I love Amazon Prime. In my personal opinion, it’s one of the best deals going in the tech sector. And it has added many new features since I first became a member several years ago.
For those who aren’t familiar with it, Amazon Prime is famous for its Free 2-day shipping on most items. Many members find this benefit alone to be worth the annual $119 annual membership fee (or $12.99 per month if you pay as you go).
But Amazon Prime also offers:
Prime Video – streaming video with an extensive library of movies, TV shows, and documentaries.- Prime Radio – streaming radio, featuring the ability to stream entire albums, customize radio stations, multiple genres of music, etc.
- Prime Photos – free storage for all of your photos in Amazon Cloud Drive, as well as an additional 5GB of free storage space for personal video and document storage.
- Kindle Owners’ Lending Library – the ability to borrow one book per month for free from a select library of thousands of books,
- Kindle First – allows members to get one free book each month before it is released to the public.
- Other benefits – ability to share free 2-day shipping with members of household, exclusive Prime coupons and discounts, seasonal promotions.
As you can see, there is a lot of value for $119 a year. You can also get Amazon Prime Student for roughly half the cost.
My family and I no longer subscribe to cable TV. We cut the cord several years ago, and watch TV through a combination of over the air TV with a digital antenna, and a combination of Amazon Prime and Netflix to stream video.
I also use the Amazon streaming music to avoid listening to annoying commercials from commercial radio, and to listen to entire albums on demand. It’s a great service that is included with your Amazon Prime subscription.
Amazon Prime Veterans Day Discount
Save $40 on Amazon Prime (Nov. 6 – 11, 2019). For a limited time, current and former military members can save $40 on an annual Amazon Prime subscription. The cost will be $79 per year instead of the usual $119. This offer is good for both new and current Amazon Prime members. Current members will have their subscription extended for one year.
Save with the Amazon Prime Military Discount (limited time only!)
Amazon Prime is a Great Deal for Military Members
One of my favorite benefits is the free 2-day shipping. I am geographically separated from most of my family. So Christmas shopping is easy with Amazon. I can order gifts, have them wrapped, and shipped for less than the cost of buying something locally, adding the time and expense to wrap it myself, then the time and expense of shipping the item via the post office, UPS, or FedEx.
The 2-day shipping is even more important when the clock is ticking closer to the Christmas shipping deadlines.
I also frequently use the free 2-day shipping for personal purchases that aren’t time-sensitive. It’s often easier to purchase something from Amazon and have it shipped to my door rather than drive to and from the store, search for the item, wait in line, etc.
Many military members find themselves in the same situation. Living away from family members makes a service like Amazon Prime ideal for sending gifts. Amazon can also be a great way to order items when you live overseas, as many items on Amazon can’t be found at the Exchanges or on the local economy. Note that Free 2-day shipping may not apply to all overseas locations as transit times can take longer, and most 2-day shipping is sent via UPS. That said, most items can be shipped to APO addresses, even if it may take longer than 2 days.
Amazon Prime Video Now Available to Some Overseas Military Members
Amazon Prime Video and Radio may be different for many overseas military members due to licensing agreements. Amazon Prime Video and Radio are generally only available in the US, due to how the licensing and royalties work. However, Amazon recently announced they are offering Amazon Prime Video to military members on certain military installations.
Here is a list of the bases where Amazon Prime Video is currently available (as of January 7, 2016. As of Nov, 2019, I haven’t been able to find a more current list):
| U.S. Military Base/Camp | Country | Internet Service Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Fenty | Afghanistan | SniperHill |
| Kandahar | Afghanistan | SniperHill |
| Kandahar | Afghanistan | Ifone-Neda |
| Marmal | Afghanistan | SniperHill |
| Bagram | Afghanistan | SniperHill |
| Phoenix | Afghanistan | SniperHill |
| Walton | Afghanistan | SniperHill |
| Lightning | Afghanistan | SniperHill |
| Leatherneck | Afghanistan | SniperHill |
| Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base | Romania | SniperHill |
| Incirlik Air Base | Turkey | Turk Telecom |
| Camp Lemonnier (US Navy) | Djibouti | |
| Yokosuka | Japan | Americable |
| Atsugi | Japan | Americable |
| Iwakuni | Japan | Americable |
| Sasebo | Japan | Americable |
| Kadena AB, Okinawa | Japan | Mediatti Broadband |
| Camp Foster, Okinawa | Japan | Mediatti Broadband |
| Camp Schwab, Okinawa | Japan | Mediatti Broadband |
| Fort Buckner, Okinawa | Japan | Mediatti Broadband |
| Yokota Air Base | Japan | Allied Telesis |
| Misawa Air Base | Japan | Allied Telesis |
| Camp Arifjan | Kuwait | QualityNet |
| Camp Buehring | Kuwait | QualityNet |
Amazon Prime Originals now available on AFN: Amazon also just announced they are broadcasting some Amazon Original series on Armed Forces Network, bringing access to these shows to overseas military members and their families. Here is a sampling of the shows that will be available:
- Transparent: Mondays 11:00 PM local time starting on January 11
- Bosch: Tuesdays 11:00 PM local time starting on January 12
- Alpha House: Wednesdays 11:00 PM local time starting on January 13
- The Man in the High Castle: Sundays 12:00 AM local time starting on January 17
How to Sign Up for Amazon Prime
As mentioned early, I think Amazon Prime is one of the best deals going in Tech. You can sign up for a free Amazon Prime trial by clicking this free Amazon Prime Trial link.
