Amazon Restaurants: Amazon offers free one-hour delivery from popular local restaurants in certain zip codes within specified cities. The company has been regularly adding to the list of cities it covers. The service is technically a part of Prime Now.
- Free Release-Date Delivery: Eligible pre-ordered items can be shipped to specific zip codes on the day they are released to the site.
- Prime Pantry: Each Prime Pantry box is charged separately, and can contain grocery, household and pet care items.
- Amazon Dash Button: Each Dash Button is charged, but the amount is refunded after you first press it to place an order. Orders are can be preset on your smartphone, and the Dash Button is then used to order the item it is associated with. Dash Buttons are available for a wide range of products spanning home essentials, beverages, snacks, healthcare, beauty and other categories.
- Amazon Elements: Access to Amazon’s own range of everyday household essentials.
- Early Access on Lightning Deals: Prime members get access to Lightning Deals 30 minutes before non-members.
- Kindle Owners’ Lending Library: Prime members can “borrow” books from the extensive library of content, and “return” them whenever they’re done. No time limit for this, but you will need to “return” the book before you “borrow” another one.
- Prime Reading: Similar to the previous service, but with Prime Reading you can read them using a Kindle reading app for iOS and Android.
- Kindle First: Early access to new books – one a month – from Kindle First picks.
- Audible Channels for Prime: Free access to Audible Channels, which includes unlimited listening to audio series and playlists. Free access to Prime Exclusive Audiobooks containing classics, best-sellers, celebrity-narrated content and so on. Needs the free Audible app to be downloaded and installed on your device, and is accessed through your Amazon account.
- Amazon Family: Discounts on baby products such as diapers.
- Twitch Prime: Exclusive discounts on game CD pre-orders and new releases. Prime accounts can be linked to Twitch.tv to get ad-free viewing. Free Twitch channel subscription every month and special access to free games.
- Membership Sharing: Two adults in a household can share several Prime benefits, such as sharing shipping with your Amazon Business user account.
More recently, Amazon has introduced voice shopping for Prime members who own an Amazon Echo or other device that has Amazon Alexa, the smart virtual voice assistant developed by Amazon. The company has also launched a Prime Day shopping featival exclusively for Prime members, which was held in July, 2016.
There may also be other services not listed that may be related to Prime services. This is the current list as of the writing of this article.
Amazon keeps adding to this list from time to time, and may also change the services they offer. Please visit the official Amazon Prime page on Amazon.com or your country’s portal for more details on these services.
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