(NewsNation Now) — Amazon Prime’s first price hike since 2018 goes into effect today for new subscribers.
The annual cost is going from $119 to $139, and the monthly rate is increasing from $12.99 to $14.99.
For those who already have Amazon Prime, the change doesn’t take effect until next month— March 25, 2022. But for new subscribers, it starts Feb.18. Those who signed up for a Prime membership before this date were able to lock in that $119 rate for a year, but that offer has now expired.
Netflix also recently raised its prices, by about $1 or $2 per month, for all three subscription plans in January.
There are options for those who don’t want to pay more for Prime. T-Mobile offers a wireless plan that includes Amazon Prime, and students enrolled in two or four-year college get a discount with Prime Student that’s now $7.49 a month or $69 a year with the price hike.
For those with Medicaid, EBT and other forms of government assistance, Prime is available for $5.99, though it will go up to $6.99 later this month.
Good news for those who don’t want Amazon Prime but still want free shipping: You don’t need a membership. Shipping is free from Amazon on orders of at least $25 worth of eligible items, denoted with “FREE Shipping” on the product page.
If watching what’s on Prime Video is all you want to do, you can still get a 30-day trial of it, with the service costing $8.99 after that.