You can also get a discount with Amazon Student if you are a current student with a .edu email address.
Jameel says
Hi, I noticed from your article that Amazon caters to students by providing a discount. Do they also offer discount to members of the military?
Ryan Guina says
Unfortunately, not that I am aware of. But it’s still a great deal – one of my favorite resources in all of the tech market!
krighton says
Students/EBT/Medicaid are all Amazon cares about..Veterans are not on their short list.
Blake Turner says
You ought to write an article on Tidal. They give a 50% discount to all veterans. So instead of the $25 a month for master quality tracks you pay $12.50. Literally the only Vet discount I’m willing to accept lol
Doug Rossi says
So, let me get this straight, if you are a student, you get a discount. If you have an EBT card, or on Medicaid you get a huge discount, correct? How about offering the men and women of the armed forces the same. Miltary members work twice the hours for half the pay, and the put their lives on the line every day. BUT at Amazon, they can only get a discount on Prime if they also have an EBT card….
Sounds kinda wrong people…
Janna S says
I totally agree! WTH?
James Harris says
Agree 100% doesn’t seen right at all
Chance says
Every retailer should offer a military/fire/police/ first responders/ military veterans and mostly disabled in the line of duty to any of the above! Disabled should be 20%. Even Lowe’s gives veterans a 10% discount everyday.
DJ Derringer says
I agree with all of the comments regarding Amazon offering students and gov aid recipients a discount as opposed to military and veterans.
However, consider this…
to say just active military and reservists, excludes an enormous group of prior service and retired. when you INCLUDE them you add potentially MILLIONS of potential customers (and family members using the perk).
When you consider bean counters come up with the profit/loss margins WHENEVER offering such a thing, it becomes crystal clear why people are precluded. That’s not even considering the numbers of first responders…
The size of Amazon and Walmart would make this a ridiculous point, yet… here we are…
Michaela Damico says
DJ, there are 46.5 MILLION people on food stamps in the US. Your argument is invalid.
D Cook says
Exactly! My husband passed away after returning from his last tour. He had numerous medical issues from shrapnel, mental etc. I still find it very surprising that military discounts aren’t offered here, but his is not just an issue here. I can’t even get discount anywhere because I’m just the widow and never served. Hopefully this will change one day.
Michael Berish says
Rick that’s a weird thing to say about Starbucks and the fact it’s in Seattle. As a matter of fact, I am a 20-year vet and There has not been one Starbucks out of the 30 states I’ve been to or any airport that didn’t give a military discount as opposed to the big chain stores that it depended on whether or not they were a franchise or not if they gave the military discount. I’m not sure if you just don’t like Seattle or whatnot but your statement is completely false lol
Lori B says
There was a fake letter circulating on social media about Starbucks a bit over a year ago. I don’t remember the exact specifics but it did try to paint Starbucks as anti-military. The letter was truly outright lies and undeserving of Starbucks who is known positively in the military community – even having stores on military bases. It sounds like “Rick” must’ve read the bad information. We are a HUGE military family – we’ve never seen anything negative from Starbucks.
John H says
I wonder how many others besides me have issues with Amazon Veterans Prime Discount this past Veterans Day ? Military 33% off discount was suppose to run November 6-11. I repeatedly tried signing up and kept getting error messages for days. I called customer service who acknowledged they had issues and were addressing the problem. I sent multiple emails with requested information including calls to Amazon escalation manager to no avail.
