Quit Amazon Prime

[midweststache]

We cut Prime this summer. We lost access to Prime Video but really haven't missed it, especially since we can still get access to FreeVee.

We do have an Amazon Prime card from when we were car-free and needed 40lb bags of dog food or ordering diapers, but our situation has changed. We rarely order from Amazon for anything anymore, so the shift from 5% cashback to 3% cashback is negligible. We haven't shopped at Whole Foods for anything in more than two years, so that perk means nothing to us. We still get the other cash back %s on that card whether we're Prime members or not.

DH was hesitant to make the shift (he kept complaining about losing Prime Video) and really dragging his feet, but we haven't missed it at all.

[jnw]

DH was hesitant to make the shift (he kept complaining about losing Prime Video) and really dragging his feet, but we haven't missed it at all.

Good thing ya did, b/c now they are charging $36 more per year to avoid commercials on prime video.  I liked prime when it was $69 or $99 with prime video with no commercials.  Now they want $176 for the same thing, no thanks.

(That was one of my reasons for keeping prime membership in the past, was for prime video.  When they got up to $119 I was so tempted to quit them; when they went to $139 shortly after I just had it with them.. now $176... my goodness, aren't they all high and mighty! lol.)

[Must_ache]

Another shoutout for Amy D. She wasn't just the editor, TTWG was her brainchild

Shouldn't it be TTG? Or TTWGZ?

[Dicey]

Another shoutout for Amy D. She wasn't just the editor, TTWG was her brainchild

Shouldn't it be TTG? Or TTWGZ?

The Tightwad Gazette has been abbreviated as TTWG for ages. It might have started over at The Non-Consumer Advocate (NCA), because Katy's a huge Amy D. fan.

[lifeisshort123]

We have a credit card which provides Walmart+.  We find that much more affordable and beneficial for us.

[midweststache]

We cut Prime this summer. We lost access to Prime Video but really haven't missed it, especially since we can still get access to FreeVee.

We do have an Amazon Prime card from when we were car-free and needed 40lb bags of dog food or ordering diapers, but our situation has changed. We rarely order from Amazon for anything anymore, so the shift from 5% cashback to 3% cashback is negligible. We haven't shopped at Whole Foods for anything in more than two years, so that perk means nothing to us. We still get the other cash back %s on that card whether we're Prime members or not.

DH was hesitant to make the shift (he kept complaining about losing Prime Video) and really dragging his feet, but we haven't missed it at all.

Follow up: Amazon sent us a 30 day Prime trial in the hopes we'd renew our membership - so we signed up for the trial, got free shipping on a Christmas gift that was going to be cutting it close, shipping-wise, and we'll get to stream MOST of the new season of Reacher.

We also, of course, have a note in our calendar to cancel the free trial before it charges us for a new subscription.

[jnw]

We cut Prime this summer. We lost access to Prime Video but really haven't missed it, especially since we can still get access to FreeVee.

We do have an Amazon Prime card from when we were car-free and needed 40lb bags of dog food or ordering diapers, but our situation has changed. We rarely order from Amazon for anything anymore, so the shift from 5% cashback to 3% cashback is negligible. We haven't shopped at Whole Foods for anything in more than two years, so that perk means nothing to us. We still get the other cash back %s on that card whether we're Prime members or not.

DH was hesitant to make the shift (he kept complaining about losing Prime Video) and really dragging his feet, but we haven't missed it at all.

Follow up: Amazon sent us a 30 day Prime trial in the hopes we'd renew our membership - so we signed up for the trial, got free shipping on a Christmas gift that was going to be cutting it close, shipping-wise, and we'll get to stream MOST of the new season of Reacher.

We also, of course, have a note in our calendar to cancel the free trial before it charges us for a new subscription.

I love calendar events with alerts :) 

[Josiecat22222]

Whelp, I just cancelled prime too.   I've had an account for 15 years, but the "enshittification" is real. The cost has doubled in that time, the shipping is NEVER 2 days since the pandemic and the blatant cash grab with the "limited targetted ads" is the last straw.

