29 useful Amazon Prime benefits to know that go beyond free 2-day shipping

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29 useful Amazon Prime benefits to know that go beyond free 2-day shipping

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Movie and TV show streaming through Prime Video is just one of many perks for Prime members

Ask anyone around you and they'll most likely say they have an Amazon Prime membership. At less than $10 a month, it offers many convenient benefits, making it a great investment for its price.

A regular Prime membership is $119 a year. Students not only get 50% off Prime memberships ($6.49/month), but also enjoy exclusive discounts. They can get a free six-month Prime trial here. Meanwhile, Prime is also discounted ($5.99/month) for qualifying customers with an EBT or Medicaid card.

100 million subscribers worldwide evidently think it's worth it, but if you're still on the fence about buying a membership, we've rounded up its many benefits below.

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You might even already have Prime but aren't using it to its full advantage, in which case this list will be a nice refresher for all the benefits you should know about.

You can experience all the benefits with a free 30-day trial of Prime to see if it's worth it for you.

Here are the 29 Amazon Prime benefits you should know about.

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Free two-day shipping on over 100 million items

Free two-day shipping on over 100 million items

The best-known perk, Amazon Prime's fast delivery service is convenient and applies to just about anything you'll need from the site. Just look for the Prime logo as you shop.

Free same-day and one-day shipping on over a million items in over 8,000 cities

Free same-day and one-day shipping on over a million items in over 8,000 cities
Check your zip code here to see if same-day and one-day options are available near you

Same-day shipping: Order over $35 of eligible items before noon and get them by 9 p.m. same day. Orders placed in the afternoon arrive the next day.

One-day shipping: Order over $35 of eligible items by the afternoon and get your items by 9 p.m. the next day.

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Free two-hour delivery on household essentials with Prime Now

Free two-hour delivery on household essentials with Prime Now
Check your zip code here to see if Prime Now is available near you

Tens of thousands of everyday household items, grocery essentials, and Amazon products can be delivered to you in two hours or less, in select US cities. Delivery windows generally span from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., though some extend to midnight depending on the city.

Amazon Key in-home delivery

Amazon Key in-home delivery
Amazon Key Home Kits, starting at $155, available at Amazon

Available in select cities and surrounding areas, secure in-home delivery on millions of eligible items is possible with the Amazon Key Home Kit, which can also be used normally to schedule home access for guests, friends, and family.

On delivery day, you'll get a notification in the morning with a four-hour delivery window for when the driver will arrive at your home. Right before the driver arrives, you'll receive an "Arriving Now" notification and can optionally watch the delivery live through the Amazon Key App.

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Amazon Key in-car delivery

Amazon Key in-car delivery
Check your eligibility here for Amazon Key in-car delivery

You can also get Amazon packages securely delivered right into your vehicle when it's parked at a publicly accessible area. As of April 2018, it works with most 2015 model year or newer Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, and Volvo vehicles with an active connected car service plan such as OnStar or Volvo On Call. Similar to in-home delivery, you'll be able to track the delivery status in real time.

AmazonFresh grocery delivery

AmazonFresh grocery delivery
Start your 30-day free trial of AmazonFresh here

With an AmazonFresh membership ($14.99/month), you can skip the long grocery lines by shopping online and picking a delivery window that's convenient for you. Thanks to the Whole Foods acquisition, organic foods and Whole Foods' 365 brand products are all readily available.

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Free release-date delivery on new video games, books, music, and movies

Free release-date delivery on new video games, books, music, and movies
Pictured: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Nintendo Switch, $46.70, available at Amazon (through third-party sellers) Pre-order new video games, books, music, movies, and more here

Be the first to get your hands on highly anticipated releases. Pre-order the item, then select free two-day shipping at checkout. Prime members may also enjoy an additional 20% off the list price on certain items.

Prime Wardrobe clothing try-on service

Prime Wardrobe clothing try-on service
Try Prime Wardrobe here

Prime Wardrobe lets you try on and purchase new styles with little hassle. Choose three or more items across the women's, men's, children's, and baby clothes, shoes, and accessories categories. Then, you'll have seven days to try them at home and decide what you want to keep. Check out online, then return your unwanted items for free using the resealable box and prepaid shipping label.

