Amazon’s hosting its second Prime Day of the year next week on Oct. 11 and Oct. 12. If you’ve been on the fence about signing up for a Prime membership, now could be a good time so you can take advantage of the perks. The subscription costs $139 a year, or $15 a month. (If you’re a student or receive certain forms of government assistance, the price drops to less than $8 a month.)
For that price, you get access to the Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Music Prime streaming service (not to be confused with Amazon Music Unlimited, which costs extra), discounts on Whole Foods and Alexa products, and unlimited photo storage. You’ll also get free overnight shipping, which could come in handy ahead of the holiday season.
Prime Day generally comes with price cuts on Amazon tech (like Ring doorbells and Echo devices), phones, laptops, tablets and more. If you sign up for an Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, you’ll get even more cash-back rewards at Amazon and Whole Foods.
We’ll walk you through how to sign up for an Amazon Prime account. And if you’re unsure about taking the leap, you can try out Amazon’s 30-day free trial.
How to sign up for Amazon Prime
Here’s what to do to sign up for a Prime free trial and account:
1. Go to amazon.com/amazonprime.
2. Click Start your free 30-day trial in the orange box.
3. If you already have an Amazon account, sign in. If you don’t, click Create your Amazon account, and enter your name, email and a password. Amazon will send you an email asking to verify your address with a one-time password.
4. Select a payment method (credit, debit, gift card or whatever it is you’re using) and add your information. Click Continue.
That’s it! You’re now a Prime subscriber.
Get free overnight shipping on certain products with an Amazon Prime membership.
James Martin/CNET
How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership
If you want to cancel your Amazon Prime membership (either before or after your free trial ends), sign in to your Amazon account and click the Account drop-down. Select Prime Membership. Click Update, cancel and more under the Membership heading, followed by End membership. Or you can visit this support page and click the End Membership button to jump straight to the right page. (Check out our full guide to canceling your Prime subscription and closing your account, and if you might be eligible for a refund.)
For more, check out how to use this clever Amazon shopping tip when you don’t have someone’s address.