I'm very curious to see if there is any data on how many prime memberships are being cancelled in relation to the ad thing.  Reddit is ablaze over it, but not sure that's an accurate barometer.

[ender]

Whelp, I just cancelled prime too.   I've had an account for 15 years, but the "enshittification" is real. The cost has doubled in that time, the shipping is NEVER 2 days since the pandemic and the blatant cash grab with the "limited targetted ads" is the last straw.

I'm very curious to see if there is any data on how many prime memberships are being cancelled in relation to the ad thing.  Reddit is ablaze over it, but not sure that's an accurate barometer.

Personally, I don't know anyone who has prime primarily for watching Prime Video.

Everyone I know mostly got and uses prime for the shipping/retail options first, and video is an "oh well I guess I pay for it" thing.

We occasionally watch stuff on Prime Video. We just won't with ads. I'm not sure if we'll renew again though I don't think them charging more to avoid ads is going to impact that decision.

[jnw]

Personally, I don't know anyone who has prime primarily for watching Prime Video.

Everyone I know mostly got and uses prime for the shipping/retail options first, and video is an "oh well I guess I pay for it" thing.

We occasionally watch stuff on Prime Video. We just won't with ads. I'm not sure if we'll renew again though I don't think them charging more to avoid ads is going to impact that decision.

When I first got Prime it was $69.99 per year and I specifically got it for the fast 2 day shipping and for orders under $25.   The Prime Videos were a bonus.   Then when it was $99.99 per year I started reasoning, "But the prime video is pretty good.. overall a decent deal".  Then they went to $119.99 and that really upset me but I stuck with it, because I really liked the prime videos along with the more simple shipping.  When they increased it to $139.99, it was the last straw, I could no longer justify it.  And quit.  And now they want another $36 per year to avoid commercials.  $176 per year!  Ridiculous! 

There are some items I regularly get from Amazon and I leave them in the cart, to help fill out an order, to get it above $35 for free shipping.  I don't care how it takes to get the item.  If it is critical I get it as soon as possible, I'll pay for a month of prime, but I haven't had to do this yet, for an entire year now.

[RWTL]

Whelp, I just cancelled prime too.   I've had an account for 15 years, but the "enshittification" is real. The cost has doubled in that time, the shipping is NEVER 2 days since the pandemic and the blatant cash grab with the "limited targetted ads" is the last straw.

I'm very curious to see if there is any data on how many prime memberships are being cancelled in relation to the ad thing.  Reddit is ablaze over it, but not sure that's an accurate barometer.

I cancelled about a year ago due to the "enshittification".  Haven't really missed it at all.  I had several orders in a row that they messed up and customer service was terrible.

I still buy a few things on Amazon that I can't find elsewhere.  Shipping isn't really an issue for the majority of items and usually comes earlier than what they say.

[sonofsven]

I keep it because I buy enough business supplies to make it worthwhile; I write off a percentage of the yearly fee as a business expense.
I do a number of Swagbucks and MyPoints churns every year that are easily converted to Amazon gift card $. So if I buy business stuff on AMZ that I can charge to a client I'm actually getting cash for the SB/MP churn.
I rarely watch anything on Prime. I liked Bosch because I'd read all the books, but I can't think of another series I watched. Mainly I watch YouTube.

[Josiecat22222]

Personally, I don't know anyone who has prime primarily for watching Prime Video.

Everyone I know mostly got and uses prime for the shipping/retail options first, and video is an "oh well I guess I pay for it" thing.

We occasionally watch stuff on Prime Video. We just won't with ads. I'm not sure if we'll renew again though I don't think them charging more to avoid ads is going to impact that decision.

When I first got Prime it was $69.99 per year and I specifically got it for the fast 2 day shipping and for orders under $25.   The Prime Videos were a bonus.   Then when it was $99.99 per year I started reasoning, "But the prime video is pretty good.. overall a decent deal".  Then they went to $119.99 and that really upset me but I stuck with it, because I really liked the prime videos along with the more simple shipping.  When they increased it to $139.99, it was the last straw, I could no longer justify it.  And quit.  And now they want another $36 per year to avoid commercials.  $176 per year!  Ridiculous! 

