If you’re a senior on a tight budget, you’ll want to know: Is Amazon Prime affordable for you?
Good news – there are discounts available that could lower the price. Here are the latest updates on Amazon Prime’s costs, how to get those discounts, and what you need to qualify.
How Much Is Amazon Prime for Seniors?
Unfortunately, there is no official Amazon Prime Senior discount. Amazon Prime for seniors is $14.99 a month or $139 a year (the standard Prime subscription). However, you can get Prime Access for $6.99 monthly if enrolled in a qualified government assistance program such as Medicaid, SNAP, or SSI.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to enroll in Prime Access, its benefits, all the eligible government programs, and how to get discounts even if you don’t have qualified government assistance.
Let’s begin!
What Are The Conditions To Receive The Amazon Prime Senior Discount?
It’s easy: you need to be enrolled in one of the qualified government assistance programs, such as Medicaid.
If you are, you can become an Amazon Prime member for just $6.99 monthly, which is significantly cheaper than the regular price of $14.99.
Here’s a full list of the qualifying government assistance programs from Amazon’s website and what Amazon asks you to submit per program.
- Medicaid: Upload an image of your Medicaid eligibility letter
- SNAP: Enter your EBT number and upload an image of the EBT card
- SSI: Supplemental Security Income (this is different from Social Security and SSDI)
- Direct Express Prepaid Debit Card: Upload image of card
- TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- TTANF: Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- NSLP: National School Lunch Program (letter must include your child’s name and the school’s name)
- LIHEAP: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
- WIC: Women, Infants, and Children program
- NAP: Puerto Rico’s Nutrition Assistance Program card (Tarjeta de la Familia)
Unfortunately, there is no Amazon Prime Senior discount for seniors on Medicare, Social Security, or if you have the Flex card for seniors.
With Prime Access, you can enjoy Amazon Prime benefits with a discount that depends on enrollment in specific qualifying programs.
It’s worth noting that Prime Access is exactly like a normal Prime subscription, including the same Prime membership benefits, such as free same-day delivery, prime day sales on eligible purchases, free shipping, and other benefits.
Seniors with an EBT card also benefit from the Amazon Prime discount. Avail of this discount by submitting a photo of your EBT card when registering to prove your eligibility.
How Do I Join Amazon Prime Access?
As mentioned, to benefit from the Prime discount for seniors, you need to be receiving government assistance, and the requirements depend on the program.
If you are eligible, here’s how to join Amazon Prime and get an Amazon senior discount.
1- Visit the Prime Access page.
2- If you haven’t already, create an account. If you did, sign in and skip to the third step.
3- You’ll see options for qualifying government assistance programs. Choose the one you enrolled in and upload a photo of your EBT card or eligibility letter.
4- Enter a payment method to use once your free trial ends.
5- Press the Continue button to complete the Prime application process.
Congrats! You now have received the Prime membership discount.
How to Get Discounts If You Don’t Have Qualified Government Assistance
There are other ways to save money on Amazon without enrolling in a qualified government assistance program.
You can take advantage of the one-month free trial available to anyone, even those without an EBT or Medicaid card.
You can also use these strategies using Amazon’s helpful money-saving features.
- Use the Save for Later option in your Amazon account for the items you want to receive price-drop notifications.
- Use the Subscribe & Save option to schedule items you purchase frequently. It will automatically apply free shipping and a 15% discount.
- Keep an eye on promotions like Today’s Deals, Deals of the Day, and Lightning Deals.
- Swap out eligible items you no longer need through the Amazon Trade-In program.
- Visit Amazon Renewed to purchase inspected and tested used products for a fraction of the cost of brand-new ones.
- You can become an Amazon product tester. This allows you to test Amazon products for a discount.
How Much Is Amazon Prime in General?
Here’s the updated Amazon Prime cost per category, besides the eligible senior discounts.
- The OfficialAmazon Prime’s regular price is $14.99 per month (exc. taxes) or $139.00 per year (exc. taxes).
- Amazon Prime for students is $7.49 per month.
- Amazon Prime Video Only is $8.99 per month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Senior Amazon Prime Members Buy Groceries?
Yes. You can use the Amazon Prime discount to shop for groceries online and get same-day or next-day free grocery delivery with the Amazon Fresh program.
However, Amazon Fresh only delivers groceries in selected cities.
Use Amazon’s search engine and enter your zip code to check for Amazon Fresh locations in your city.
What Is the Age Requirement for the Amazon Prime Senior Discount?
There’s no age requirement to avail of the Amazon senior discount. You only need to enroll in one of the qualified government assistance programs.
Is There an AARP Amazon Prime Discount?
While an AARP membership has many benefits, an Amazon Prime subscription isn’t one of them.
Amazon only gives membership discounts to students and those with Medicaid, EBT cards, or those who enroll in qualified government assistance programs.
How Does Amazon Household Work?
Amazon Household is another feature of an Amazon Prime subscription.
This service lets two senior adults and up to four kids living in the same home share digital Amazon content using Family Library.
Both adults can share select Prime benefits and manage the profiles of the teens and children included in the account.
What Is an Amazon Prime Store Card?
Another perk that helps seniors shop wisely and save money is the Amazon Prime Store Card. This card gives subscribers reward points for their purchases to reduce the cost of subsequent purchases.
It also offers promotional financing offers at 0% interest. It has no annual fee, making it practical for seniors who buy on a budget.
What Will I Lose If I Cancel Amazon Prime?
If you cancel your Amazon Prime membership, you’ll lose access to the following benefits of Amazon Prime:
- Prime Video
- Prime Music
- Amazon Photos
- Kindle content
- Free and fast shipping
- exclusive deals with Whole Foods
- and many other perks.
You’ll also lose your discounted Amazon Prime account.
However, Amazon refunds the current membership period of paid members who have yet to use their benefits.
How Much Is Amazon Prime for Seniors on Social Security?
Seniors on Social Security get Prime for $14.99/mo, like as a standard subscription. However, if you’re enrolled in SSI (Supplemental Security Income), you can also get a discounted Prime Access membership for 6.99/mo.
Takeaway
The Amazon Prime membership is $139 yearly or $14.99 monthly, even for seniors. However, if you’re enrolled in qualifying government assistance programs, such as Medicaid or SSI, you are eligible for Amazon Prime Access, which is a discounted Amazon Prime account for just $6.99 monthly.
On top of that, you can get a 30-day trial if it’s the first time you subscribe in the past 12 months.
If you enroll to Prime, you might want to know how to share Prime benefits with friends and family.
This should help you save even more money and use your subscription wisely.
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