Is Amazon Prime Worth The Cost Now?

Amazon announced last week that it is increasing the cost of a year of Amazon Prime from $99 to $119. This is the first increase since 2014.

If you have been a thinking about getting Amazon Prime you will want to do it before May 11th when the increase will take effect for new memberships. Renewals will go up on June 16th.

If you are trying to decide if paying the price of $99.99 (soon to be $119.99) a year for Amazon Prime is worth it for your family, I totally understand. My husband and I have been discussing this very thing since ours renews in June. We have paid for Amazon Prime for many years and I definitely feel like I get my money's worth but you will need to evaluate these things for your own family. Here is what you get and why I think it is worth it.

1. Free 2-Day Shipping – This is the main reason we love Amazon Prime at our house. As a busy Mom, I appreciate being able to go to Amazon and quickly be able to purchase something I need. For me, I am more likely to spend more money if I go to a physical store and see all of the cute displays and new shoes! I also do 95% of my Christmas shopping online and much of it is from Amazon. I personally find that I spend less on Amazon because I just buy what I need and I am not tempted to add a few more items to my cart to reach any minimum purchase requirements like I am at other online retailers.
2. Early Access to Prime Lightning Deals – Prime members get 30-minute early access to Lightning Deals. I usually only use this perk around the holidays. It can sure come in handy if you are looking for a great deal on a popular item.
3. Free Prime Reading – With your Prime membership, you will have free access to thousands of books and magazines. We use this feature on a regular basis. When someone needs a new book to read for pleasure or for school, we always look at what is available for free from Prime Reading first.  Another plus is that you can read on your Kindle, phone or any iOS or Android device with the Kindle App.
4. Free Music – We only use this feature occasionally but it is nice to have access to over 1-million songs at no additional cost. One thing to be aware of, if you like to listen to current, popular or new songs, you probably won't find them available for free. You may want to consider Prime Music Unlimted $7.99 mo for one person (non-Prime price is $9.99 mo) to access ALL Amazon music. (You can also sign up for a 30-day trial here. You can also change or cancel at any time.)
5. Free Movies & TV – We got rid of our Cable years ago so we like having access to Amazon Prime Movies and TV. For my family, we use it and Netflix instead of paying for Cable.
6. Free Unlimited Photo Storage on Amazon Cloud –  This perk could save you money if you are currently paying for Cloud Storage somewhere else. It can also save space on your phone if you have your photos automatically saved to Amazon Cloud instead of directly on your phone. You also get free shipping on prints and photo gifts from Amazon with Prime.
7. 20% Savings on Diapers/Wipes – If you have babies and little kids, the convenience of getting diapers and wipes delivered to your door is invaluable. With Prime, you save up to 20% on subscriptions to diapers, baby food and more (must have 5 subscriptions). I used this when our kids were smaller, 20% off plus free shipping can come in handy when you have kids in diapers!
8. Share your Prime Advantages – You can share your Prime advantages with 1 adult in your household. My husband and I have separate Amazon accounts but we share the same Prime account. They have recently added that you can connect your Prime with up to 4 teen accounts. For more information about sharing your Prime Benefits, go here.

One of the best ways to know if you will find Amazon Prime to be worth the cost is to try it out. You can sign up for a 30-day Free Amazon Prime Trial. 

For my family, the free 2-day shipping alone is worth the cost. It is a convience that saves this Momma so much time and energy. I can order new piano books or printer ink or ballet shoes without having to drive all over Utah to find the right ones! The rest of the benefits are all icing on the cake for us.