There are some items I regularly get from Amazon and I leave them in the cart, to help fill out an order, to get it above $35 for free shipping.  I don't care how it takes to get the item.  If it is critical I get it as soon as possible, I'll pay for a month of prime, but I haven't had to do this yet, for an entire year now.

my experience was very similar to @jnw.  I don't really think streaming was a thing when I started my Prime membership, then as the price went up, it was one of the services that had been added so I calculated it as part of the value (although we watch about 1-2 movies a month).  Then with the latest ad shenanigans, I did a deeper dive on the real costs and figured out that of the past 10 movies we watched, only 3 were "free" on prime.  Couldn't really figure out what I was getting for my 139 dollars. 

BTW, if you cancel, they refund you back a prorated portion of your membership fee.  So, maybe I should crosspost this into "what small thing did you do to save money today"!

[sailorscooby]

This thread was the perfect reminder to me that I wanted to cancel my Prime, so thank you for that!
I think the service I tended to use the most was actually the KindleUnlimited, which is ~$12/month (apologies it's not exact, my prices are currently in Swedish Kroner while I'm mid-moving). BUT I think 2024 may be the year I finally lovingly-annoy the local library to get many more books available in English to make up the difference :)

[farmecologist]

Well...we are still with Prime.  However, the fact they are now going to charge $2.99 per month for "ad free" prime really might be the last straw. 

Ridiculous move!  However, I'm sure Amazon hired tons of MBAs and "did market research" to ensure $2.99 is a price most will bear.

 

[economista]

I'm trying to quickly re-watch Wheel of Time and Rings of Power before the ads start. I'm not paying $2.99 per month to remove them and DH keep talking about just canceling Prime altogether. In the past we would occasionally watch shows on it (mostly Downton Abbey and nice British reno shows) but we had Prime mostly for the ease of buying things and having them delivered, coupled with the 5% back on the amazon card. Two babies 15 months apart, one with special needs, and a blind husband who cant drive meant the "baby survival stage" necessitated doing a lot of Amazon shopping. Now that we are slowing down on our Amazon purchases Prime doesn't seem as important from that standpoint, but now they make two shows that we really like and want to watch! I think after our re-watch we will cancel Prime and then only sign up occasionally when the newest season of both shows is out.

[Moonwaves]

I used to be pretty good at not forgetting to cancel prime after binge-watching whatever show it was I had signed up for. But then for almost all of 2023, I just kept letting it tick on over. More a symptom of how my 2023 went than anything else (just about zero tracking of spending went on last year, obviously) because I was sure I had cancelled it and was surprised when I wanted to re-sign up for the second series of WoT that I was still subscribed. 

Anyway, I cancelled it a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to resubscribe to Netflix. And just today got the email telling me about how from February it will be an additional €2.99 per month to have ad-free access. But "Live events, such as sports, live TV, and content offered through Amazon Freevee will continue to include advertising". Since they're only drip-feeding Reacher, I'll miss the last couple of episodes but I'm sure I'll catch up some time. And if not, that's hardly the end of the world.

Apart from some of their original series, I've always found the prime video offering to be subpar and it's annoying to search for something, find it and then realise they want you to buy it because it's not included.
 

[jnw]

I used to be pretty good at not forgetting to cancel prime after binge-watching whatever show it was I had signed up for. But then for almost all of 2023, I just kept letting it tick on over. More a symptom of how my 2023 went than anything else (just about zero tracking of spending went on last year, obviously) because I was sure I had cancelled it and was surprised when I wanted to re-sign up for the second series of WoT that I was still subscribed. 

