*By now you’ve probably heard about Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer. But do you know about Amazon Prime? Its the membership-based section and offers perks like free shipping; streaming of videos and TV shows and more. I remember purchasing Prime and paying the annual fee of $99 around Christmas a few years ago. It sure came in handy, what with all the gifts being shipped to family and friends all over the country. And the beauty of it all is it didn’t stop there. It’s a benefit that works year-round.
Now Amazon Prime is bringing that annual membership price w-a-y so that low-income consumers can enjoy the benefits too. According to Mashable, on Tuesday the company announced it will be offering its Prime membership at a discounted price of $5.99 a month to low-income families receiving government assistance.
The price of the monthly Prime membership is generally $10.99. That’s about $132 a year, or $99 a year if you pay annually like I did. Now, families with access to EBT? (an electronic card used for food stamps through SNAP, WIC, and TANF benefits) can get the discounted Prime membership for $5.99 a month. Based on a 12-month calendar, that comes out to about $70 a year.
?We designed this membership option for customers receiving government assistance to make our everyday selection and savings more accessible, including the many conveniences and entertainment benefits of Prime,” Greg Greeley, Vice President of Amazon Prime, said in a statement.
Although Low-income customers must have an EBT card to qualify for Amazon’s lower pricing, no government benefits can be used to pay for the membership, and in addition, consumers must qualify each year, for a period of up to four years of discounted Prime membership.
The discount is just for Prime’s membership fee, not for any specific goods or services available through Prime. Membership will include all Prime perks.
