8 Lesser-Known Benefits of Amazon Prime

The world leader in online retail, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), runs one of the most successful retail membership programs: Amazon Prime. It has attracted millions of customers who pay to receive a number of benefits. Its primary features include:

• Free two-day shipping with flexible delivery options
• Access to Prime media content that covers thousands of movies, songs, TV programs, games, and audio broadcasts
• Shopping benefits and rewards, including 5% back for members with an Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card
• Alexa-assisted shopping with early access to exclusive brands and deals
• Free subscription to Kindle books and magazines
• Free grocery delivery through the Amazon Fresh service

Beyond these benefits, there are other, lesser-known offers available for members. Investopedia offers a peek into a few of them.

Get Paid for No-Rush Delivery

While Prime members are entitled to free two-day guaranteed delivery with many flexible delivery options, they can capitalize on their available time by opting for no-rush delivery. At checkout, if members select the free no-rush shipping option, they receive a discount that is applied to the order at checkout or a promotional reward that is automatically applied to the customer’s account toward a future purchase once the no-rush package ships.

However, canceling the no-rush shipping order or changing the delivery option will cancel the discount or reward.

Prime Wardrobe

Amazon offers Prime Wardrobe, which allows Prime members to try on fashion items at home as well as free returns of unwanted items. Prime members can pick three or more items of clothing, shoes, or accessories that are then shipped to them. The customer then has seven days to try on the merchandise and they keep only the stuff they want. This offering is similar to other popular subscription clothing boxes like Stitch Fix and Trunk Club.

AmazonSmile

Donors can use their Prime membership toward charitable causes. Through its dedicated AmazonSmile portal, Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of a Prime member’s qualifying AmazonSmile purchases to a charitable organization of the member’s choice. AmazonSmile also allows qualifying charitable organizations to apply for a listing on the portal to receive donations.

Amazon Family

Amazon Family offers family-oriented offers, coupons, and age-based recommendations exclusively to its Prime members. Additionally, one can receive up to a 20% discount on regular subscriptions of products like diapers and baby food, and a 15% baby registry completion discount that offers a free welcome box for parents-to-be and their offspring.

Amazon Household

Prime membership allows sharing through its Household program. Prime members can connect and share Amazon benefits with the whole family—two adults (above 18 years) and up to four teens (between 13 and 17 years) and four children (up to 12 years) can be connected in a household. It allows sharing of Prime delivery benefits, streaming access to Prime Video, free books with Prime Reading, a provision to earn 2% rewards on Prime Reload, Prime Photos, and album sharing, free books with Amazon First Reads, unlimited listening on Audible Channels, and early access to Amazon Lightning Deals. Certain content may be shared only with other adults.

Prime for Students

Students can enjoy Prime benefits at half the cost, which come with a six-month trial and include free two-day shipping on eligible purchases. Qualifying students receive all Prime benefits for four years, or until they graduate, whichever comes first. Prime for Students makes it easy to get college essentials like dorm furnishings, textbooks, study supplies, backpacks, PCs, tablets, and other accessories.

Washington Post Digital Access

Prime members can enjoy digital access to The Washington Post, which includes access to all website content and all Washington Post apps. The monthly basic subscription pack is offered at $5 per month as of mid-2022.