Amazon Prime’s annual fee is getting a price hike to $139 – CNET
Amazon had good news for investors today with better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, but bad news for subscribers of its Amazon Prime service: the annual membership cost in the US has been increased from $119 to $139, while the monthly rate has been bumped up from $12.99 to $14.99.
Amazon gave several reasons for the price hike in its earnings press release, including more big-budget shows on Prime Video like The Wheel of Time, Jack Reacher and the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power as well as its decade-long exclusive license to NFL’s Thursday Night Football. The company also touted expanded availability for same-day delivery to 90 metropolitan areas nationwide, free shipping for more items, and more deals on products.
Pricier Amazon Prime subscriptions could make competing services more attractive, like Walmart Plus, which currently costs $98 per year. While the superstore chain’s service doesn’t have the extensive list of TV shows, movies, music, and games included with Prime, Walmart Plus could appeal even more to budget-conscious consumers looking to save on shipping costs for goods.
This is the first Amazon Prime price hike since 2018, when Amazon increased its annual rate from $99 to $119 and monthly rate from $10.99 to $12.99. Given the service launched in 2005 for a yearly $79, which is around $115 adjusted for inflation according to the Consumer Price Index, Amazon’s new price hike bumps it up a bit ahead of schedule. But subscribers are certainly getting more from the service today than when it launched over 15 years ago, when CEO Jeff Bezos boasted in a letter on the company’s site that with Prime, “two-day shipping becomes an everyday experience rather than an occasional indulgence.”
