Amazon Prime will soon cost $139 a year – here’s how to lock in the current price

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The cost of Amazon Prime is going up again. Prime is Amazon’s subscription service that grants users free shipping on many items, as well as a bunch of other perks like Prime Video and Amazon Music Unlimited.

The reason for the price increase? Amazon has had to pay higher wages over increased scrutiny, and the pandemic has led to fewer people willing to work their asses off for low wages. Amazon has also started offering more signing bonuses to attract workers. But mainly, the companies say it’s due to increasing wages and transportation costs.

The company announced that it’s raising its Prime price from $119 to $139 a year starting February 18 for new members, with current members expected to see the increase after March 25. In addition, the cost of a monthly subscription will also increase from $12.99 to $14.99.

READ MORE: Amazon Music is getting a price hike for Prime members

If you want to lock in the current price for another year, you do have an option, but you’ll have to cough up an additional $119 now instead of when your year is up. We’ll show you how below.

How to lock in the current Amazon Prime rate for another year

If you’re currently not a Prime subscriber, the easiest way to lock in the current price is to subscribe before the February 18 deadline. That’s when the price goes up to $139.

For existing subscribers, you’ll want to gift yourself a Prime membership. To do this, you’ll need to head to Amazon and snag a “Gift of Prime.”

Of course, this is how you would typically gift a friend or family member Amazon Prime, but what’s to say you can’t give it to yourself?

READ MORE: How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership

Once you have gifted Prime to yourself, head to Prime Memberships under your account (top-right corner) and set a reminder before your renewal date. When you get the reminder, go ahead and cancel your Prime account. Then, when your subscription runs out, you can apply the Prime Gift to your account.

If you’re looking for another workaround, one of our readers offers a helpful suggestion in the comment section below:

“You can also choose the End your membership when you set the reminder and it will keep your membership active until the expiration date of your current subscription,” writes the commenter. “The only risk is if you forget to renew it when the reminder comes out, you will actually end your subscription.”

So there you have it. That’s how to lock in Amazon Prime at the old rate. And if you’re smart, buying a couple of gift Prime subscriptions could lock in the price for a couple of years, but read the fine print. Amazon doesn’t mention anything if they expire or not, so make sure to read it carefully before purchasing. Learn more here.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.