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With Prime Day arriving tomorrow, it’s never been a better time to become a member. While you might already know that Amazon Prime provides speedy, dependable shipping, there’s actually a variety of helpful benefits you can access through Amazon’s membership service.
This $139 annual membership (or $14.99/month), at its core, delivers nearly anything on Amazon for free in a mere two days. In recent years, Amazon even began offering next-day delivery for some items and, in some markets, same-day delivery on qualifying orders (though, shipping slowed on many nonessential items during the early days of the pandemic).
Over the past few months, we’ve stumbled across a lineup of additional benefits you can score — mostly for free — just for being an Amazon Prime member. We’ve rounded up the most impactful for your wallet:
1. Unlimited Photo Storage
If you’re anything like me, your collection of digital pictures is spiraling out of control. There are plenty of services that will store all of your pictures online, but most either charge you or do not store full-resolution photos.
Prime customers get unlimited photo storage at no additional charge. Photos can be uploaded through your web browser or with the Amazon Photos app (available for Android and iOS).
2. Complementary Delivery with Grubhub+
Ordering in this weekend? Those delivery fees and service add-ons for your favorite takeout can quickly add up, leaving you with a less-than-appetizing bill.
Amazon is extending a free subscription to Grubhub+ (normally $9.99 a month) for Prime members. With this perk, you can skip the delivery fees for orders over $12 and even enjoy lower service fees. Plus, you’ll get 5% back on orders.
3. Try Clothes Before You Buy
Prime members have seven days to try on clothes and accessories that are marked with the Try Before You Buy icon before Amazon will charge you for them. Just choose at least one eligible women’s, men’s or children’s item and put them in your cart before checking out. Just let Amazon know what you’re keeping and what you’re sending back. Try Before You Buy items come with a prepaid shipping label so, just as with regular Prime items, you won’t have to pay for shipping on what you return.
4. Free Music Streaming
Streaming music is quickly becoming the primary way people listen to music these days. Services like Spotify Premium and Apple Music are great and provide you with an unlimited library of songs to access. Unfortunately, those services also charge $9.99 per month for individual plans or $14.99 for family plans. Enter Amazon Prime.
With Amazon Prime Music, you have access to thousands of the most popular artists and more than 2 million songs. There are no ads, and you can play specific songs (unlike Pandora). The one watch-out I’ve found is that their collection is nowhere near as big as Spotify or Apple Music. If you want access to an extensive collection through Amazon, you’ll have to pay up for an Unlimited subscription, which is $9.99 a month for Prime members. They have an app available for iOS and Android devices as well.
5. Access to the Prime Reading Catalog
Ready to cozy up with a borrowed book but don’t want to travel to a library? Members can borrow a variety of e-book titles — including novels and magazines — through Prime Reading (no Kindle needed). You can also get a sneak peek at upcoming books with Amazon First Reads, which allows Prime members to purchase and read e-books before they officially drop.
6. Grocery Delivery via Amazon Fresh
In select cities, Amazon will deliver Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh items in two hours for no additional charge. For an additional fee, you can even have the items delivered in one hour. To see if your city qualifies, go here and enter your zip code. They plan to roll out to more cities in the future. To try out this feature, you can either use the Amazon website or the Amazon app.
MORE: Get 50% off an Amazon Prime membership with your EBT or Medicaid card
7. On-Demand Medical Visits Through OneMedical
Got a pesky cold and don’t want to head to urgent care? For an additional $9 per month, Prime members can access 24/7 on-demand video calls and chats with One Medical providers across the country. Without that Amazon Prime membership, you’d be paying closer to $200 per year for the service.
What’s worth noting, however? You’ll still need to input your health insurance and pay any associated copays.
8. Free Service For College Students For 6 Months
Good news if you’re a college student: Through the Amazon Student program, university students and young adults get Prime free for six months. You simply need to complete an online student verification or input a valid ID. And as a bonus, after the six-month trial, you can keep Amazon Prime for a reduced membership rate.
9. Exclusive Savings on Prescription Medications
Dread making pharmacy run? With Amazon Pharmacy, members can receive medication refills with the company’s lightning-fast delivery. Through your account, RxPass also offers refills on 50+ common medications for a flat fee of $5 per month.
10. Prime-Only Access To Early Deals
This is another one that deserves more buzz. Amazon Prime members get early access and some exclusive access to select Amazon Lightning Deals. The deals are limited in quantity and go really quickly, but with early access, you have a much better chance of getting them before they sell out.
11. Free Movies and TV Streaming
This is one of the benefits I take advantage of the most. And I honestly would pay the $139/year for this without any of the other benefits (even the free shipping). Amazon has made a big investment in streaming TV and movies.
Amazon Prime Video’s digital library holds thousands of must-see TV series, films and other media you can access. In addition, Amazon has released some viewer-acclaimed original shows that you can stream for free. Watch these shows on the web or via the Amazon Video app, or stream them to your television via Amazon’s Fire TV Stick.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money.