I finally received email responses validating my credentials between 1130pm on 11th and 1212am 12th. So they finally responded in the final hour like I’d be sitting up all night in anticipation of their response after days. When I woke in the morning and tried to sign up, the offer was expired. Amazon response was if we extend the offer we’ll let you know.
So Amazon publicly advertises their doing this awesome promotion for military and veterans for Veterans Day then fails to be adequately prepared and can’t fulfill their advertised obligation in a timely manner and has no mechanism in place to resolve the issue. Almost makes you wonder whether it was a valid offer or perhaps too many veterans signing up was becoming a potential economic loss. In either case, they used us as a public promotion for their own self interest and quietly failed miserably for those they promised to reward for their selfless service to their country. Just my personal experience.
Kim Shemansky says
We had the exact same issue and response. My husband told them to cancel his membership. If they were having issues on their end they should have extended the offer. Very disappointing.
Kyle Raglin says
1; Amazon probably doesn’t know about this web site, so complaints might be better directed to Amazon, itself.
2; My plan is to use my veteran’s benefits to become a student (which should entitle me to the student discount).
3; Use your veteran’s benefits (including going to school/college).
KBell says
Amazon isnt anything special for military. They offer no discounts and their various services have gone downhill in the last 2 years. The fact that they offer no discount for service members, but huge discounts for students and welfare recipients is pathetic
MAJwoody says
It’s all about target markets. Students who rack up loans, and those who find themselves on welfare programs are not good at managing money. Not all, but most, if you dig deep and are honest about things. Amazon’s biggest appeal is simplicity and convenience. If people had to leave home, browse aisles, and pull paper money out of their pockets they would not spend near as much as those who click and buy. Many stores offer discounts to show appreciation for service but think about how a lot of the young service members spend their money, especially on deployment. Youthful minds, cash to burn, and a lack of financial obligations makes service members a perfect target market.
Bill says
C’mon Amazon. How has a company with such exemplary marketing skills been so slow to embrace the military community? Time to step up!
Patricia Blackburn says
Can I add my husbands name to my Amazon account as he is a veteran.
Ryan Guina says
Hello Patricia, You can add a spouse’s name to your Amazon Prime account. However, I do not know how it works if you are trying to change the name on the account to take advantage of the Veterans Day offer. That would be a question for Amazon’s customer support center. Thanks!
Shawneil says
I was logged into my account (have always been the account holder) and verified my husband’s information and it did work for us. Hope it does for you as well. It is a great deal.
Anne Oaks says
I made the unfortunate mistake of applying for this discount, intending to extend my current Prime membership. What they did not say is that it would kick off any household members who currently are invited to share my Amazon prime benefits. They now have to pay for their own Prime membership. I asked for a refund, and Vanesa B, an Amazon customer service supervisor, flatly refused, reading from a script saying there were no refunds allowed.
Disgusting. Deceptive. Extremely poor customer service from Amazon.
Ryan Guina says
Hello Anne, I was approved for the Amazon Prime offer (though it took several attempts). I did not have my family members kicked off the shared plan (I share it with my wife). I’m not sure why this would kick people off a shared plan. Have you attempted to add them back to your Amazon Prime account?
Allan Shannon says
Amazons $ 40 off one year of Amazon Prime was a bust. My self and quite a large number of Veterans were greeted with “Oops” after filling out the application and being denied their Veterans day offer. The person i contacted at Amazon was unaware of the program. Bait and switch, Got a lot of negative P.R. from this fiasco. Puzzles me why Amazon would do this.
Ryan Guina says
Allan, I had difficulties being approved for this offer at first, but I was able to get through to customer support and they were able to help me verify my service and get approved for the offer. I believe Amazon’s intentions were good with this program, and I hope they learned a lot from this and will repeat it in the future.
The biggest issue, from what I have heard from quite a few veterans, was verifying military service. This is something even the Department of Veterans Affairs has trouble with, as evidenced by their problems rolling out the VA ID Card. From what I have heard, a lot of this stems from the digitization of service records and merging records from each of the military branches.
So, yes, I agree that Amazon could have done better, especially in regard to having better customer support systems in place. But there are other issues at play as well. As long as the VA is having trouble with their databases, every other system that ties into the VA databases will have similar issues.
ronny salyer says
Today 2-08-2020 I am paying my $129 to Amazon and hoping I can get to the Veteran discount in the future. US ARMY 1965-1967. I still pick up pennies on the ground and every penny counts.
RON