16 Perks of Prime Membership You May Not Know About

Free one-day delivery is available on more than 10 million items with no minimum purchase. Amazon has so many delivery hubs and warehouses that this is logistically possible. Few retailers have any way to match it.

Free same-day delivery is available on over 3 million items on qualifying orders over $35. Order in the morning, typically before noon, and get items by 9 p.m. This has become a key benefit, particularly in highly populated areas, where Amazon can locate warehouses that are close to large numbers of people.

Free fast grocery delivery allows two-hour delivery on groceries, including quality fresh food and produce in some cities. Once again, Amazon can offer this because of its sophisticated delivery operations and many delivery hubs and warehouses. This business has gotten more competition for large grocery companies, including Walmart and Kroger. Grubhub has allowed smaller food stores to be competitive.

Free release-date delivery allows Prime members to be among the first to get new video games, books, music and movies. A special delivery function allows these items to be ordered and received by 7 p.m. on the same day.

Prime members who use no-rush shipping save Amazon money because they do not tax the logistics operation with items that must be delivered immediately. In turn, they earn rewards for future purchases.

Prime Music lets members stream more than 2 million songs and thousands of playlists and stations. The large competitors to this are Apple Music and Spotify. This Amazon Music Unlimited service gives a 20% discount for Prime members, at $7.99 a month. Members can listen ad-free with unlimited skips. And members can download for offline listening.

Another part of Amazon’s music offering is free Time Unlimited, which costs an additional $2.99 a month A 30-day free trial allows access to thousands of top kid-friendly games, videos and educational content, featuring brands like Disney, Nickelodeon and PBS Kids.

Prime Gaming offers free game content every month and a Twitch Channel subscription. Twitch is among the largest video game streaming services in the United States.

Amazon Photos allows Prime members to store, print and share. Members get unlimited photo storage, custom print options and the ability to share pics with friends and family. Several companies, particularly Apple, offer similar services.

There is Prime at Whole Foods Market. Amazon bought the high-end grocery operation in 2017 for $13.7 billion. It has over 500 stores. Prime members get 5% back with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card and two-hour delivery in many cities.

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card allows eligible Prime members to earn 5% back on all Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market purchases. Many banks and airlines have similar programs. Like the competition, on top of Amazon and Whole Foods, its cardholders get rewards at most other places they shop.

Prime Wardrobe allows people to buy and try on clothes, shoes, jewelry and accessories, once they are delivered, and pay only for those they keep. This is a blow to department stores, where people traditionally have gone to see how clothes fit and look.

Prime Exclusives allows Prime members to get Amazon’s handpicked products. Prime has a staff of people who make these selections.

Amazon Family gives members up to 20% off diapers and 15% off products from baby registries.

Prime Reload lets members earn 2% rewards on their debit spending when they reload their Amazon.com gift card balance with a designated debit card.

Prime Reading gives unlimited access on any device to more than a thousand e-books, popular magazines, comics, books with Audible narration and more.