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How to Cancel Your Amazon Prime Membership

Amazon Prime offers a variety of perks including free two-day shipping, unlimited music and video streaming, and unlimited photo storage. The benefits of Amazon Prime have attracted an estimated 90 million members in the U. S. However, if you're a current Prime member but don't place enough orders to take full advantage of the expedited shipping, or if you don't regularly use the other exclusive perks that come with the $99 annual fee, it may be time to cancel Prime.

SEE ALSO: 9 Money-Saving Hacks for Amazon Shoppers

If you've been pondering canceling your Amazon Prime account, but are stumped on how to do it, there's no need to dig through the FAQ section on Amazon. com. We've got you covered. Below, we outline the steps you need to take to cancel your Prime membership.

Step-by-Step Guide to Cancel Amazon Prime

Step 1. After logging in to Amazon, go to the "Accounts & Lists" drop-down in the upper right portion of the homepage and click on the "Your Prime Membership" tab. This will take you to the "Manage Your Prime Membership" page, which highlights the type of membership plan you have, your Prime account's auto-renewal date, as well as your member benefits.

Step 2. On the "Manage Your Prime Membership" page, you'll need to scroll down and click on the "End Membership and Benefits" tab located in the lower left portion of the page.

Step 3. After clicking the "End Membership and Benefits" tab, you'll get a prompt asking if you're sure you want to proceed with cancelling your Prime membership. If yes, continue by clicking the "End My Benefits" button.

Step 4. Keep in mind that you will be shown another prompt trying to entice you to downgrade your annual membership to a less expensive version. This includes the monthly Prime plan where you get access to all of Prime's perks for $12.99 per month and the Prime Video plan where you get unlimited access to movie and TV content only for $8.99 per month. Stay strong.

Step 5. At this point, if you're positive that you want to cancel your Prime account, click on the "Continue to Cancel" button. You'll then get taken to a page confirming the cancellation. However, you'll need to confirm whether you want to end your membership at that exact moment or on the date when the annual membership expires. To end it immediately, click the "End Now" button.

Step 6. Now, go back to your account page. The changes to your account should be reflected and show that you are no longer a Prime member. You should also receive an e-mail notification alerting you of the changes.

Keep in mind that if you were a paid member (meaning you weren't using a free trial) and did not use any of the Prime benefits before cancelling your account, you're eligible to receive a full refund of the $99 annual fee. You should see it credited back to the original form of payment used at registration within three to five business days.

SEE ALSO: 17 Surprising Benefits of Amazon Prime

Copyright 2018 The Kiplinger Washington Editors

Amazon Prime: 20 benefits every member gets

The complete list of all the stuff that is (and isn't) included with your Prime subscription.

It's not all about the shipping. Or even the shopping.

Amazon Prime is probably best known for two things: free two-day (scratch that: one-day!) shipping and Netflix-style video streaming. Those are decidedly worthwhile perks, especially considering the relatively low $119 annual subscription charge (a basic Netflix subscription costs $108 all by itself). But a Prime membership affords more than just shipping and streaming. A lot more.

Here's a look at every single benefit included with Prime -- along with a few Amazon services you might have thought were included, but actually cost extra. (Don't have a subscription at the moment? You can sign up for Prime here, even if it's just to get a 30-day trial -- and you can even get Prime Day deals without being a member.)

The complete list of Prime perks is surprisingly long. Let's start with everyone's favorite: fast, free shipping.

Shipping benefits

Free overnight shipping: In the beginning, Prime afforded a fantastic shipping upgrade: Free two-day delivery on many, if not most, of Amazon's physical goods -- even if it's just one item and it costs just a few bucks. ($3 HDMI cable, anyone?) Earlier this year, however, the benefit got even better: Amazon transitioned to overnight shipping for millions of products. Not in a hurry? When you get to the checkout page, look for a "no-rush delivery" option, which can net you a small credit (usually $1) that can be applied to digital purchases: e-books, movie rentals and so on.

Free release-date delivery: Suppose you preorder a new book from your favorite author or a hot new tech product. As a Prime subscriber, you'll receive that item on the exact day it's released -- not a day or two later. Only certain items are eligible, of course.

