The Amazon Prime Membership price is increasing in the United States of America for the third time in history. Amazon announced the news along with its fourth-quarter financial results.
Amazon Prime is used by over 200 million people. It allows for free two-day shipping of Amazon items, access to streaming libraries of film, TV shows, music, and much more.
The last increment was in 2018 when the price jumped from $99 to $119 for the yearly subscribers.
Annual membership of the Amazon Prime Membership Price is set to increase to $139 per year instead of the current price which is $119 per year. The monthly membership will also move from the previous $12.99 per month to $14.99 per month.
On February 18, 2022, Amazon will be releasing the new prices which will affect both the new and existing clients. Even though the new prices will be released on February 18th, the already existing customers will only see the change a bit later on March 25, 2022.
In simple terms, if you are not an Amazon Prime yet, but would love to enjoy the current price, you should try your best to sign up before February 18 to save $20. If you are currently a Prime member and your yearly renewal will happen before March 25, you’ll get one more year at the current $119 price. Next time, though, you’ll see a $139 renewal.
This is only the third time the Amazon Prime Membership price increased in the US. Originally, Prime membership was $79, a price that lasted nearly a decade. In 2014, the company increased the price for the first time to $99. In 2018, it increased the price again to $119, where it’s stayed for the past four years.
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Judging from the trend, it looks like Amazon is planning to increase pricing for Prime by $20 every four years or so. However, in its earnings report, the company pointed to “the continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs” as the reasoning behind today’s increase announcement.
So far, the price increase appears to only affect customers in the United States. However, it is possible other areas of the world could see changes at some point in the future.