Amazon has an impressive 148.6 million Amazon Prime subscribers, its paid membership service.
The numbers alone can make anyone wonder what this service offers.
However, Amazon has grown into a corporate juggernaut, making some people nervous to move forward
We will cover 15 reasons Amazon Prime is worth $12.99 per month.
Is Amazon Prime Worth It? (15 Reasons It Is)
1. Free Delivery
Online shoppers enjoy the convenience of getting items delivered directly to their homes, and more and more people are taking advantage of the benefits of online shopping as things become more secure and convenient.
In fact, the percentage of sales occurring online grew 504% from 2010 to 2020.
However, most websites charge delivery fees.
All Amazon Prime members can save big in delivery costs thanks to free delivery.
Get more than 10 million items delivered to your home for free in just one or two days without any minimum purchase!
You can also get three million items delivered to you on the same day if you reach a $35 minimum.
Most other items that don’t qualify under the other two categories come with free delivery in two days.
To see a plethora of items that qualify, simply select the Prime option in your search filter while shopping on Amazon.
You will get the option to see all Prime items, or you can filter by items that will arrive by a specific date or time (one-day vs. two-day delivery).
Prime Now
Some things simply can’t wait.
Prime Now, available to all Prime members, can deliver available items within two hours.
Prime Now is only available in certain cities, so enter your location to learn if the service is available to you!
While the Prime Now app will be shutting down by the end of this year, you can find the applicable items in your search results.
Key By Amazon
Some people don’t trust their packages outside all day while they work.
That’s why Amazon now offers a more secure Key by Amazon delivery service free to all Prime members with the proper setup.
This service delivers items into your garage or secure vehicle so that you don’t need to worry about them getting stolen.
To utilize Amazon garage delivery, you will need to purchase a Smart Garage Kit that will allow you (and Amazon) the ability to operate and monitor your garage through an app.
To have packages placed in your vehicle, the car must come equipped with the proper technology.
At this time, Amazon accepts the following programs:
- OnStar
- OnCall
- FordPass Connect
- Lincoln Connect
- HondaLink Remote Package
- AcuraLink Remote Package
2. Amazon Fresh
Amazon launched Amazon Fresh for Amazon Prime members to provide fast delivery on groceries and other everyday items.
You can get your groceries delivered to you in as little as two hours with Amazon Fresh!
All applicable items will pop up once you select the “Fresh” tab while shopping.
Continue adding to your shopping cart until you have finished your shopping.
Once you finalize your order, you will select a two-hour delivery window.
An Amazon team member will gather your items and reach out to you in the case of any unavailable items.
All products will remain at a safe temperature until they arrive.
You can even order alcohol using Amazon Fresh as long as you have your ID!
Whole Foods
For people who prefer to buy organic food exclusively, Amazon also partners with Whole Foods to make shopping for all-natural produce and food items as easy as possible.
In the dropdown menu on Amazon’s website, simply scroll down and select Whole Foods Market to see the available products.
Keep in mind that you cannot combine an Amazon Fresh order with a Whole Foods order as they are separate entities and have different pickup facilities and drivers
Prescription Delivery
It can be difficult for some people to go out and get their much-needed prescriptions.
Luckily, Amazon Pharmacy offers two-day delivery on prescriptions.
Once you set up your account and your prescriptions, Amazon provides you with 24/7 customer service with a pharmacist, easy-to-understand pricing, and automatic refills.
They also offer a discount on certain medications when you pay without insurance.
Just keep in mind that some controlled substances require additional authorization.
Also, not all states allow the service yet.
The five states where Amazon Pharmacy is not yet offered are:
- Minnesota
- Louisiana
- Kentucky
- Illinois
- Hawaii
3. Get the Most Out Of Prime With Alexa
Alexa is the premier virtual assistant found in several Amazon speakers and other products, including the following:
- Amazon Echo
- Amazon Echo Dot
- Amazon Echo Studio
- Amazon Tap
Alexa can do more than you probably ever imagined, helping around the house in numerous ways.
Also, since Alexa is hands-free, you’ll never forget something because you have to wait until your hands are free to take care of it.
Best of all?
Alexa doesn’t cost a dime!
However, only Amazon Prime members get to use all of the benefits that come with Alexa.
In The Kitchen
Alexa can help you in the kitchen by allowing you to add to your grocery list on the spot.
If you need help with your recipe, Alexa can read it back to you.
Alexa can even give you the average number of calories in common foods as well as nutrition tips.
Shopping
If you want to purchase one of your regular items, Alexa can do that for you with a simple command.
If you aren’t sure what item to buy, you can ask Alexa for the highest rated or most popular product.
Track your packages to see the status of the delivery.
You can also use Alexa to rate your products once you receive them.
Productivity
Do you want a reminder to make a phone call or run an errand?
