Amazon has increased the price on Prime subscriptions. But that isn’t stopping some folks from finding ways around that price bump.
Over at Gizmodo’s deals site Kinja, writer Shep McAllister has come up with a novel way to sidestep Amazon’s $20 Prime subscription increase. He suggested you buy an Amazon Prime gift subscription now for the price of $99. When it’s time to renew your Prime subscription, simply redeem the gift card and take advantage of the lower price. That said, you’ll need to cancel your subscription ahead of the renewal so you can take advantage of the deal.
Amazon announced on Thursday that it would increase the price of its Amazon Prime subscription from $99 per year to $119 per year. The change goes into effect on May 11 for new customers and June 16 for those who already subscribe to Amazon Prime. If your subscription is set to auto-renew before June 16, you’ll be able to take advantage of the $99 pricing for one more year. If, however, your auto-renewal date is set to after June 16, you’ll need to drop $119.
Get Data Sheet, Coins2Day’s technology newsletter
The workaround McAllister has pitched was used with success the last time Amazon increased its Prime pricing, he said. But it’s unknown whether the company will allow you to take advantage of this loophole this time around or change policies so you can’t use the gift card trick. If it does work, be aware that next year when it’s time to renew your subscription, you’ll be subject to the $119.
Coins2Day has reached out to Amazon to find out whether the gift card trick will be allowed. We’ll update this story when we learn more.