10 Awesome Amazon Prime Perks You Probably Don't Know About

If you already have a Prime account, or are thinking about getting one, you know about many of the savings on shipping and deals that are commonly promoted but there are many more perks that most people don't know about or take advantage of regularly. Check out this lesser known advantages and perks of a Prime membership and make that annual membership fee work to its fullest advantage!

When you are thinking about adding a Prime membership be sure to enjoy your first month free. If you are a college student you can get 6 months free and then the remaining 6 months for only $49. This is a great deal if you are a student, you will need a valid student email address that ends in .edu, don't miss out on this big perk!

We all know that those lightning deals are a great buy but Prime members get access to these earlier than everyone else (an extra 30 minutes!) so you can score those deals before they sell out on the most popular and price slashing items! This is an especially great perk during the holidays.

Amazon is very serious when it promises free 2 day delivery for Prime members. In fact, they are so serious that if you have a delivery that is late you get a free month of Prime membership. Each member can receive up to 12 months free each year for late deliveries. So, if you order is late contact Amazon and get this great perk!

when you reload an Amazon $100 gift card the first time you will receive a $5 credit which is great, but every time you reload that same card you will receive a 2% reward for the amount you load. If you use that gift card for all your purchases by reloading the balance you will continue to receive that extra 2% reward!

When you have an Amazon prime membership you receive access to Prime Music an ad-free and on-demand music service you can listen to on and offline. No need for Spotify with a Prime membership and that can save you $9.99 a month or $120 over the year.

Also, an extra perk if you purchase CD's or albums through Amazon you will also receive a free mp3 of that music to have available through Prime Music or download to your mobile devices.

Prime members can get boxes of amazing samples as a perk of membership. When you initially choose a sample box you will have to pay from $5-15 but you will receive this as a credit towards future purchases so they are basically free sample boxes.

Also, Prime members receive a 20% discount on diapers when part of Amazon Family as well as a 15% off items ordered through Subscribe and Save.

Prime members have access to great publications like People, Time, National Geographic, and Rolling Stone. When you are a Prime member, you also get to read books like The Lord of the Rings, Life of Pi, Harry Potter, and 1984 all for free.

Bonus feature! You don’t even need a Kindle to take advantage of this perk you can read on any device you choose!

The free 2-day shipping is a standard Prime perk we all know and love and while it is great for many orders there are times that 2 day delivery isn't really necessary. If you can wait the standard 5 days for delivery then choose no-rush shipping at checkout. As a thank you Amazon will reward you with a credit (from $1 to $5) that you can use towards ebooks, digital movies, games or even Prime Pantry. A little shopping planning can lead to some nice free items!

You can enjoy flat-fee shipping ($5.99) on regular sized Prime Pantry items no matter how heavy or full your box is and if you have 5 or more Prime Pantry items then the shipping is FREE. This is a great option to skip the line at the grocery stores. Also, you can often find coupons and deals on the Prime Pantry items to save even more money.

This last perk is for others as much as it is for you. You can fill your Amazon boxes with items you want to donate (no electronics) the head over to www.givebackbox.com and print a free shipping label. Amazon and other businesses have partnered with GiveBackBox to pay for the shipping!

You can also donate easily by changing your homepage search from amazon.com to smile.amazon.com you can choose a charity and every time you make a purchase 0.5% of your purchase will be donated to the charity of your choice.

There are even more perks to Amazon Prime that you can take advantage of such as first dibs on new releases, watch movies and shows online, and get 1 day shipping if you leave in certain cities. I would suggest you try your free month and be sure to use the different perks and see if the Prime membership can help your family save enough money to make the membership price worth the cost for your budget.