If you love the shows and movies on Prime Video or ever shop online, a Prime membership can be a good deal that pays for itself in the long-run. There are other things to consider, too, though.
This article will highlight eight important things to know before you sign up for an Amazon Prime subscription in 2022.
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#1: You can get Prime Video on its own for a lower price
Not big on online shopping? You can still get access to Prime Video without paying the full price for a regular Prime account.
This is an especially big time to sign up for Prime Video as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on September 2, 2022. Prime Video is also gearing up for a major push into more sports programming (more on that later).
A standalone Prime Video membership costs $8.99 per month. That’s six bucks cheaper than the standard monthly rate for a Prime membership. You also get a 30 day free trial to sign up.
#2: There's discounts available for a Prime membership
If you haven’t been an Amazon Prime member in the past 12 months, you can get a 30 day free trial of Prime. After that, it’s $14.99 per month. You’ll get all the benefits of Prime such as access to Prime video, free shipping, and grocery delivery.
There are a few different discounts Amazon offers on Prime memberships. They are:
- A yearly membership for $139. This averages out to less than $12 a month.
- College students can get a six month free trial of a Prime Student account. After that it’s either $7.49 a month or $69 a year.
- EBT, Medicaid, and other government assistance recipients can qualify for a discounted Prime membership for $6.99 a month. Amazon accepts payment with SNAP EBT for eligible grocery orders.
#3: Event without Prime, you can watch free movies & TV
Back in 2019, Amazon launched a free streaming service called IMDb TV. In 2022, they’ve rebranded as Amazon Freevee.
Freevee has thousands of movies and shows, plus 24/7 live channels.. Freevee is available to watch with or without a Prime membership. The app is available on most major devices including Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku.
The service has original shows like Judy Justice, Bosch: Legacy, Alex Rider, and Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis. TV shows include both modern and classic like Mad Men, Bewitched, Fringe, 24, and All in the Family. As for movies you’ll find Deadpool, Shrek, The King of Staten Island, and Bombshell, among many others.
Movies and TV shows on Freevee rotate in and out, so the content library may vary over time.
#4: You can consolidate your streaming services with Prime Video
Prime Video works as a hub for all of your streaming video content. You can watch everything you’ve bought or rented from Amazon along with Prime Video and Freevee content all in one place. In addition to that, they also offer Prime Channels.
These are premium channels you can add-on to your Prime membership. There are channels for popular streaming services like Paramount+, STARZ, Showtime, Hallmark Movies Now, and Discovery+.
By subscribing to the Prime Channel for Paramount+, for example, you can watch all of their shows like 1883 or Star Trek: Brave New Worlds in the Prime Video app.
Check availability, though, because some devices don’t support Prime Channels in their version of the Prime Video app.
If you have a Prime Student account, there are special offers you can get on Prime Channels.
Several channels are available for just 99 cents per month for up to a year with a Student account. They include: Showtime, Epix, ALLBLK, Motortrend, Shudder, AcornTV, History Vault, Pantaya, Lifetime Movies Club, Sundance Now, and The Coda Collection.
#5: You can share Prime benefits with other members of your household
Amazon offers a feature called Amazon Household. This allows you to share the benefits of your Prime membership with other members of your family.
Two adults and up to four teens (13-17) or children (12 and under) can be linked together in a Household.
By linking together your family members, adults can require approval for purchases from their teens or set parental controls on their kid’s accounts, for example.
You can also share digital content like books, apps, and games with the other Household members.
#6: You can get Grubhub+ for 12 months free with Amazon Prime
You can now get up to a year of Grubhub+ for free as a Prime member. All you have to do is go to this page, and activate the offer.
Once you’ve done that, it will direct you to the Grubhub website to set up your account. With Grubub+ you’ll get $0 delivery fees for certain restaurants plus exclusive discounts and perks. Normally it’s $9.99 a month so you’re saving about $120 a year!
Take note that if you cancel your Prime account, you will lose access to the free benefit.
#7: You can also get free music, books, games- plus other perks!
There are plenty of other perks to a Prime membership. Here are just some of them:
- Prime Music: Access to over 2 million songs to listen to, ad-free.
- Prime Gaming: Free games and a Twitch channel subscription every month.
- Prime Reading: A rotating selection of eBooks, magazines, audiobooks, and comics.
- Prescription Delivery: Free two-day shipping on medications, plus discounts when paying without insurance.
- Grocery Delivery: Two hour delivery that’s free in certain cities.
- Whole Foods Market Deals: Exclusive discounts at Whole Foods for Prime members.
- Prime Student: Six months free of LinkedIn Premium, up to 10% discounts on flights and hotels, 3 months free of Calm, and up to four years of Amazon Music Unlimited for 99 cents a month.
#8: Prime Video is the new exclusive home for Thursday Night Football
Starting with the Chiefs vs Chargers game on September 15th, 2022, Prime Video will be the exclusive home for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football. It will not be simulcast on any other network including FOX or the NFL Network.
This agreement between Amazon and the NFL lasts until 2033. Moves like this from traditional TV to streaming could mark yet another nail in the coffin for cable and broadcast TV.
For footballs fans, this is a major reason to consider a Prime subscription.
Final Thoughts
So what do you think? Are you getting a Prime subscription? To sign up, click the button below!