Anyway, I cancelled it a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to resubscribe to Netflix. And just today got the email telling me about how from February it will be an additional €2.99 per month to have ad-free access. But "Live events, such as sports, live TV, and content offered through Amazon Freevee will continue to include advertising". Since they're only drip-feeding Reacher, I'll miss the last couple of episodes but I'm sure I'll catch up some time. And if not, that's hardly the end of the world.

Apart from some of their original series, I've always found the prime video offering to be subpar and it's annoying to search for something, find it and then realise they want you to buy it because it's not included.

I believe you can immediately cancel Prime after you subscribe to it?  This is the same for many subscriptions.  One thing I do is if I am going to let it ruin without immediately cancelling is setup a calendar even to alert me to cancel the service a couple days before due date.

I got to where I don't care about staying current with the latest episode each week. I don't care if I binge watch an entire season or two , one to two years later after everyone else has watched it.  I don't find myself chatting about the latest tv episodes with friends or family.

Great to hear another person leaving Amazon Prime.  Everyone needs to BOYCOTT them, they are getting crazy with their fee hikes!  Bring back the $69.99 per year please then I might reconsider.. $176 is a complete joke.

[evanc]

Totally get where you are coming from (OP). For me, it's a no-brainer to keep prime, because my visa flagship rewards card reimburses me for the entire cost of the $139 annual prime membership. To anyone on the fence, check if that benefit is available.

[neo von retorch]

Totally get where you are coming from (OP). For me, it's a no-brainer to keep prime, because my visa flagship rewards card reimburses me for the entire cost of the $139 annual prime membership. To anyone on the fence, check if that benefit is available.

If you get 3% on an Amazon Visa without Prime, and 5% with, then spending >= $6950 annually at Amazon.com will cover the $139 subscription.

Our household spent about $4400 in 2023, so that 2% bump would've covered $88 of the subscription. But we avoid having Prime - I'll occasionally take a free week/month or pay $1.99 for a trial period. (I did 4x of those in 2023 for $8.44 total after tax. And the 2% bonus is activated for those - so I tend to do those when I'm spending > $100 and it does pay for itself with the cashback.)

[tj]

Totally get where you are coming from (OP). For me, it's a no-brainer to keep prime, because my visa flagship rewards card reimburses me for the entire cost of the $139 annual prime membership. To anyone on the fence, check if that benefit is available.

I thought that was only for the first year

[jnw]

Totally get where you are coming from (OP). For me, it's a no-brainer to keep prime, because my visa flagship rewards card reimburses me for the entire cost of the $139 annual prime membership. To anyone on the fence, check if that benefit is available.

I thought that was only for the first year

Ditto. I thought just the first year as well. I'd like the card if it gives it for free every year :) I like collecting useful credit cards and keeping them :)

[evanc]

Totally get where you are coming from (OP). For me, it's a no-brainer to keep prime, because my visa flagship rewards card reimburses me for the entire cost of the $139 annual prime membership. To anyone on the fence, check if that benefit is available.

I thought that was only for the first year

Thought so too, but this is my third consecutive year receiving the credit. Seems they keep renewing or extending the "limited" offer.

[eyesonthehorizon]

Given how often this thread turns into resubscribing or staying with Amazon Prime I’m beginning to think it should be retitled.

[jnw]

It has been over a year now and I haven’t paid an annual subscription — and don’t miss it.  I will take a free month from them from time to time or pay $1.99 for 1 week if prudent. I also don’t mind a free year if I can get it for free,  although I really don’t need it.  I also might pay for one month sub if I have an emergency or the item is pricey enough — $750 — that the extra 2% on the Chase Amazon Prime card covers the monthly fee — but in the past year I don’t recall ever having to do so.

[Ron Scott]

I think Prime is a fairly unique play with real value. We watch the channel, shop extensively on their store (obviously, like anywhere, you gotta check prices), and shop Whole Foods a few times each month. And we use their basic credit card on their stuff only.

After using the card, compared to what we could get through other cash-backs, I’m guessing we’re at least breaking even on the membership.

[Dicey]

I think Prime is a fairly unique play with real value. We watch the channel, shop extensively on their store (obviously, like anywhere, you gotta check prices), and shop Whole Foods a few times each month. And we use their basic credit card on their stuff only.