Free two-hour delivery: Prime Now takes things hyperlocal, delivering Whole Foods groceries and other items in just two hours -- free if you spend at least $35, $4.99 if you don't. What's more, Amazon offers Whole Foods discounts exclusively for Prime subscribers (see below).

Shopping benefits

Free (or flat-rate) grocery and household item delivery: Toilet paper, dog food, shampoo, your favorite cereal -- Prime Pantry will deliver these and other goods (pretty much anything that doesn't require refrigeration). However, to get free shipping (and it'll be ground shipping, not one - or two-day), you must spend at least $35. Spend less and shipping runs $5.99 per order. You can also upgrade your Prime Pantry membership for $4.99 per month, but the only advantage to doing so is getting free shipping with a $10 minimum instead of $35.

Alexa deals: Do you own an Echo, Fire tablet or other Alexa-compatible device? If so, utter these magic words: "Alexa, what are your deals?" She'll rattle off a list of rather random Prime-exclusive deals, pausing after each one to ask if you want to buy it. It's certainly not the most efficient way of shopping -- especially if you opt to hop online to make sure the deal you're getting is actually a good one -- but it's a Prime perk all the same.

5% cash back with an Amazon Prime card: How do you score even better deals at Amazon? Sign up for one of the company's credit cards; each offers 5% cash back on nearly every Amazon purchase. There's the Amazon Store Card, which is good only at Amazon and offers interest-free financing on various purchases. (Right now, you can also get a $60 gift card when you sign up.) Then there's the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card, a more traditional credit card that gives you cash back for non-Amazon purchases as well.

Exclusive discounts at Whole Foods: Following Amazon's 2017 acquisition of the grocery chain, you can now score exclusive perks and discounts. If you're shopping in-store, look for prices marked "Prime," then just open the Amazon app on your phone and flash the QR code at checkout. While you're at it, use the aforementioned Prime Rewards Visa to net an additional 5% cash back.

Instant reordering with Amazon Dash buttons: In the beginning, Amazon sold physical buttons you could use to reorder various household products (paper towels, laundry detergent, coffee pods, etc.). But Dash buttons are now exclusively virtual, meaning you access them on your computer, mobile device, Echo Show ($230 at Amazon) or Samsung Family Hub. The functionality remains the same: one tap automatically reorders individual products.

Early access to Lightning deals: Amazon's Lightning deals run for limited time or while supplies last. If you're a Prime subscriber, you get access to those deals 30 minutes ahead of non-subscribers.

Access to Amazon Elements: Arguably the most "meh" of all the Prime perks, Elements is an exclusive Amazon store stocked mostly with "premium" vitamins, protein powder and other supplements, plus baby wipes.

The Completion Discount: Having a baby? If you used Amazon to create a gift registry, the Completion Discount nets you an extra 15% off any remaining items on the list (i. e., items that weren't purchased for you).

Prime Wardrobe: This Amazon exclusive gives you seven days to try eligible clothing, shoes and accessories at home, then send back for a full refund any items you don't like.

Streaming benefits

Limited music streaming: Amazon Prime Music affords unlimited, ad-free access to a song library stocked with over 2 million tracks. You can stream them to various devices, but songs can also be downloaded to your phone or tablet for offline listening. Prime Music should not be confused with Amazon Music Unlimited (see "What's not included with Amazon Prime," below), which offers a much larger library but costs extra. Prime subscribers do get a break on the price, though.

Media benefits

Unlimited photo storage: Much like Google, Amazon Prime offers subscribers unlimited cloud storage for photos. For most people that means using the Amazon Drive app to upload pictures from phones and tablets, but there's also a desktop app (for Windows and Mac) that can archive photos from your hard drive. In addition, Prime Photos gives you 5GB of storage for documents and videos.

Free e-books and magazines: As part of your Prime subscription, you get access to Amazon Prime Reading, which -- like a lending library -- lets you borrow up to 10 titles. The catch: This particular library offers a relatively small selection, so don't expect a lot of new titles or bestsellers. However, the magazine selection -- which rotates fairly often -- can be decent. Right now, for example, you can get Entertainment Weekly, Martha Stewart Living and Men's Health, to name a few.

