Amazon Prime will be increasing their membership price for both monthly and annual Prime members on February 18, 2022. Read this post for everything you need to know!
Last chance! The price increase takes effect tomorrow, February 18th! So be sure to follow these instructions to lock in your rate today!
Prime Membership Price Increase
Amazon recently announced that they will be increasing their annual Prime membership price from $119 to $139. The monthly membership price will increase from $12.99 to $14.99/month.
We saw this same $20 annual price increase back in 2018 and 2014. It’s been four years since we’ve seen a price increase like this, so it’s not entirely surprisingly (though definitely disappointing!).
This price increase will take effect for new members starting February 18th. For existing Prime members, the new annual fee will take effect after March 25th.
How to Lock In Your Current Prime Membership Rate For the Next Year
The good news is that we have a way for you to lock in the current $119 annual rate for another year so you won’t have to pay the higher price this next year! Keep reading to find out how…
For New Customers
If you don’t currently have a Prime membership and you’ve been on the fence about buying one, now might be the time to lock in that $119 annual rate before the price increases to $139!
Need some help deciding if it’s worth it for you and your family? Be sure to check out our post on whether or not a Prime membership is worth the money.
If you decide you’re ready to grab a membership before the rate goes up, just go here to purchase a Prime membership!
For Existing Customers
If you are a current Prime member, but your membership doesn’t renew until after the renewal increase on March 25th, we have a little trick to help you out! Here’s what to do…
- Go purchase yourself a Prime gift membership at the current rate of $119/year. (Be sure to purchase it before February 18th!) Tuck it away for safe keeping where you’ll be able to find it later.
- Change your current Prime membership settings so that it doesn’t auto-renew at the expensive price:
- Hover over your account name and click on “Prime membership.”
- Click on “manage membership.”
- Make sure the box is checked that says “Remind me before renewing.”
- A reminder will be sent to you 3 days before your current membership auto-renews. When you get that reminder, go into your account and click on “End membership” to prevent it from renewing at the more expensive price.
- (I would also set a reminder on your own calendar for this date, just to ensure you don’t miss canceling before it’s too late!)
- Redeem your gift membership for an entire year of Prime that you only paid $119 for! Yay!! Easy peasy!
What are your thoughts on the Prime membership rate increase? Do you plan to sign up or renew before the increase? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Livia Blakeslee says
We like Costco very much but we are seniors trying to keep our expenses down as everything keeps going up
Peg Arnts says
I do NOT understand aet all how this works. I did not get an email that said that I was gifted a membership. I just got an email that I purchased one. It sounds like they are just going to put it on RIGHT now and I can’t use it later. I don’t understand how I “tuck it away”. How do you do that? It seems like if you have an current membership that it isn’t saved until you want to use it later but just added into your account so you would have a double membership right now and then nothing when it’s time to renew cuz you already “used” it. Do you understand what I mean? I just need explanation of this, please!?
Iris Vogel-Eskew says
Hi,
Thank you for the savings! I was able to use to points on my Amazon Visa to get it for $88, and I will get for points back on it for future purchases, lol!
Olivia says
Yay!! That’s wonderful! You are welcome! -Olivia, MSM Team
CJ says
Never mind my last comment. I tried it a couple of more times and it finally went through. Yay!
Crystal Paine says
Oh good! I’m so glad!
CJ says
I received a message that I was not eligible to but a gift membership because I already had an active membership.
Aly says
For those of you on SNAP Prime is only half price!
Meagan says
Yes! Thanks for that reminder! The monthly rate on that one is going up by $1, but still a great way to help families save! -Meg, MSM Team
Karen Smith says
Hi, so I’m already a Prime member as are alot of folks. This comes from their (Amazon) site: “If the recipient is already a Prime member, the gift can be exchanged for an Amazon.com Gift Card in the value of the original gift purchase price plus any applicable sales taxes paid.” That sounds to me like we can only use “$119 as a Gift card and still have to pay the difference. What do you think?
Crystal Paine says
We verified with them that this works. Per the instructions above, you’ll end your membership right before it’s going to auto-renew and then once you end your membership, you can then use the gift membership to set up a new membership. Hopefully that helps explain it more clearly!
TJ says
Thanks for the savings!!!! I did this as an existing customer!!!
Crystal Paine says
I’m so glad you were able to take advantage of it!
Tammy Metzgar says
Make sure you check your renewal date first. I did not and my renewal date happened to be today. Odds?? Anyway, I auto renewed earlier today at the $119 price (yay!) and gifted myself another one at $119. So double charged today. Sad. Now I will just have to wait a whole year and remember to end membership and pull my gift out and hope it doesn’t expire!!
Crystal Paine says
woohoo!!
Iiesha says
Makes sense. Shipping costs have increased, so it was inevitable. I’ll renew when the time comes.