Alexa will set the reminder for you.
Alexa will also set alarms at various times of the day (including repeated alarms), manage your to-do list, and put things on your calendar for you.
Entertainment
Alexa will play music for you while you do chores around the house.
You can also ask Alexa to tell you jokes.
Sick of the standard Alexa voice?
You can upgrade to Samuel L Jackson’s voice.
Pro Tip: the Samuel L Jackson voice provides a lot of laughs, but use the exact commands on the website to get the most out of the upgrade!
4. Prime Video
Prime offers a high-quality streaming platform called Prime Video complete with original content as well as some of your classic favorites in both television and film.
You can watch Prime Video on any smart device, and this option comes free with Amazon Prime!
If you want Prime Video without the Prime benefits, Amazon charges $8.99/month.
Some of the most popular original shows include:
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Bosch
- Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
- Homecoming
You can watch popular shows like South Park, How I Met Your Mother, and House, too!
Prime Video also gives you the ability to rent or purchase a wide variety of television and movies not available for free.
Most other streaming services do not provide this option.
You can also upgrade to include premium channels such as HBO
With Prime Video, three people can watch three different shows on three different screens at the same time.
Prime Video does contain commercials, and it does not offer live television options.
While a great supplementary service, most people prefer having additional television options as well, such as Hulu Live or standard cable, since Prime Video doesn’t have all the content viewers want to watch.
5. Amazon Music
With your Prime subscription, you also get access to more than two million songs on Amazon Music.
To listen to music, simply search for your favorite music in the search bar.
You can listen to a station by searching a genre, artist, or song.
If you really like a particular song, add it to your music for easy reference later
If you’d like, Amazon will pick similar songs for you.
If Amazon misses the mark and plays a song you don’t like, you can simply skip past it.
Amazon uses an intricate algorithm to learn your preferences so that it eventually only picks songs it knows you will like.
You can listen to the songs on the go on your mobile device, even if you go offline.
Music Unlimited
If you don’t find all of the music you like on Amazon Music, upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited.
You get more songs and absolutely no ads.
You also get unlimited skips.
As a Prime member, you get 20% off your subscription which comes with 70 million songs.
If you want to try Music Unlimited for yourself, Amazon offers a 30-day free trial.
After that, the service is $9.99 per month without the 20% discount for Prime members.
6. Prime Gaming
Every gamer can become an ace with the Prime Gaming benefits available to Amazon Prime members.
Get a free channel subscription with Twitch where you can chat with members thanks to your members-only crown Chat badge.
You’ll even get exclusive chat colors and emotes not available to other members.
Furthermore, get access to free PC games and free content.
You’ll also get special discounts on the hottest releases before they become available at retailers.
When you do buy your game before everyone else, you will get it delivered with free delivery.
Only a noob would miss out on everything available to the gaming community!
7. Amazon Photos
With Amazon Prime, you also get access to Amazon Photos.
With Amazon Photos, you can store all of your photos in one safe location by uploading them from your computer onto a simple app.
If you connect your phone, you can upload pictures from your phone.
You can put the pictures into different albums and enter dates for each picture.
Once organized, you can share the photos with your friends and loved ones on any device where you are signed in to your Amazon Photos app.
You can use simple voice commands to make sharing photos easy.
Some of the commands you can use include:
- “Show photos of pets”
- “Show photos from New York”
- “Show pictures from 2019”
Of course, once you cancel your Prime account, you will no longer have access to those photos until you reactivate your services.
Always make a point to store your pictures in a secondary place just in case.
If you have more pictures than you can store, search Amazon for an external hard drive or USB drive for a place to store them safely.
8. In-Store Options
For people who prefer to get out and about instead of shopping at home, you can visit stores in your area to still receive your Prime benefits.
Plus, you don’t have to wait in line!
Once inside, you grab the items you want and go!
All items in Amazon stores have a rating of four stars or higher on the website, so you know that you can trust the quality of the items you buy.
To get inside, you simply use your Amazon app or a credit card attached to your Amazon account.
Amazon Go
Amazon Go provides quick snacks and beverages for people in a hurry.
Some of the items you can purchase include:
- Breakfast
- Coffee
- Wraps
- Sandwiches
- Salads
- Fountain drinks
Amazon Books
Amazon Books brings the same concept to a bookstore, making it so that you never have to wait in line to buy something to read before you board a plane or train.
Amazon Books locations also have toys, electronics, and gifts.
9. Prime Wardrobe
Sometimes we don’t know if we really like a clothing item until we try it on for ourselves.
This discourages the purchase of clothing online.
Amazon has managed to come up with a solution to that problem with Prime Wardrobe.
With Prime Wardrobe, you can have items sent to your home, including shoes and outerwear.
After you try on the different items, you can return what you didn’t like.
You only pay for the items you keep!