After using the card, compared to what we could get through other cash-backs, I’m guessing we’re at least breaking even on the membership.

Ha! We don't surf the channel, and don't shop at WF, but it's still worth it for us. DH buys equipment, refurbishes it (frequently with parts from Amazon, shipped via Prime), uses it to complete the desired task, then sells it for a profit, which pays for Prime many times over. I may have mentioned this upthread, but he's been doing it a lot recently.  The few times I use Prime, it comes in handy. He has their CC, too. This means it autofills. Whenever I buy anything, it goes on his CC. Our assets are all joint, but I still feel like I'm getting away with something when it doesn't go on my card.

[jeromedawg]

Totally get where you are coming from (OP). For me, it's a no-brainer to keep prime, because my visa flagship rewards card reimburses me for the entire cost of the $139 annual prime membership. To anyone on the fence, check if that benefit is available.

Which "flagship rewards card" are you referring to?

[RWD]

If you get 3% on an Amazon Visa without Prime, and 5% with, then spending >= $6950 annually at Amazon.com will cover the $139 subscription.

Our household spent about $4400 in 2023, so that 2% bump would've covered $88 of the subscription. But we avoid having Prime - I'll occasionally take a free week/month or pay $1.99 for a trial period. (I did 4x of those in 2023 for $8.44 total after tax. And the 2% bonus is activated for those - so I tend to do those when I'm spending > $100 and it does pay for itself with the cashback.)

We spent ~$2,600 at Amazon in 2023 because we moved and needed a lot of stuff. There's no way we'll ever spend $7k annually at Amazon.

[tj]

Totally get where you are coming from (OP). For me, it's a no-brainer to keep prime, because my visa flagship rewards card reimburses me for the entire cost of the $139 annual prime membership. To anyone on the fence, check if that benefit is available.

Which "flagship rewards card" are you referring to?

https://www.navyfederal.org/loans-cards/credit-cards/flagship-visa-signature.html

[Luke Warm]

My membership ended yesterday. Didn't renew.

[economista]

Mine ends tomorrow and I didn't renew.

[tj]

What I'm not sure of:

If I cancel my Prime do I still get the free Prime shipping if I was previously added on a family member's account?

I know being a Family member doesn't get access to other features like streaming video....

[crocheted_stache]

We don't use Amazon enough to justify Prime, so we've never had it.

We collect a list of "nice-to-have" stuff that we don't expect to find locally, in person, so we always have something to add if we need it to get to the shipping limit when it comes time to make an order. There are sites that list "cart fillers," searchable by price, but we've never needed to add something arbitrarily to make up the difference.

The last time we ordered something, which might have been six months ago, we met the shipping limit handily but had to watch closely and hunt around on the checkout screens to turn off the automatic Prime trial sign-up...repeatedly. It was way more than just unchecking a box. I get why they do it, but it felt underhanded how persistent and sneaky it was.

[Ron Scott]

The Amazon store is a great business story.

When I was working, we closely tracked customers who would drop our products because of price. If we were not losing a small percentage of our customers due to price sensitivity, we were not charging enough.

Amazon’s  stock analysts track lots of metrics. Two of the important ones are the number of subscribers and Amazon Day sales. Given the charts below it appears they have made steady progress toward maximizing revenue. This is both a blessing and a curse.  They’ve enjoyed strong gains, but the stock price is discounted from the future, and they have a lot of work to do to grow further.

Im a fan of theirs and I believe they’re up to it.

[chasesfish]

Count me into the quit bucket.

Paused membership earlier this month, have not renewed.

Between ads on Prime Video and Prime Music becoming nearly unusable, I'm out.   We're in an area where they deliver through USPS, so delivery dates are more like loose suggestions to our local PO staff (laid back beach island)

[tj]

Count me into the quit bucket.

Paused membership earlier this month, have not renewed.