Sandra says
My renewal date is March 23, will it renew at the $119 since the update doesn’t take effect until March 25?
Crystal Paine says
Yes, it should!
Katherine says
Thanks for the tip! I’ve been meaning to change from monthly to annual membership for a long time to save money, and this post finally prompted me to do it and saved me even more!
Meg says
Great idea! Glad you were able to switch before the price went up! 🙂 -Meg, MSM Team
Rebecca says
Thank you SO much! I was dreading this. Your post came at the perfect time – I just received a SB gift card to Amazon
Meg says
Oh — perfect!! You’re so welcome! -Meg, MSM Team
Christina says
Meg, do you know if we will loose our order history & our subscribers & saves if we “end our membership “?
Meg says
Hi Christina! I’ve seen a lot of discussion about that online and I don’t believe you will. Your Amazon account stays in tact, regardless of whether or not you have a Prime membership. Does that make sense? -Meg, MSM Team
Christina says
Thanks Meg!
Christina says
If we go through the above steps and click “end membership” will we loose our purchase history and subscribe & save subscriptions?
Dee says
No! I canceled my prime many times over the years…you keep your account. I have all my history from 2008! The only difference is not getting free shipping unless you spend $25…which isn’t hard. It is also just as easy to return items. Not sure where this idea came from…my mom said the same thing!
Dee says
Adding, not sure on the subscriptions. I’d call. You may lose those, but are you really saving more money than you spend on the fee? Worth doing the math🙂
Christina says
Thanks Dee!
Meg says
Thank you for that insight, Dee! -Meg, MSM Team
Sara says
I am wondering the same thing about the turning off the auto-renew option. I only see cancel as well. If I cancel with I still get the rest of my year membership of will it cancel now?
Meg says
Hi Sara! Apparently Amazon has made some changes to their membership settings and that’s no longer an option. I just updated the post to reflect the correct steps to make sure you don’t get charged with auto-renew! Hope that helps! -Meg, MSM Team
Lisa Roberson says
Why is the tax $8.00 on the $119.00? If you look back at the previous years of purchasing a Prime Membership, the tax if 88 to 94 cents. This makes no sense.
Meg says
Yes, unfortunately there has been a legal change and Amazon is now supposed to collect tax on Prime memberships in certain states. Bummer! -Meg, MSM Team
Lisa Barker Roberson says
Having the same problem with locating where to stop the membership renewal.
Meg says
Hi Lisa! Apparently Amazon has made some changes to their membership settings and that’s no longer an option. I just updated the post to reflect the correct steps to make sure you don’t get charged with auto-renew! Hope that helps! -Meg, MSM Team
Pam says
I have been paying monthly. My next monthly payment is due March 11th. If I go into my account, prior to the March 25th increase, and change my membership from monthly to annual won’t that lock me into the $119 price for the next year, without needing to buy a gift membership?
Thanks for your help!
Meg says
Yes, that should work! Although, I would change it to annual before February 18th, since that’s when the annual price is going up for new customers. I’m not sure if they’ll let you have the $119 price before 2/18 or 3/25, if you’re currently paying for monthly. Hope that helps! -Meg, MSM Team
Michele says
I am having the same difficulty as Alli – I see where prime can be cancelled, but not where to cancel just the auto-renewal.
Meg says
Hi Michele! Apparently Amazon has made some changes to their membership settings and that’s no longer an option. I just updated the post to reflect the correct steps to make sure you don’t get charged with auto-renew! Hope that helps! -Meg, MSM Team
CK says
Thank you for this info. Can you do this for 2 or more years of membership instead of just 1 year?
I also couldn’t find where to turn off auto-renewal.
Meg says
Hi CK! Apparently Amazon has made some changes to their membership settings and that’s no longer an option. I just updated the post to reflect the correct steps to make sure you don’t get charged with auto-renew! As far as 2 or more years, I’m pretty sure gifted Prime memberships never expire, so I think you could technically purchase multiple if you wanted to! (But it’s only available for a year at a time.) Hope that helps! -Meg, MSM Team
CK says
Thank you!
Ruth says
So if you purchase 2 gifted prime memberships and they are delivered to your address on the certain date, are they activated on that date or can you wait to activate until ready to use. Thanks
Alli says
I can’t figure out where to go to NOT auto renew? Can you walk me through it? Thanks!
Meg says
Hi Alli! Apparently Amazon has made some changes to their membership settings and that’s no longer an option. I just updated the post to reflect the correct steps to make sure you don’t get charged with auto-renew! Hope that helps! -Meg, MSM Team
Ruth says
As an existing prime member do I need to purchase the prime gift card by Feb 18 or March 25? Thanks
Meg says
By February 18th. Sorry for the confusion! I just updated the post to make that a little more clear! -Meg, MSM Team
Ruth says
Thank you