Avoid the Amazon Prime price hike with this simple trick
Amazon has announced that it’s increasing the cost of Prime membership for the first time since 2014. Here’s how to avoid it
Amazon UK has announced that as of 15 September 2022, the cost of its Prime membership will be increasing. For monthly subscriptions, the price will rise from £7.99 to £8.99, while the annual membership will now cost £95, having previously been priced at £79.
It’s the first time Amazon has increased the cost of its Prime Membership since 2014, but that won’t soften the blow when everyone’s already feeling the pinch from the cost of living crisis. However, the good news for new customers and monthly subscribers alike is that you can avoid the price hike for a little bit longer with one simple trick.
It might sound obvious, especially when committing to a year’s membership has always saved you money in the long run, but because you can purchase an annual membership at the old rate right up until 15 September 2022, it’s possible to avoid paying more until well into 2023 by signing up for a yearly membership before the increase comes into effect.
For monthly subscribers, the new £9/mth rate will set you back £108 over the year, which is £29 more expensive than committing to a year’s Prime membership today (£79). What’s more, because the price hike is greater for an annual membership (£16/yr increase vs £12/yr increase), committing to a year of Prime will never represent such good value again. Indeed, from September, the per-month cost will rise to £7.91 from just £6.58 for a year’s Prime membership.
How to avoid the Amazon Prime price hike for monthly Prime members
If you’re an existing Prime subscriber, all you need to do is visit amazon.co.uk/gp/primecentral where you can click “See more plans”, then “Annual £79.00/year” before selecting “Switch to Prime Annual Plan on [your monthly renewal date] 2022”.
It’s unlikely you’ll be able to switch to the current annual membership rate once your renewal date falls after 15 September so, in other words, you’ll need to make sure you switch to the annual plan by 14 August at the latest.
How to avoid the Amazon Prime price hike for new customers
If you’re a new customer, it’s even simpler. Just sign up to a 30-day trial by clicking here, making sure to select the annual plan when you do so. To do this, select “See more plans” and then “Prime annual”, before clicking “Try Prime”.
As above, you’ll want to start your free 30-day trial before 14 August, so that you’re charged at the current, lower rate of £79/yr when your membership commences.
Is Amazon Prime worth it?
Arguably the main benefit to Amazon Prime is that you unlock free next-day delivery on thousands of products available from Amazon.co.uk. With standard delivery starting at £3.99 for non-members, if you make more than one purchase a month from Amazon.co.uk, you’ll effectively be in profit.
However, there are plenty of other benefits to a Prime membership aside from free next-day delivery, including having full access to Prime Video (which costs £5.99 on its own) and Amazon Music. A Prime membership also unlocks unlimited photo storage and access to a catalogue of free ebooks via Prime Reading.
For more info about the benefits of an Amazon Prime membership, see our “What do you get with Amazon Prime” guide.