Amazon Prime affords you access to a variety of digital books and magazines, all included free with your subscription.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Free e-books, part 2: It's called Amazon First Reads and it works like this: Each month, Amazon editors curate upward of a dozen yet-to-be-released books and give Prime subscribers the chance to pick one of them -- for free. And it's for keeps, too; you're not just borrowing the book.

Free Audible channels: Amazon owns audiobook service Audible. Audible Channels is one of Prime's best-kept secrets -- a small selection of audiobooks available only to Prime members (and available only for streaming; if you want to download one, you'll have to buy it). But speaking of secrets, these books are sort of hidden: To find them, you need to venture into the Audible app on your phone, then tap the Channels icon and scroll all the way down until you see Audiobook Collections.

Free PC games and extras: Hardcore gamers know all about Twitch, which lets users watch and share game videos. Prime subscribers who link their Twitch and Prime accounts can get free games and in-game loot. (To access the former, you'll need the Twitch desktop client.)

Odds and ends

Membership sharing: Do you share a household with another adult? Then you can take advantage of Amazon Households to share many of your Prime benefits with that person. Households also allows up to four teens (ages 13-17) to create their own profiles for shopping and streaming.

Amazon Prime also lets you add premium video subscriptions -- HBO, Starz, Showtime and so on -- to your Prime Video viewing umbrella, though it's really just a convenience: You don't get any discounts compared with purchasing those subscriptions separately.

What's not included with Amazon Prime

That's an awful lot of Prime goodness. However, a smattering of Amazon services aren't included with your subscription -- and a few services have disappeared. For example, Amazon Restaurants, which offered GrubHub-like food delivery, was discontinued last month. There's no more free 6-month Washington Post subscription, either. Here's a look at what costs extra -- and how much extra.

Amazon Fresh: It doesn't seem likely that Amazon Fresh -- a grocery-delivery service that predates Amazon's ownership of Whole Foods -- will continue much longer, especially considering its limited availability (still just a smattering of regions) and $14.99 monthly fee.

Amazon FreeTime Unlimited: A subscription service designed expressly for ages 3 to 12, FreeTime Unlimited curates kid-friendly apps, e-books, games, movies, TV shows and other content. It's compatible with Kindles, Fire tablets and the Fire TV, and it includes parental controls for things like setting time limits, adjusting content filters, and reviewing any photos taken with the tablet. You don't need to have a Prime subscription to get FreeTime Unlimited, but it's cheaper: $2.99 per month for one child or $6.99 per month for up to four children. If you don't have Prime, the service costs $4.99 and $9.99, respectively.

Kindle Unlimited: Kindle Unlimited -- priced at $9.99 per month -- appears to expand on the e-book, digital magazine and audiobook content already included in your Prime membership. It's not actually clear just how much more content you get, so be sure to sign up for a trial first. (As it happens, Prime subscribers are currently eligible for a three-month trial at no charge.)

Music Unlimited: Amazon's answer to Apple Music, Spotify and the like gives you access to some 50 million songs -- cons >investigate whether Amazon Music Unlimited is good deal for you before adding it to your account.

How to Cancel Your Amazon Prime Membership

Now that Amazon Prime costs $119 a year, you might be re-thinking your membership. Here's a step-by-step guide to canceling Prime.

By Andrea Browne Taylor, Online Editor

March 21, 2018

Updated June 15, 2018

Amazon Prime offers a variety of perks including free two-day shipping, unlimited music and video streaming, and unlimited photo storage. The benefits of Amazon Prime have attracted 100 million members worldwide. However, if you're a current Prime member but don't place enough orders to take full advantage of the expedited shipping, or if you don't regularly use the other exclusive perks that come with the annual fee, which jumped from $99 to $119 for everyone effective June 16, it may be time to cancel Prime.

SEE ALSO: 9 Money-Saving Hacks for Amazon Shoppers

If you've been pondering canceling your Amazon Prime account, but are stumped on how to do it, there's no need to dig through the FAQ section on Amazon. com. We've got you covered. Below, we outline the steps you need to take to cancel your Prime membership.

