Earlier this month, Amazon revealed that it’s raising the price of its premium subscription service to $139 per year starting Friday, February 18 due to “the continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs.”
This comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with the current issues surrounding the global supply chain and economic inflation; however, you’d be right to question the reasons behind the change. Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, for instance, reportedly commissioned the world’s largest superyacht just one day before the Prime price increase was announced. With an estimated net worth of $179.2 billion, I’m pretty sure he could afford to eat the cost of higher wages and shipping expenses.
This is the second time since 2018 Amazon has raised its annual Prime membership fee, which first debuted at $99. And while a few benefits have been added since then, free 2-day (or, in some cases, 1-day) shipping is still the main draw for consumers. Prime Video, Amazon Music Prime, and Prime Gaming are all part of a much longer list of added bonuses.
For anyone who wants everything that comes with Amazon Prime but somehow doesn’t have a membership, the best way to avoid paying more later on is to sign up before the change goes into effect on February 18. The good news is you won’t be affected at all if you’re already signed up, at least not until your next renewal after March 25. That’s when current subscribers will have to pay this new, higher price for the same benefits they have now, if they wish to continue.
Those who pay for their memberships on a monthly basis will see a jump from $13/month to $15/month, amounting to $180 yearly. As expected, the annual membership is still the superior offering in terms of value. Students will college email addresses, too, will have to pay more for their memberships come Friday, as the price is going up from $59 to $69/year.
To sign up for your own Amazon Prime account at the existing $13/month or $119/year rate, choose your plan here.
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