Ready your wallets now.
On Jan 19, Amazon Prime has announced that their monthly memberships are increasing, and we’re not all too happy about it.
The price increase if by a total of 18 percent — going from $10.99 a month to $12.99 a month. That totals out for about $156 a year.
This increase is only for the United States, as of now. It also comes only two years after Amazon introduced the monthly payment plan — designed for those who didn’t want to pay the $99 for a yearly one.
The $99 plan is still an effect, for now.
However, there’s more bad news. The Amazon monthly Prime program for students is also increasing by 18 percent — going from $5.49 a month to $6.49 a month. Ouch.
“Prime provides an unparalleled combination of shipping, shopping and entertainment benefits, and we continue to invest in making Prime even more valuable for our members,” the company said in a statement via Recode. “The number of times eligible for unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping increased in recent years from 20 million to more than 100 million items. We have expanded Prime Free Same-Day and Prime Free One-Day delivery to more than 8,000 cities and towns. We also continue to introduce new, popular and award winning-Prime Originals … Members also enjoy a growing list of unique benefits like Prime Music, Prime Reading, exclusive products and much more.”
The good news is that the monthly cost of Prime Video membership is remaining unchanged at $8.99 a month.
In the end, it comes down to a matter of taste. Personally, I don’t see myself paying that much for two-day shipping. I loved it when I had it for the free one-year student trial, but having to pay an additional $12.99 a month doesn’t sound like a deal worth pursuing for me personally.
But maybe it is for you! Let us know, in the comments below, if you still think Amazon Prime is worth paying this much for.