10 Things to Know About Amazon Prime

10 Things to Know About Amazon Prime

Amazon is already a marketplace of great prices, better than a lot of other e-commerce store prices. The savings only get better if you are among the 85 million people who subscribe to Amazon Prime. It is fantastic when you go on a shopping bender, thanks to the service's most basic and best feature: free two-day shipping on eligible products. Plus, you get access to all the streaming content Amazon Video.

A Prime member can also take advantage of Amazon's annual Prime Day every year, its attempt to boost e-commerce in the summer to Black Friday-mania levels. The savings can be substantial; of course, Amazon has other sales throughout the year, too, most of them geared toward Prime members.

If you've never tried Prime membership, you can try its 30-day free trial. It's definitely worth trying, even if you're not going shopping, because Prime includes a slew of other services beyond just shipping and videos. Below, we'll spell out some of the special things you get with the service.

1 - Unlimited Streaming on Prime Video

By now, you're probably aware of Amazon's version of Netflix, Prime Video.  You can original shows plus a slew of movies, on just about any device - if you're a Prime member.

2 - Watch Videos without Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is no longer required to stream Amazon Video on mobile: you can stream over a cellular connection. That's great for commuters on a train or bus.

3 - Download Video on Mobile

Another data-saving option is to download videos at home on Wi-Fi to watch later when you're on cellular or offline, like on a plane. Look for the "Download" option in the video details of any title.

4 - Get Free Music with Prime

Amazon doesn't like to be left behind when companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google get into a new market. So of course, it created Prime Music. It's a streaming music service, akin to Spotify or Pandora or Apple Music, but of course, free if you already pay for a Prime membership.

5 - Split the Prime

If you've got a couple of Amazon shoppers under the same roof, share a Prime membership with one other adult (plus up to four kids who don't actually have Amazon accounts). This is a smart feature to keep the holiday shopping secrets, yet still get all the two-day shipping savings.

6 - Prime Early Access Deals

Prime members can enjoy 30 minutes of extra early access to Amazon's popular Lightning Deals. The deals will say "Prime Early Access" right on them. You can visit “Today's Deals” and click “Prime Early Access Deals” in the left navigation to get access to all of them.

7 - Amazon Family

Prime members with kids can sign up for Amazon Family. Parents get extra savings, such as 20 percent off diaper subscriptions, exclusive coupons, and registries for baby stuff.

8 - Same-Day (or Faster) Delivery

All the Prime members can get same-day or one-day delivery on over one million items with qualifying orders over $35. Order something by noon and get it by 9 p.m. that day or order by the afternoon and get it by 9 p.m. the next day.

9 - Amazon Prime Reload

If you're a Prime member as well as a frequent Amazon shopper, you can consider Amazon Prime Reload. Just add funds to an Amazon.com Gift Card Balance using a checking account and get 2% back - up to $196 per day - on every purchase made using those funds.

10 - See Live Prime Events

The latest Prime perk: access to live concerts. Literally, Amazon might give you exclusive access to be in the audience for artists you love. Of course, you have to buy the (non-transferable, virtual) tickets from Amazon—in fact, there aren't any tickets, they just leave your name at the door.