Between ads on Prime Video and Prime Music becoming nearly unusable, I'm out.   We're in an area where they deliver through USPS, so delivery dates are more like loose suggestions to our local PO staff (laid back beach island)

Interesting!  USPS has been replaced by Amazon branded vans most of the places that I've lived. I think USPS delivered when I was living in Hawaii - where 2 day shipping was most definitely not a thing.

[chasesfish]

@tj We had amazon vans delivering in both Dallas and Charleston.

I think the Space Coast is serviced out of Orlando, some zip codes see the vans from Orlando, but they just dump items to the post office here.   Our carrier has been okay lately, but we were previously on the end of the route and lucky to get mail 3x per week.

[grenzbegriff]

I did once have a netflix and amazon prime subscription.  I forget how many years ago I canceled but it's at least five.  That's over $1000 not spent so far.  I haven't missed it.  I very rarely pay for shipping on amazon since most orders over $35 or whatever are free shipping.  And I guess I don't watch movies or shows much.  As of now I have zero digital subscriptions except for a couple of domain names at $12/year.  I do pay for phone service and internet though... would love to eliminate that someday.

[tj]

I did once have a netflix and amazon prime subscription.  I forget how many years ago I canceled but it's at least five.  That's over $1000 not spent so far.  I haven't missed it.  I very rarely pay for shipping on amazon since most orders over $35 or whatever are free shipping.  And I guess I don't watch movies or shows much.  As of now I have zero digital subscriptions except for a couple of domain names at $12/year.  I do pay for phone service and internet though... would love to eliminate that someday.

How would you spend $1000 on Amazon and Netflix? Arent they both st most like $100 per year?

[RWD]

I did once have a netflix and amazon prime subscription.  I forget how many years ago I canceled but it's at least five.  That's over $1000 not spent so far.  I haven't missed it.  I very rarely pay for shipping on amazon since most orders over $35 or whatever are free shipping.  And I guess I don't watch movies or shows much.  As of now I have zero digital subscriptions except for a couple of domain names at $12/year.  I do pay for phone service and internet though... would love to eliminate that someday.

How would you spend $1000 on Amazon and Netflix? Arent they both st most like $100 per year?

Amazon Prime is currently $15/month or $139 if paid annually. Netflix is $186/year unless you are grandfathered in to the old plan (or go with ads). $144/$84 per year (grandfathered plan / ads). So over five years that's at minimum $1,115 (current prices). Could even be over $2k combined if you're opting for the premium Netflix option ($23/month).

[jnw]

I haven't had an Amazon Prime subscription for a while now, and again I don't miss it.

But I do miss the 5% cashback I got with my Amazon Prime card.  Well I recently found a good alternative and that is to use the Pepper App on phone to buy Amazon gift cards.  I can buy the exact size Amazon gift card I need as well, to the penny, so I don't have to carry an Amazon gift card balance.

I get the gift cards instantly from Pepper at 5% off.  But I pay with a cashback credit card giving me 2% cashback.  So this gives me 7% cashback instead. I've heard some people using the Amex Biz Gold card with pepper and getting 9% cashback (if you value MR at 1 cpp like I do). 

Also they often run specials where they give 10% cashback on all gift cards, like they are now for me until June 30th.  So that means 12%+ cashback.  I did end up recently buying a $200 Amazon gift card just to capture the deal.  Again the gift card number and bar code is produced instantly on the phone; I copied the code to the clipboard from the phone and pasted it in on my mac within the Amazon app to redeem it.  It redeemed instantly for the full $200.

New subscribers get 10% back on everything at Pepper for the first 15 days.  So 12%+ cashback there.

Some of the gift cards they offer which are useful to me are:  Amazon, Walmart, Sam's, Autozone, etc..  7%+ or 12%+ cashback at Amazon, Walmart and Sam's is pretty huge for me :)  I also recently bought a $300 Sam's Club gift card for 12% off.

You can read more about at Doctor of Credit:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/pepper-rewards-app-buy-top-gift-card-brands-get-5-back-plus-20-20-referral-bonus/