16 Amazon Prime Secrets you didn’t Know About

Amazon Prime Day is coming, folks. If you don’t already know, it will begin Monday, July 15 at 12 a.m. PT (3 a.m. ET) and run until Tuesday, July 16 at 11:59 p.m. PT (Wed. July 17 at 2:59 a.m. That means you have 48 hours this year to access exclusive deals at their lowest prices, the longest the sale has ever run. But you need to have a Prime membership in order to shop. If you don’t already have a Prime membership, you can take advantage of a free 30-day trial to try out all the different services and perks before you take the plunge. And if you somehow don’t like it, you can always cancel your trial before it’s over and not pay anything. But there are a ton of freebies and even a few secret benefits that Prime members can take advantage of-making the $12.99/month or $119 annual fee completely worth it. Even if you’re already a Prime member, read on to find out about some of the perks that come with every membership to ensure you’re taking advantage of everything you’re paying for.

Students can try Prime Student for free for six months, and save 50% on membership ($59/year or $6.49/month) after the trial. All you need is a .edu email address. People with a valid EBT or Medicaid card can also enjoy Prime membership for a discounted rate of $5.99/month. This plan is month-to-month only and excludes Household sharing. Household sharing allows you to split your Prime membership with one other adult, up to four teens (13-17) and up to four children (12 and under). Everyone in an Amazon Household can share all the services and perks of Prime, including Kindle libraries, Amazon Video, Amazon Music, and more. Both adults can take advantage of free 2-day shipping. Teens can make purchases, which the adults need to approve first, and children in a Household can be monitored with parental controls. Like the idea of same-day delivery? Prime Now is currently only available in select cities across the U.S.

If you’re living in one of these locations, you can take advantage of fast, same-day delivery on a wide assortment of home goods (https://decordeals.shop), groceries, and other products. Prime Now, which you can access through a unique mobile app or on the desktop site, allows you to get items delivered within a two-hour window the day you place your order. Or you can select 1-hour delivery for an extra $7.99. You must meet the order minimum of $40, but if you’re in a pinch and need groceries for dinner, Prime Now can be a lifesaver. Deliveries are made by individual drivers (not Amazon’s delivery service) kind of like Uber Eats, and you can track your order’s journey from the warehouse to your front door through the app. I don’t recommend trying to order frozen or refrigerated items, as I had an unfortunate experience with “ice cream soup” on a warm night last summer.

But dry goods like pasta and cookies, household items like toilet paper and laundry detergent, and entertainment products like video games and movies, and even select electronics and kitchen appliances are perfect for Prime Now orders. Amazon’s acquisition of the Whole Foods grocery chain in June 2017 has been nothing but great news for Amazon Prime members. This merger has resulted in a whole bunch of perks for all shoppers both on Amazon and at Whole Foods, and Prime members come out on top. More online grocery options: You can now purchase Whole Foods brands (365 Everyday Value, Whole Paws, Whole Catch, etc.) online and take advantage of Prime 2-day shipping to get your items. These same products are often available to order through Prime Pantry, Prime Now, or Amazon Fresh. Amazon offers a grocery delivery service called Amazon Fresh. This service is exclusively available to Prime members for an additional $14.99/month (regardless of whether you pay for Prime annually or monthly). C᠎on​tent h᠎as be​en cre​at᠎ed  by GSA Conte᠎nt G​en​erator D em᠎ov er᠎si on.

The selection at Amazon Fresh is pretty robust for a virtual grocery store, though finding specialty items can be tough at times. However, there are lots of coupons and discounts to browse through. You’ll also want to spend at least $50, as any orders less than that will result in a $9.99 delivery charge. But if you only need less than $50 of groceries, you can probably manage to get to a store, right? When your cart is full, you can choose your delivery window for as early as same-day if it’s available. They have limited deliveries for every available time, but they can deliver groceries as early as before 6 a.m. 10 p.m. and you don’t need to be there to receive your delivery, but you can request an in-person drop-off if you want. The food arrives in paper bags or recyclable totes, and you can specify your preferences on Amazon.