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. There is only one membership level of Amazon Prime. So while there isn’t a special “Amazon Prime Military” membership, there are certain benefits to Amazon Prime the help military members, particularly those who are stationed overseas.
Amazon Prime Veterans Day Discount – 2020
Last year, Amazon offered a $40 discount for Amazon Prime members. There has not been any announcement for a similar offer this year. We will update this page if and when we have confirmation of a similar offer.
For reference, here is last year’s offer:
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.
Get a free trial for Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime Benefits for Military Members
For those who aren’t familiar with it, Amazon Prime is famous for its Free 2-day shipping on most items. In some cases, you can get free delivery in as little as 2-hours, depending on the item and where you live (this option is much more common closer to larger metropolitan areas).
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).
Amazon Prime Delivery Options:
Amazon offers the following delivery options within the Continental United States (delivery times will vary with APO/FPO delivery addresses).
- Free 2-day shipping on eligible items
- Free Same-Day Delivery in eligible zip codes.
- Free 2-hour delivery in eligible zip codes with Prime Now.
- Free Release Date Delivery for pre-ordered items.
- Free No-Rush shipping. Earn rewards for having your delivery scheduled for a later date.
But Amazon Prime also offers:
Amazon Prime Streaming Benefits
Amazon offers great streaming benefits for video, music, and gaming.
- Prime Video – streaming video with an extensive library of movies, TV shows, and documentaries.
- Prime Music – streaming radio, featuring the ability to stream entire albums, customize radio stations, multiple genres of music, etc.
- Amazon Music Unlimited – For an additional annual or monthly fee you can, subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimted, which has millions of songs to choose from.
- Prime Gaming – Access to free games, in-game content, and more.
Additional Amazon Prime Benefits
- Whole Foods Market: 5% savings for eligible Prime members who also have the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card; 2-hour Delivery in eligible cities.
- Prime Photos – free storage for all of your photos in Amazon Cloud Drive, as well as additional 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.
Try Amazon Prime:
Get a one-month free trial with Amazon Prime.
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, 2020, 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.
Comments:
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Darren Grosch says
Ok so how do I get the veterans discount on prime membership? Didn’t see where to click.
Ryan Guina says
Darren, Amazon only offered a military discount on Prime on Veterans Day, 2019. They have not renewed this offer. We will update our website if Amazon makes this offer available again.
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
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.
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?
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!