Almost everyone has purchased an item or two from Amazon at one point or another. During those times, it's hard to miss the Amazon's "Amazon Prime" offering. After all, it's blatantly advertised on each screen as you process your order. You probably know the biggest perks of Amazon Prime such as early bird access to lightning deals, product discounts, and free shipping. However, Amazon Prime has lots of other lesser-known advantages. In fact, if you add all the lesser-known advantages and the big advantages, it's easy to conclude that the 99 USD per year of Amazon Prime is actually worth the price.
Below are a few of Amazon Prime's benefits that you may not know about:
Free Same-Day Delivery
Most people know about "Free Delivery" offered to Amazon Prime members. What most people don't know is that some destinations have free access to same-day delivery. This perk is actually a recent addition. In fact, Amazon announced the perk on April 6, 2016. It's probably why you haven't heard of such an advantage.
Prime Now
If you think that same-delivery is already a big perk, wait until you hear about Prime Now. If you live in a metro area and you are an Amazon Prime member, then there is a good chance that you have access to the Prime Now app. The app helps you efficiently browse Amazon items that can be delivered in two hours or less. If you want the item to be delivered in an hour, you can pay a flat fee of $7.99.
Prime Video
Another advantage of Amazon Prime is that it gives you access to Prime Video. Prime Video is one of the fastest growing aspects of Amazon Prime. It is designed to compete toe-to-toe with Hulu and Netflix. What's more interesting is the fact that Prime Video is able to hold its ground against the more popular competitors. Prime Video already produced two Emmy-winning original series, "Mozart in the Jungle" and "Transparent."
Premium Channel Discounts
Apart from having access to Prime Video, Amazon Prime members also get a big discount for subscribing to various premium channels. Showtime and Starz are good examples of such premium channels. At this rate, more and more networks will join the Amazon's premium channel discount bandwagon.
Prime Music
Prime Music is a direct competitor of Tidal and Spotify. If you don't like to pay a subscription to such music giants and still want to hear your favorite tunes, then you can do so with the help of Prime Music. Keep in mind that Prime Music's music catalog is a bit smaller compared to Spotify or Tidal, but it's good enough for most people. Chances are, unless you are a die-hard fan of some lesser-known artist, you'd be happy with Prime Music.
Kindle Lending Library
Another great thing about being an Amazon Prime member is that you get to have access to Kindle Lending Library. This means you can "rent" a book for an entire month before the book disappears from your Kindle app.