You get to select eight items at a time.
The program provides you with simple and free ways to return the items you don’t want.
After seven days, you will be charged for all items if you haven’t sent any back by then.
10. Prime Reading
People don’t read like they used to, but Amazon is bringing literacy back with Prime Reading.
As part of your Prime subscription, you will get free access to thousands of digital books, magazines, and comics.
You can read any of these items on your smartphone or tablet to entertain you when you have nothing to read on public transportation or in the doctor’s waiting room.
You might even learn something or improve your language skills in the process (or not).
11. Prime Savings
Prime subscribers automatically get reduced pricing on numerous items.
However, that’s only the beginning.
Learn all of the ways that Prime members save!
Prime Day
Prime Day is a special day designed to show appreciation to Prime members with exclusive sales.
In 2021, Prime Day lasted two days: June 21 and June 22.
The day not only provides great pricing on millions of items for Prime users but also helps generate sales for the company.
In the United States, Amazon saw $6.17 billion in gross sales in 2020.
Rewards Credit Card
For the savvy shopper, Amazon’s rewards credit card provides cash back at the following locations (as well as a gift card for getting accepted):
- 5% cash back at Amazon.com
- 5% cash back at Whole Foods
- 2% cash back at restaurants
- 2% cash back at gas stations
- 2% cash back at drugstores
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Also, there is no conversion fee when used at places that accept the card overseas.
No Rush Shipping
If you don’t need your items right now, you can opt for “no rush shipping” when you check out.
To thank you for your flexibility, Amazon will automatically apply rewards to your account that you can use at a later date.
12. Convenience
One of the biggest ways Amazon Prime provides value to its clients is through the convenience and time savings it offers.
We don’t all have the time or mobility to go to the store every time we need something. Amazon Prime can deliver products to you so you can focus on the other items on your extensive to-do list.
Amazon Prime also makes things convenient by keeping your purchases in one place.
You can look back through your order history to find products you liked to easily order them again.
Getting to relax on the couch with a glass of wine after work instead of running to the store while you get your groceries delivered to you for free?
Now that’s priceless.
13. Share Your Benefits
Amazon knows that many people like to share benefits with another person.
Amazon allows Prime users to have two profiles under one account.
This makes it so that each person doesn’t get to see what the other person bought, which is especially important around Christmas time.
14. Philanthropy
Amazon understands that as one of the largest companies in the United States, they have a responsibility to give back.
Amazon’s philanthropic efforts ensure that when you shop with Amazon, you are supporting a beneficial presence in the community.
Amazon contributes to a wide range of different causes, helping as many causes and people as possible instead of focusing on one particular cause.
Disaster Relief
When disaster strikes, victims of the chaos left behind may not have access to the basic things we all take for granted.
Amazon’s Disaster Relief Program is organized to send trucks full of supplies to people in need as quickly as possible, providing items such as water bottles, solar lights, and batteries
Covid
Amazon admittedly benefited to some degree during the recent pandemic since people preferred to order items online instead of going to the store.
In return, Amazon donated more than $20 million toward Covid-19 testing research.
Amazon also did its part to keep its employees safe by enhancing safety practices.
Furthermore, they paid out $2.5 billion in bonuses in 2020 to thank employees for their hard work.
STEM
Amazon grew thanks to the internet and technology, and they continue to support math and science by supporting students in those fields by providing free after school coding classes for more than 10 million students.
Children can also join the Amazon Future Engineer program which offers communal and sometimes financial support to students from kindergarten to high school.
Amazon Smile
The Amazon Smile program allows customers to contribute to one of over a million charities to assist.
Once you select a charity, shop as usual at https://smile.amazon.com/, and Amazon will donate 0.5% to the charity you selected.
Just remember to shop using the correct URL!
Amazon has donated $128 million through Amazon Smile so far.
15. Support The Economy
Amazon sometimes gets a bad rep as a monopoly.
However, they provide a great service to the community.
They create numerous jobs.
In fact, Amazon is the second-largest employer in the United States after Walmart.
Amazon also has a reputation for treating employees with respect and even encouraging their professional growth outside of Amazon.
Shopping with Amazon keeps these employees in a job.
Also, Amazon Prime encourages shopping by making it easy.
More money gets spent since people can have items delivered to their homes instead of going out to buy them themselves.
In many cases, people may even find an additional item to add to their cart.
When people spend, it stimulates the economy, which creates a better environment for everybody.
Conclusion
Amazon Prime, when utilized, provides a great value for the small monthly fee.
Not only do you get to enjoy items delivered to you for free, but you also gain access to a large number of media, including books, music, movies, television, and video games.
You can also feel comfortable supporting Amazon as a company that helps drive the economy and give back to the community in numerous ways.
Still, the ultimate win comes from knowing that you don’t have to go out to do the shopping.
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