Why You Can Trust CNET Sign Up for Amazon Prime for the Memorial Weekend Sales: Here's How
Sign up for Prime to enjoy free 2-day shipping and an assortment of other perks, even beyond Memorial Day weekend.
Amazon's Prime Big Spring Sale are in full swing.
With Memorial Day sales here, those of us who are Amazon Prime-less may be curious to jump on board for the potential weekend savings, not to mention all of the additional perks that come with a Prime subscription. If you're looking to sign up for Prime -- for free at that -- keep reading.
We understand the hesitation if you're experiencing subscription fatigue. Paying for a full year is cheaper in the long run. If money's tight, it doesn't really matter if the subscription will "pay for itself" in the cash you end up saving on shipping and other perks. Luckily for you, Amazon offers a generous 30-day free trial for Prime, so you don't have much to lose outside of the time it takes you to sign up.
You won't just get free shipping with your Prime membership. With your subscription, you'll also receive access to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music Prime, discounts at Whole Foods, on Amazon Alexa products and more.
Read on for how to sign up for an Amazon Prime subscription. Don't miss out on the Prime perks you should use during the Memorial Day sale and how to find hidden deals on Amazon before Memorial Day.
Choose your Amazon Prime plan
Amazon offers four ways to subscribe to Prime, but two of those come with qualifications. Here's the breakdown.
- Prime monthly: $14.99/month -- 30-day free trial
- Prime annual: $139/year -- 30-day free trial
- Prime Access: $6.99/month -- 30-day free trial
- Prime Student: $7.49/month -- first 6 months free
Prime Access and Prime Student are discounted plans, and you need to qualify to participate. Those who qualify for certain government assistance programs can sign up for Prime Access, and only students, to no one's surprise, can sign up for Prime Student.
With the standard Prime plans, you have the choice to go monthly or annually, with the latter allowing you to save slightly over $40 over a year vs. the monthly plan.
How to sign up for Amazon Prime
To take advantage of Prime deals, you'll want to be a Prime member. To sign up, all you'll need to do is:
1. Navigate to www.amazon.com/amazonprime.
2. Tap the rectangular orange box that says Start Your 30-Day Trial.
3. If you already have an Amazon account, sign in. If you don't have an Amazon account, tap Create Account.
4. You will be prompted to enter your name, email address and password. Amazon will require you to verify your email address with a one-time password.
5. Select your payment method -- which can be a credit card, debit card, gift card or whatever other payment method you choose -- and add that information. Then click Continue.
That's it. You're now officially a Prime subscriber.
Canceling Prime just takes a few clicks
If you decide a Prime membership is no longer right for you, or if you want to end your free trial, it's pretty easy to cancel.
1. Sign into your Amazon account, and tap the Account & Lists dropdown menu.
2. Then select Prime Membership in the Your Account column.
3. Next, under the Manage membership heading, tap Update, cancel and more.
4. Then, simply select End Membership.
If you don't want to follow these steps, you can also go to this support page and jump directly to the End Membership button. Either way, after selecting End Membership you will no longer be subscribed to Amazon Prime.
For more shopping tips, check out how to return your Amazon products for free and how to get discounts year-round from Amazon.