How to Sign Up for Amazon Prime and Save Big on Prime Day

You'll need to be a member of Amazon's subscription service to take advantage of next week's Prime Day savings. But if you've never had a Prime membership before, there's good news: You can shop the best deals by signing up for a 30-day free trial. 

Not only does Amazon Prime offer free two-day shipping, but there are also plenty of other perks you can take advantage of -- some of which actually manage to pay for the membership itself.

Below, we'll show you how to sign up for Amazon Prime so you can get the best deals on offer for less. 

For more, don't miss the hottest early Prime Day deals under $100, and read about whether Trump's tariffs will affect your shopping. 

Amazon Prime: 30-day free trial

Start your 30-day Prime free trial now and you'll be able to shop the best deals without paying for a subscription -- just remember to cancel before it renews.

Details

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Amazon Prime plans

Amazon offers four ways to subscribe to Prime, but two of those come with qualifications. Here's the breakdown. 

• Prime monthly: $15 a month -- 30-day free trial
• Prime annual: $139 a year -- 30-day free trial
• Prime Access: $7 a month -- 30-day free trial
• Prime Student: $7.49 a month -- first six months free 

The most important thing to note is that Amazon does offer a 30-day free trial for any new members. You can cancel your membership without being charged, as long as you close your membership before your first payment. If you've previously been an Amazon Prime member, you won't be able to get a free trial with that same account.

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 a Prime subscriber. 

Here's how to cancel Amazon Prime before it renews

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.