8 Things About Your Prime Membership You Might Not Know

I’ve had my Prime membership for just about a year now. I initially signed up for the free 2-day shipping, which recently began to include Sunday delivery here in Springfield – woohoo!

And honestly, the best stuff to watch right now is all on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Video.

So I decided to give it a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I figured that the membership would pay for itself within the first few months just on the shipping savings alone. And in certain cities, Amazon offers same day delivery! Enter your zip code here to see if your city qualifies.

I’ve been really happy with it so far and the longer I have my membership the more perks I realize I have. I like perks, especially perks that are going to save me money. I thought I’d put together a post on the top 8 things I didn’t know. About this anyway. The list of things I don’t know about in general is much, much longer than 8 items. ?

Amazon Prime Membership Perks

Unlimited cloud storage for your photos

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Amazon provides unlimited cloud storage for your photos and you can share with up to 5 people. And if you download the apps you can share across multiple devices as well. There are apps for iOS and Android. There isn’t support for Windows phones. As a former Windows phone user, I can tell you that nothing works with a Windows phone. There’s also a version you can download to your desktop as well, which does work with Windows. Go figure. I downloaded Amazon Drive and backed up all my content. Of course, there are so many options for storage now I’m sure that I have at least 5 copies spread out over Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox and who knows where else. In case of catastrophe, I’m good!

Prime Rewards on Amazon credit cards

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I had an Amazon Rewards credit card to take advantage of the 0% introductory interest rate. Once I became a Prime member I received a fancy new card in the mail and a new set of benefits. I now get 5% cash back at Amazon vs. the 3% I previously got. There’s also 2% cash back on purchases from restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores and 1% cash back on everything else. I have the Visa card but you also get the 5% on the Amazon store card too. Plus with the store card, there are special financing options available to you. It can sometimes be a pain to keep track of a bunch of different rewards or miles cards but this is Amazon. You can easily apply any points directly to your purchases.

Guaranteed Release Date Delivery

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Prime members get guaranteed delivery on the date of the release for certain eligible pre-order items like books, music, and movies. Available to zip codes within the continental United States only. I would imagine that gamers would be particularly happy with this benefit. I’m not a gamer but I know the hype that’s involved with new game releas

Prime Sharing allows you share Prime Membership benefits with another adult in your household

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Both adults have to link their separate Amazon accounts using Amazon Household. If payment sharing has been enabled, the benefits that can be shared include Prime Shipping, Prime Now (where available), Prime Video, Prime Photos, Audible Channels, the Kindle Lending Library, Prime Early Access, special pricing on Amazon Music Unlimited and Kindle FreeTime Unlimited subscriptions and 2% rewards when you reload your Amazon Gift card balance. You can share Family Vault and Twitch Prime with any family member if they meet the age requirement.

Kindle First gives you one free eBook each month from the Editors Picks

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I’ve taken advantage of this one since I learned about it. Every month you’ll be sent a list of 5 or 6 Editors’ Picks. You have the option of choosing one of them for free. These are all brand new books scheduled for release the following month so you’re given the option to read them first! Usually, all the books are from a different genre – fantasy, thriller, romantic – so you should be able to find one that you’ll like. I’ve been able to discover a few new authors I probably would never have found if it hadn’t been for this Prime membership perk.

Amazon Video

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Amazon is starting to make some moves to align themselves with the big boys in this space, namely Netflix and Hulu. Amazon Video offers a steady stream of quality original programming like Goliath, Bosch and the award-winning Transparent. This content is only available with a Prime membership. Added to their already impressive lineup of movies that are both free and available to rent,  I can see Amazon becoming a real contender. Yep, the day when it’s easy to cut the cable cord has already passed. The day when cable and satellite are completely unnecessary is rapidly approaching.

Audible Channels

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Only certain channels are available with Prime, however, there’s a free 30-day trial available if you’re interested in more. Everything from Prime Exclusive Audiobooks to comedy, historical fiction, and current events are included. Go to Amazon.com and enter your information. Download through the link you’re sent or else it won’t be connected to your Prime Membership.

Prime Pantry

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If you’re not familiar with Prime Pantry, it’s Amazon’s grocery and household product service. Prices are competitive and you can also use manufacturer’s coupons. Each item you choose fills up a certain percentage of the “box”. Shipping is a flat $5.99 unless you buy five qualifying products and then shipping is free. You don’t need to fill a box to 100% in order for them to ship it and the size of the box changes depending on what you have in there. I’m really not sure what the purpose of it is but Amazon is offering 15% off your first order so it’s worth checking out!

And a bonus…

Whole Foods (coming soon!)

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We’re already starting to see the integration of Whole Foods products into Amazon’s massive catalog of items. Whole Foods private label products like 365 Everyday Value and Whole Foods Market are now available through Prime Pantry and Prime Now. Going forward, the Prime Membership will be the customer rewards program for Whole Foods which means members will have access to certain deals and products that non-members do not. Also, Amazon Lockers will be available at some Whole Foods locations which will allow customers to pick up items they’ve ordered online or to return products as well.

There you have it. I was completely unaware of some of these. If you join for a specific reason like the free shipping you might not know either! For a full list of all the benefits associated with Prime, you can go to this page and read up on it. If you go all the way to the bottom they are all listed. Happy Amazoning!

If you’re not yet a Prime member but would like to sign up, Amazon offers a 30-Day Free Trial.

Are there any benefits that you love that I didn’t mention here? Let us know in the comments!

Be sure to check out my post on farmhouse decor on Amazon that’s under $20!