Amazon is once again America's second favorite retail giant (just behind Walmart), according to the National Retail Federation's 2024 Top 100 Retailers report. (Who's on third? Costco).
No question, Amazon comes in at number two for good reason. Not only can you find a huge selection of products and services, if you're a Prime member, you'll also get free, two-day shipping on all eligible items, as well as access to digital storage for your photos, video streaming and much more — just a taste of what keeps customers coming back.
Although there are dozens of reasons to join Prime, Amazon did hike the price of its subscription in 2022, so you might be thinking about canceling your Prime membership. Before you pull the plug, take a look at these 10 money-saving hacks.
1. Shop Woot! deals
Woot! is Amazon’s daily deals site where you can get deals and discounts on everything from clothing to home items and electronics. But check back daily to see what’s available, because offers change all the time. If you're a Prime member, you’ll get free standard shipping on all Woot! purchases.
2. Use Amazon coupons
Amazon offers coupons — clippable coupons (yellow buttons or orange tags), link coupons and promo codes that automatically apply to your cart or require you to enter the code during checkout. But the easiest way to find Amazon coupons is on Amazon’s Coupon Page.
If you’re about to order an item and you're not fixed on that specific brand, check to see if there’s a similar item that has a coupon attached. When you log on and start searching for coupons, you may notice that most name-brands do not offer coupons. No fear. Come back often as new coupons are added daily and you never know what will pop up.
3. Find lightning deals
When you're looking for great bargains, search lightning deals on Amazon where you can find discounts of over 50% on some items. But many of these deals are temporary and fly out the door quickly, so don't hesitate too long. You’ll see a status bar that indicates when the deal expires — either when enough customers claim the deal, or when the timer runs out.
4. Subscribe and save
There are certain items that you always need around the house, like coffee, vitamins and paper towels. These are often available at a discounted price through Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program. If there's a discounted price, you'll see it on the product page, so you can see how much you'll save by signing up for a subscription vs. a one-off purchase.
There are thousands of qualifying products available. Just pick the quantity and delivery frequency that works for you. You have the option to cancel or change your preferences at any time. Plus, once you order five or more Subscribe & Save products in a month to a single address, you’ll unlock extra price discounts.
5. Select no-rush shipping
If you don't need your Amazon packages right away, choose no-rush shipping on your order. By doing so, you will receive an immediate discount or rewards — like digital credits for movies, books and music — to use later on.
Although discounts are available to everyone, rewards are only available to Prime members and you don't get to choose which you want. The rewards depend on the offer.
6. Get free shipping without a Prime membership
If you don't order from Amazon often enough to warrant spending $139 a year or $14.99 per month for Prime membership, there are a couple of other ways to get your occasional orders delivered free. When you order $35 worth of eligible products, your entire order qualifies for free economy shipping, which typically takes five to eight business days.
7. Shop Amazon Warehouse deals
When eligible used, pre-owned and open-box products are returned to Amazon, they go through a quality check before being sold in Amazon’s warehouse section, now called Amazon Resale. You can find deep discounts on everything from computers and household goods to tools and pet supplies. However, the used price is not always better than buying new so compare before you buy.
8. Search by discount
Amazon doesn't allow you to sort by the "percentage off" discount on items, which can make it challenging to find the best deal. And, sorting by price can bring up dozens of pages of irrelevant results. To find hidden discounts, enter a product in Amazon's search bar and add &pct-off;=50- to the URL. This will show you items that are discounted by 50%.
This little hack works for any discounted amount. Although the results aren’t always perfect, you'll never know if it works on a specific item unless you try it out.
9. Check out the Prime Visa credit card
You may be hesitant to apply for another credit card, but if you shop a lot on Amazon, the Prime Visa card comes with many benefits worth checking out. First, you'll get 5% back on Amazon purchases and at Whole Foods Market. You'll also get back 5% off at Amazon Fresh and on Chase Travel. And, earn unlimited 5% back on your purchases at Audible.com
Other offers include 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and local transit and commuting, and 1% back everywhere else. This all comes with no annual fee or international transaction charges.
10. Add another adult
There's a way for some folks to reap the benefits of Amazon Prime without having to fork over the $139 annual or $14.99 per month membership fee. Prime members are allowed to add one adult in their household to their Prime account free of charge. The second adult must have his or her own Amazon account and must use the same billing address as the primary Prime account holder.
(Caution: Both individuals will have access to credit card information associated with the Prime account). Once the new household member has been verified, he or she gets access to free two-day shipping, video streaming, online photo storage and the Kindle owners' lending library.
Good luck, and happy shopping!
