My Hot Take On The Benefits Of An Amazon Prime Membership

Confession: despite being an Amazon user since the Y2K books-and-CDs era, I had yet to go “Prime.” The convenient if not cultish membership that gives customers perks like super-speedy free shipping and access to countless hours of streaming entertainment for a mere (but not nothing) $14.99-per-month was appealing, but I just never pulled the trigger. However, with the eighth annual Prime Day fast approaching (and early deals already dropping), I thought it'd be prudent as a writer on the Shopping team to get as familiar as possible with the ins and outs of Amazon — and not just by way of a press release or browsing for hidden gems — as a real-life, bonafide, virtual card-holding Prime member.

While the upcoming two-day event might be the most-hyped shopping event of the year after Black Friday, the year-round Prime membership is equally lauded for its speed and convenience. Bearing this in mind, I signed up for Prime’s 30-day free trial to do an honest deep dive on what one may stand to gain on the 363 days of the year that are not Prime Day(s). I focused, selfishly, on the perks that interested me the most, but if you want to read an exhaustive list of every single Prime benefit, you can head to the site's Insider homepage to study up and reap some lesser-known deals. Read on to see what I liked, what I didn’t, and what might keep me paying for the membership after the 30-day freebie is over.

Regarding entertainment, there is a lot of fun stuff on Prime: I’ve already added RuPaul’s Drag Race, The Hills, and The Carol Burnett Show to my watch list. (Amazon’s original series are nothing to scoff at, either — you can read our reviews of award-winners like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Homecoming.) In terms of content, I definitely see some overlaps with other entertainment services that I already pay for, like HBO and Hulu, but there are plenty of Amazon Originals that I’ve been meaning to catch up on, like Fleabag, The Big Sick, Flack, and more.

On paper — er, on the screen? — Prime Wardrobe is definitely enticing, offering free shipping and free returns, and a try-before-you-buy formula offering a seven-day grace period in which you can try on your purchases at home before getting charged for any of it. Considering that most of us already conduct our online shopping this way — how much of that Zara haul do you actually intend to keep once it arrives at your door? — you might as well let Amazon make it easy for you. While the site is building its “directional” inventory through hyper-limited influencer collaborations and a mini Shopbop, most of the assortment in Prime wardrobe consists of casual duds for work and weekend, so I’d recommend it for stocking up on basics from brands like Superga, Levi’s, and Reebok.

One area where Prime Wardrobe will really come in handy? Swimwear. Trying on a new one-piece in the kind, carefully calibrated lighting of your own home sounds much more appealing than being exposed to the self-esteem-sucking fluorescent bulbs at a department store.

I’m a semi-regular at my local Whole Foods, so I’m looking forward to answering with a resounding “yes” the next time a cashier asks me if I have a Prime membership. We all know that this “whole paycheck” grocery store can be prohibitively expensive to shop, so I’m curious to see how much of a leg up I can get with Prime. When I browse to the “Whole Foods deals” section of Amazon, it of course knows which store is closest to me (!) and I’m greeted with in-store discounts on stuff I’d actually buy, like organic fruit, fancy nuts, and — oo! — sustainable, wild-caught halibut. AmazonFresh — their grocery delivery service — is an extra $14.99 for Prime members, and while I wouldn’t personally opt for this, my colleagues on the Shopping team who use it vouch for its flexibility (you can schedule your deliveries within time slots), wide selection, and value.

I’ll admit that my Amazon shopping habits haven’t changed much since college, and I still use the site primarily for buying books — especially random old ones — so I’m curious to see if Prime is going to enhance this experience at all. The last tome I ordered from the e-tailer took a little under two weeks to arrive, so my jaw dropped when a beach read that was recently recommended to me came with the promise of free same-day delivery. The speedy perk isn’t just limited to bookworms — it applies to thousands of products in Amazon’s vast, vast catalog, so if you’re the type that shops the site for cleaning supplies, workout gear, or DIY tie-dyeing kits, you can reap these benefits, too. This is probably one of the biggest and most wide-ranging perks of a Prime membership.

For all the bookworms out there, Amazon offers a multitude of reading options beyond the traditional paperback. Prime members get credits towards an audiobook-only Audible Premium Plus trial; there’s also Prime Reading, which allows members unlimited access to an ever-changing selection of digital and audiobooks, along with magazines, comic books, and pre-release editor’s picks.

I was confused when I landed on the Amazon Music homepage and it appeared to be prompting me to sign up for something else at an additional cost. It turns out that Amazon has two tiers of music subscription — the standard two million songs that come with your Prime subscription, or the ninety million songs that the Unlimited subscription offers. I’m not interested in the latter option, so I get increasingly frustrated when I keep getting redirected to the “Try Now” banner on the Unlimited landing page, despite some major clicking around. After finally finding my way to download the music player and searching for music, I find that obvious, big-name artists’ (The Beatles) catalogs are here in full, but less-marquee names are harder to find.

Amazon is also highlighting some small businesses during its mega-sale season. All you need to do is buy from a vendor at Amazon’s Support Small landing page between today and July 11th, and you’ll be entered to win a number of prizes, including tickets to the 2023 Super Bowl. If you're not sure where to start, you can check out Hilary Duff's top pics.

In sum, I could definitely see myself getting used to the perks of Prime — especially the super-speedy free shipping and the discounts at a grocery store that I frequent on a weekly basis. If you’re a fan of Amazon’s many entertainment offerings, then you’ll enjoy having access to them. However, that’s just me and my specific lifestyle, so I’d love to know what you, dear reader, prefer to use Prime for — especially if you don’t live in a major metropolitan hub. If you think there’s something I missed or that your fellow readers should know about, then leave a shout-out in the comment section below.