Sharing your Amazon Prime free transport perk simply obtained tougher

One in all Amazon Prime’s most handy advantages is its quick and free transport. Via the legacy Amazon Invitee program, customers might share that profit with one other grownup exterior their family. Nevertheless, sadly, that will not be out there for much longer.

Amazon has announced the shutdown of its Prime Invitee program, changing it with Amazon Household. The Prime Invitee program beforehand allowed customers to share their Prime subscription, together with quick and free transport, with one different grownup of their family, even when they lived at a special tackle. Whereas Amazon halted permitting new customers into the Prime Invitee program a number of years in the past, it nonetheless allowed customers who had been grandfathered into this system to proceed utilizing it (by way of The Verge).

In case you have Prime advantages by way of the Prime Invitee program, you may lose entry to them on October 1, 2025. If you happen to reside in a special family than the one who initially invited you, to be able to get Prime advantages again, you may want to join your individual Prime subscription. If you happen to do reside in the identical family, although, Amazon Household may be of assist.

Amazon Household is not as beneficiant as its Invitee Program

Sharing exterior your major residence is coming to an finish

On its up to date customer service page about sharing Prime advantages, Amazon states that “Amazon Household is changing the Prime Invitee Program.” In contrast to the Prime Invitee program, which allowed you to share your Prime advantages with one other grownup in your family who did not have the identical major tackle as you, Amazon Household solely allows you to share it with one different grownup in your family with the identical tackle, as much as 4 teenagers (in the event that they had been added earlier than April 7, 2025), and as much as 4 baby profiles. Amazon Household is not a brand new program, having been initially launched in 2015.

As for what Amazon considers the identical family, it states it because the “tackle you contemplate to be your property and the place you spend the vast majority of your time.” The advantages you’ll be able to share by way of Amazon Household embrace quick and free transport, Prime Video (with adverts), Prime Studying, audiobooks, eBooks, video games, and extra.

The sundown of the Prime Invitee program comes simply after Reuters recently reported that sign-ups for Prime subscriptions fell brief in comparison with final 12 months throughout Amazon’s current Prime Day gross sales occasion. With Prime sign-ups reportedly down, ending the Prime Invitee program could also be a means Amazon is attempting to develop its subscriber base.

Amazon is attempting to encourage customers who’re being faraway from the Prime Invitee program to join their very own Prime membership by providing a particular promotion of a one-year Prime subscription for $15. After the 12 months ends, nonetheless, the value will return to Amazon Prime’s common month-to-month price of $15 monthly.

This entire state of affairs jogs my memory quite a lot of what Netflix and different streaming companies have executed by ending password sharing to spice up subscriber numbers. Whether or not this can all work out for Amazon stays to be seen, however based mostly on how persons are feeling on Reddit, it could be exhausting to persuade those that have been utilizing the Prime Invitee program for over a decade to join Prime. One Redditor wrote: “Been sharing for 15 years. With the elevated value and this petty cash seize we’re executed.” Many different customers on Reddit are sharing the identical sentiment.

I personally imagine Amazon is lacking the mark with this choice. I do know fairly just a few individuals who share their Prime subscription with others exterior their family, and never with the ability to do this anymore reason behind the Invitee program closing will likely be actually disappointing. Many have relations residing throughout the nation, so if you wish to share Prime with somebody in a special state, you’ll be able to’t even do this with Amazon Household. Hopefully, Amazon updates Amazon Household to incorporate a member of the family exterior the family, however with Prime sign-ups apparently down, I am not optimistic.