Step-by-Step Guide to Cancel Amazon Prime

Step 1. After logging in to Amazon, go to the "Accounts & Lists" drop-down in the upper right portion of the homepage and click on the "Your Prime Membership" tab. This will take you to the "Manage Your Prime Membership" page, which highlights the type of membership plan you have, your Prime account's auto-renewal date, as well as your member benefits.

Step 2. On the "Manage Your Prime Membership" page, you'll need to scroll down and click on the "End Membership and Benefits" tab located in the lower left portion of the page.

Step 3. After clicking the "End Membership and Benefits" tab, you'll get a prompt asking if you're sure you want to proceed with canceling your Prime membership. If yes, continue by clicking the "End My Benefits" button.

Step 4. Keep in mind that you will be shown another prompt trying to entice you to downgrade your annual membership to a less expensive version. This includes the monthly Prime plan where you get access to all of Prime's perks for $12.99 per month and the Prime Video plan where you get unlimited access to movie and TV content only for $8.99 per month. Stay strong.

Step 5. At this point, if you're positive that you want to cancel your Prime account, click on the "Continue to Cancel" button. You'll then get taken to a page confirming the cancellation. However, you'll need to confirm whether you want to end your membership at that exact moment or on the date when the annual membership expires. To end it immediately, click the "End Now" button.

Step 6. Now, go back to your account page. The changes to your account should be reflected and show that you are no longer a Prime member. You should also receive an e-mail notification alerting you of the changes.

Keep in mind that if you were a paid member (meaning you weren't using a free trial) and did not use any of the Prime benefits before cancelling your account, you're eligible to receive a full refund of the $99 annual fee. You should see it credited back to the original form of payment used at registration within three to five business days.

Amazon Launches New Prime Student Monthly Plan

By Elana Goodwin, Uloop

Is your student an Amazon aficionado? If so, you’ll want to inform them that Amazon has unveiled a new monthly payment plan for Prime Student, according to a recent press release. The new plan, which is available to all college students currently enrolled in four or two-year colleges across the U. S., will cost just $5.49 per month, which is 50% off Prime, after a six-month trial.

The new monthly Prime Student plan is more flexible and provides all the benefits of Prime membership to students without them having to make a yearly commitment.

“Our new monthly payment option lets students enjoy the best of Amazon in a more flexible and simple way,” said Ellen Kinney, Director of Prime Student, Amazon. “Whether it’s getting their favorite products with free shipping or streaming thousands of popular movies and shows, Prime student members can experience all the benefits of Prime.”

Prime boasts many benefits, such as instant access to thousands of movies and TV series and the ability to stream music, not to mention special discounts and offers on a wide variety of products. Further, with Prime, members can enjoy fast, free, Unlimited Two-Day shipping on more than 50 million items, expediting the whole “waiting for your package” process and making ordering products online more convenient.

Additionally, Prime also offers even quicker free shipping with Prime Free One-Day Shipping and Prime FREE Same-Day Delivery in more than 5,000 cities, Free Same-Day and Free One-Day pickup on millions of items at campus locations, as well as Prime Now in over 30 major cities.

Amazon has also made a name for itself with Prime Video and Prime Music, with the former giving members the unlimited ability to stream thousands of movies and TV shows, including popular licensed content and critically praised and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies. With Prime Music, members receive ad-free access to more than two million songs and thousands of playlists and stations at no additional cost to their membership.

Furthermore, there’s Prime Photos, which provides members with free unlimited photo storage within the Prime Photos App, and Prime Reading, which offers unlimited access to a revolving assortment of more than a thousand books, Audible narrations, magazines, comics, Kindle Singles, and more.

If your student is a gamer, there’s also the benefit of Twitch Prime, which offers discounts on most pre-release boxed games, free in-game loot, like exclusive characters, boosts, skins, and more, plus full games from indie developers. Members also get a Twitch channel subscription every 30 days, as well as ad-free viewing, an expanded set of chat emotes and colors, and an exclusive chat badge.