Amazon Prime, the company’s two-day delivery service, is officially raising its price. Having been the same rate for the past several years, the subscription will now be jumping up from its annual $119 price tag. Head below for everything you need to know about the Amazon Prime price increase.
Amazon Prime price will increase for the first time in four years
Today during its shareholder meeting, Amazon announced that it would be officially raising the price of its subscription. Both monthly and annual plans will be seeing a price hike, with those paying for 12 months at a time now paying $139 per year rather than the $119 it has been since 2018. Students are also going to be affected by the change, with the yearly plan raising by $10 to $69. As for those paying for monthly subscriptions, those are also increasing. Memberships will now go for $14.99 per month, up from the previous $12.99 price.
These subscription changes will go into effect for new members starting on February 18, and then come March 25 for current members. So if you’ve been debating moving from a monthly plan over to the year rate, the clock is ticking to lock in that more affordable price.
Amazon Prime may be most well-known for its two-day delivery perks, but it also includes Prime Video, amongst myriad other benefits. There’s streaming music service access, discounts at Whole Foods grocery locations, and plenty of other offerings bundled into the plans.
The announcement also likely stems from the recent news that Netflix would be raising the rates of its monthly subscription service. And with more and more perks being tacked on to Amazon’s own subscription, the move to raise how much its customers pay likely coincides with rising costs of operation. Not to mention, increased pressure from the competition like Walmart+ on the shipping front.
9to5Toys’ Take:
Well, there is good news and bad news today. Of course, the bad news is that we’re all going to have to shell out extra cash each year to Amazon in order to take advantage of the same perks we have been for years. The good news I suppose is that this is the first time in four years that there has been an Amazon Prime price increase. So at the very least, there isn’t a precedent that would mean we’ll see rates rise again anytime soon. At least hopefully not. But now that Bezos isn’t in full control, I suppose anything can happen.
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