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Prime-exclusive fashion brands

Prime-exclusive fashion brands
Shop the best Amazon Prime-exclusive women's fashion brands here

Amazon has several in-house fashion brands, some of which are exclusive to Prime members. Whether you're looking for stylish yet professional business attire, casual loungewear, or swimwear, there's an affordable Amazon label for it.

Prime-exclusive unlocked phones

Prime-exclusive unlocked phones
Pictured: Moto G PLUS (5th Generation, 32 GB), $204.99, available at Amazon (through third-party sellers) Shop unlocked phones here

Unlocked phones offer more freedom and flexibility since they're not tied to specific phone carriers. The prices for these LG, Moto, and Nokia phones are reserved for paid Prime members.

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A rewards credit card with no annual fee or foreign transaction fees

A rewards credit card with no annual fee or foreign transaction fees
Apply for the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card here

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card gets you:

  • 5% back at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market
  • 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores
  • 1% back on all other purchases

You'll get a $70 Amazon.com gift card instantly upon approval, and you can redeem your points on Amazon as well as for cash back, gift cards, and travel.

Gourmet snacks from Happy Belly and Wickedly Prime

Gourmet snacks from Happy Belly and Wickedly Prime
Pictured: Wickedly Prime Sweet 'n' Cheesy Popcorn Mix, $14.22, available at Amazon (currently out of stock) Shop gourmet food from Happy Belly and Wickedly Prime here

Happy Belly sells nut and trail mixes, spices, and cage-free eggs while Wickedly Prime sells chips, nuts, popcorn, soup, sweet spreads, tea, and more.

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Free online photo storage on Prime Photos and free delivery on Amazon Prints

Free online photo storage on Prime Photos and free delivery on Amazon Prints
Get started with Prime Photos here Order prints and make personalized photo gifts at Amazon Prints here

You can save and share unlimited photos across desktop, mobile, and tablet, and share unlimited photo storage with up to five people. You'll also get five GB for videos and files. Prime Photos comes pre-installed on Amazon devices, so you can also view your photos from your Fire TV and Echo Show.

After you turn your photos into prints and other photo gifts through Amazon Prints, you get free standard and expedited shipping.

Free Prime Video streaming

Free Prime Video streaming
Stream movies and TV shows on Prime Video here Start your free trials of Prime Video channels here

Stream from a large library of movies and TV shows for free, including Prime Originals content, and rent the latest releases for low prices. Prime members can also subscribe to over 100 channels (and only pay for the channels they want), including HBO, Showtime, and CBS All Access.

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Free Prime Music streaming and discounted Amazon Music Unlimited

Free Prime Music streaming and discounted Amazon Music Unlimited
Listen to music on Prime Music here Start your 30-day free trial of Amazon Music Unlimited here

Prime Music lets you listen to two million songs ad-free and on-demand, while Amazon Music Unlimited ($7.99/month) expands the library to tens of millions of songs and lets you download them for offline listening on any device.

Twitch Prime live video streaming and viewing

Twitch Prime live video streaming and viewing
Connect your Twitch account on Amazon here

Twitch is primarily used to watch video gameplay but hosts many other types of live streams, including talk shows and cooking shows. Prime members get ad-free viewing, a free Twitch channel subscription, discounts on pre-order box games, and a Prime-exclusive chat badge.

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Prime Pantry household and grocery essentials in everyday sizes

Prime Pantry household and grocery essentials in everyday sizes
Start your 30-day free trial of Prime Pantry here

A Prime Pantry membership ($4.99/month) lets you shop thousands of household essentials, many of which are not available elsewhere on Amazon. Pantry-exclusive coupons save you even more money on these items. Customers receive free shipping on all orders of $40 or more or pay a flat $7.99 shipping fee for each order they place.

One free Kindle book a month through Amazon First Reads

One free Kindle book a month through Amazon First Reads
Pictured: Monsoon Mansion, free with Amazon First Reads, available at Amazon See this month's Amazon First Reads picks here

Get free, early access to one Kindle book from a selection of editors' picks each month or shop the hardcover version for $9.99 or less. Available genres include contemporary fiction, thriller, science fiction, and memoir.

