All Amazon Prime Benefits
Amazon Prime is a subscription-based service by Amazon that provides members with access to a variety of services and benefits.
It started out as free shipping service but has expanded since then into several different directions.
This year alone, Amazon added several new services such as free audiobooks, reading or Twitch benefits to Amazon Prime.
With all those things being added, it can be quite difficult to keep an overview of the benefits that Prime users get.
Even if you are a Prime subscriber already, you may have trouble keeping up with new features and benefits.
Note: Prime benefits differ from region to region. This article looks at the benefits that users from the US get, and compares those to what users in Germany and the UK get. Amazon launches new features in the US first usually and makes them available in other regions later on.
Prime starting pages:
All Amazon Prime Benefits
- Free Shipping - Amazon offers free shipping on Prime items on its site. Depending on the item, you may get it in two-days, on the same day, or in two-hours or less (the last two are called Same-Day Delivery and 2-hour delivery with Prime Now).
- Amazon Lightning Deals early access - Prime members can add lightning deals to their cart 30 minutes before deals become available to non-Prime members on Amazon.
- Prime Video - Amazon is a big player in the video streaming niche, and Prime members get access to the company's catalog of movies and TV shows.
- Prime Photos - Prime Photos offers unlimited photo storage in the cloud using a web browser, mobile app or desktop program (Amazon Drive).
- Prime Music - Prime Music offers access to over a million songs, specially created music playlists, and ad-free stations with unlimited skips.
- Audible - Prime members get access to Audible Channels offering a selection of more than 50 rotating audiobooks, original audio content, news articles, and shows.
- Free Kindle Books - Prime members can borrow one Kindle ebook with a Kindle device they own per month for free.
- Prime Reading - Prime Reading is the latest addition to Prime. It provides access to a selection of over a thousand books, magazines, comics and more for free.
- Twitch Prime -- Twitch, a game streaming service owned by Amazon, gives Prime members access to unique content, exclusives, and an option to support a Streamer by subscribing to a channel for free.
Amazon US vs UK vs Germany
Lets take a look at what Amazon Prime members in the UK and Germany get, and compare that to the benefits of a Prime membership in the US.
| Benefit | US | UK | Germany |
| Â | Â | Â | Â |
| Free Shipping | yes | yes | yes |
| Amazon BuyVip | yes | ||
| Amazon Lightning Deals | yes | yes | yes |
| Prime Video | yes | yes | yes |
| Prime Photos | yes | yes | yes |
| Prime Music | yes | Â yes | yes |
| Audible | yes | Â | Â |
| Free Kindle ebooks | yes | Â yes | yes |
| Prime Reading | yes | Â | Â |
| Twitch Prime | yes | yes |
yes |
As you can see, the US market offers the most benefits to Prime subscribers. It seems likely that the benefits will eventually be available in other regions as well.
We will update this article when Amazon introduces new offers, or makes them available in other regions.
Now You: Are you a Prime member?
UK Prime members also have access to Prime Music, Kindle Owners’ Lending Library & Kindle First.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201015970
Initially, I got Prime for streaming video, but they have less and less stuff that I want to watch (much like Netflix); wish they had an anime “add-on”–stream all of the anime they sell/host for only a few dollars more per month. Now, though, I like Prime Music the most. Never really cared about the free shipping since I don’t have a choice of which shipper to use. The new Reading feature looks interesting. I have a Kindle, but I like the Cloud Reader better–white text on a black background is easier to read.
Well the problem with video is that you have watched the majority of shows you are interested in. While some new shows come out each year that you may be interested in, those are likely just a few so that the offer does not look as good anymore as it did when you started out.
Just to note;
US Amazon customers get free shipping if the order is $50.00 or more.
(some items from third party vendors don’t ship free, but many do)
Check out the ears on that HearthStone lady.
Elfish to the extreme.
Yes. I am in. I also use PrimeNow a lot in Los Angeles area.
BTW what is BuyVip?
Buyvip is a closed shopping community that Amazon bought years ago. It is only available in select countries like Germany.
http://de.buyvip.com/
I tried Amazon Prime for the Prime Video benefits, and found it beyond frustrating.
Amazon would give you free access to a television series, and then completely drop support without warning.
For example, I watched part of a season of “The X Files”, and got hooked. Fun show. But then when I went to watch the next episode, Amazon wanted to charge money to see every episode.
I contacted Amazon support, and they said they have the right to terminate what they make available on Amazon Prime Video at any time without notice. The support rep agreed that the Amazon policy sucks for their customers.
Basically, you can’t rely on Amazon Prime for watching a television series… it might be free one day, but then it disappears from Prime Video the next day and you have to pay to see every episode. Such a frustrating service.
BTW, I was using Amazon’s own device, the Amazon Fire TV, to watch Prime Video. So even using their own device did not help. Also, I have owned two Amazon Fire TV devices, and both of them stopped working properly right around when their short warranty was expiring. Once that short warranty expired, Amazon would not offer any significant help. A short warranty is often an indicator of a company’s lack of confidence in their product’s quality and longevity.
If you have a fire TV it’s worth it.
I don’t think the video service is up to much, but the music service is OK, and the audio books thing seems promising. Of course free shipping and discounts are nice. I’m considering Prime currently.
I haven’t much choice – living in a rural area – but to shop with Amazon. It’s that or do without, given what few shops there are in my locality seem to specialise in the phrase “No demand for that, mate! Sick of telling folks there’s no demand!” The problem not being my acquiescence or Amazon’s dominance, but the almost total lack of any competition. And please don’t tell me that people wouldn’t flock in the millions to any competitor if they were available.
But that’s retail, and the subject here is their services and devices. None of which I would ever touch with a bargepole. In almost every field – TV, movies, tablets, whatever – there are always better alternatives. One is to do as I do – without. Good heavens – it’s just TV and dross Hollywood offerings. What little media doesn’t come under that heading may be worth listening/viewing, but it certainly isn’t worth spending a premium subscription on.
I watch TV (occasionally) and any movie I think might be worth the time spent – though it’s fewer and fewer these days. The occasional supermarket DVD is still a hell of a lot cheaper than constant subscription services.
This stuff isn’t bread and milk. We don’t NEED it. Plus a large number of addicted subscribers can’t – I’m convinced – actually afford it.
Step back from all this stuff. I’m not saying avoid it altogether. I’m no luddite and I seriously enjoy both my PC and my tablet. But people like Amazon are there to talk you into what is no more or less than permanent debt. Think hard about whether you need any of this stuff.
Couldn’t agree more. People no longer understand the difference between “need” and “want”.
Went in for the trial to see if I’d really enjoy it. What I realized at the time was that I don’t use Amazon nearly enough to justify the expense. What I’ve found most interesting however is that an ungodly amount of people have expressed to me that I should just pay for it even if I use Amazon maybe a grand total of three times out of the year (if even that much).
I got hooked on Amazon Prime when I went to College because they offered the service for half price of the $80 it was. ($40 a year for College students) Since then it has become $100 a year and I am no longer in school so I’m stuck paying full price. I have maintained the service but I intend on dropping the service when my current term runs out. I rarely watch any prime video because like Chris said, You watch a few seasons of a show, then for no reason, right in the middle of the bunch, you have one or two seasons that they want $4 an episode, then its back to prime again. I hate that so I quit watching amazon prime video because they do that with every TV show that has more than one season. It’s very annoying.