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Exclusive deals and discounts

Exclusive deals and discounts
Shop Prime-exclusive deals here

Only Prime members get deals on certain products and Amazon services, such as free delivery on restaurant orders, savings on dog and pet food, and rotating deals on the latest movies and TV shows through Prime Video.

30-minute early access to Lightning Deals

30-minute early access to Lightning Deals
Shop Lightning Deals at Amazon here

Lightning Deals are called so for a reason — they're only available for a few hours and can be snatched up quickly before the expiration time. Prime members get an extra 30 minutes to shop deals before they're officially open. Just look for the "Prime Early Access" label as you shop the page.

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Free standard shipping on Shopbop, East Dane, and Woot!

Free standard shipping on Shopbop, East Dane, and Woot!
Shop clothing at Shopbop and East Dane, and shop flash deals at Woot!

The shipping benefits extend past Amazon.com. Shopbop is an online destination for luxury and designer clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories, East Dane is its menswear counterpart, and Woot! is an Amazon-owned startup that hosts daily flash deals on discounted products. Log in with your Amazon account on these sites to get your shipping perk.

Free Prime Reading books, magazines, and comics

Free Prime Reading books, magazines, and comics
Read books with Prime Reading here

Prime members can choose up to 10 titles at a time from more than 1,000 options. The title will be available to read on any of your devices via the Kindle app and some books also come with Audible narration.

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Free Audible Channels audiobooks and podcasts

Free Audible Channels audiobooks and podcasts
Download the free Audible app here

Similar to the free books in Prime Reading, this Audible benefit unlocks free full-length audiobooks exclusive to Prime members as well as popular, Audible-produced news, humor, and crime podcasts.

Shared Prime benefits with the whole family through Amazon Household

Shared Prime benefits with the whole family through Amazon Household
Create an Amazon Household here

Two adults and up to four teens and four child profiles may link in a 'Household,' allowing everyone in the family to enjoy Prime benefits like free shipping, Prime Video, and Prime Photos and share content like ebooks, audiobooks, apps, and games.

Another benefit of linking accounts is that adults can approve orders before they're placed (for teens) and set parental controls on digital content (for kids).

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Rewards or discounts if you choose free no-rush shipping

Rewards or discounts if you choose free no-rush shipping
Learn more about free no-rush shipping rewards here

If you can wait a few extra days for your order to arrive, you can either earn rewards on future purchases or receive discounts immediately. Rewards are automatically added to your account once your free No-Rush order ships, and they are automatically applied to qualifying orders as well.

Free Outfit Compare service

Free Outfit Compare service

Available in the Amazon app under Programs, Outfit Compare is a quick service that helps you figure out which outfit looks better on you, regardless of whether the clothes are purchased from Amazon. A fashion specialist takes into account how the clothes fit you, which colors look best on you, how the outfits are styled, and what’s on trend right now.

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Dash Buttons

Dash Buttons
Pictured: Tide Dash Button, $4.99, available at Amazon Shop all Dash Buttons at Amazon here

These $4.99 buttons let you reorder your favorite household brands with the click of a button. Each Dash Button is free after the first press: you'll receive a $4.99 credit on your first order placed through the button. If you accidentally press it, you can cancel the order within 30 minutes.

Discounted Amazon FreeTime Unlimited

Discounted Amazon FreeTime Unlimited
Start your 30-day free trial of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited here

Amazon FreeTime Unlimited offers unlimited access to 13,000 kids' books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games. For Prime members it's $2.99/month for a single child or $6.99 for a family of up to four children. Parents can set controls like time limits and content filters, and personalize the experiences of each child profile. It's available on Fire Tablets (books, videos, apps), Kindle eReaders (books), and Android phones and tablets (books, videos).

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Prime Book Box

Prime Book Box
Sign up for Prime Book Box here

Prime Book Box is a children's book subscription that delivers two hardcover books or four board books to kids up to 12 years old. The book selections are popular reader favorites or Amazon Book Editor-approved, so your child can enjoy both classics and new releases. Parents can handle preferences like delivery schedule and preview the book options (or let them be a surprise). The boxes ship for free.